Archive of Our Own

So many of Tsunotaro’s storybooks began with “Once upon a time”, but that was only possible with the gift of narration. He would just have to make do with what information he had, from his own perspective.

For as long as he could remember, he had lived in the same cottage in the woods with his father, Lilia, doing the same chores he had ever since he was young.

This was not the birthplace of his father nor of himself, but his father had said they had moved here when Tsunotaro was only a baby. Tsunotaro’s parents, his father had told him, had been his close friends, and so when they passed his welfare had fallen upon him. They lived in the cottage, he had said, because he preferred the solitude and the silence after so much excitement in his life.

He would often entertain Tsunotaro with stories of his past life at the palace, serving in a glittering court under a magnificent queen. His father’s storytelling ability made Tsunotaro feel as if he had grown up at that court, able to imagine every detail in such clarity.

His father, not content to let Tsunotaro grow up without an education despite their remoteness, wove story and lesson together so that Tsunotaro could remember every county in the Briar Valley as easily as he recalled that his father had made the 8th Countess of Rubeus laugh so hard blackberry lemonade came out of her nose at the Carnation Dinner, a dinner to support a number of children’s charities held a month before the new year, over one too many quips about her sister’s polka dot shoes.

However, even with his fondness for reminiscing and the number of chores that came with life in the woods, Tsunotaro still found some time to read every book packed on the ornate shelves of the cottage.

As it turned out, he had a voracious appetite for any type of literature. History, horror, fantasy, thriller, drama, biographical, he devoured it all with enthusiasm. In his books, he was able to discover far-off lands of mystery and beauty filled with dashing knights and brave princesses, and he could only dream of having such an exciting life.

Truthfully, though he could hardly admit it to himself, he had begun penning his own stories. They weren’t much of anything, just a few scenes involving his favorite characters that had nagged at him for some time, but the part he couldn’t own up to was that all the scenes he had written so far were of a romantic nature.

Romance was his most favorite genre, even outpacing fantasy. He had poured over every book with romantic inclinations in the cottage until they were nearly falling apart, and any scrap of romance to be found in other books had already been read over and over by him. He had long since memorized which pages in what books had the snippets he craved, and he hung onto every word.

He knew he was a romantic, though it felt embarrassing to admit as someone who had hardly known ten living people. Tsunotaro couldn’t help it- his heart twined on matters of love.

When Tsunotaro was sixteen, his father had brought home a young baby in a basket. Tsunotaro had asked many questions, but his father had made it clear that this boy was theirs now, that he would not be taking questions, and that Tsunotaro would need to help out in raising him.

That boy, named Silver for his hair, had grown into a very adorable child who loved to babble and swing the little toy sword his father had carved him when he wasn’t putting the hilt in his mouth. He loved eating wild berries and cooing over the squirrels and bluebirds who seemed drawn to Silver. He loved Tsunotaro, or at least that’s what it looked like, reaching for him and snuggling up against him, trying to read whatever book he had in his hands.

Aside from himself and his father, Silver had one other friend, a young boy Tsunotaro thought was named Sebek who lived in town. He was loud for his age, but he and Silver had bonded quickly, being of nearly the same age.

Tsunotaro could confidently say that he loved Silver back, and thought that if he never had romantic love in his life, the would be fulfilled nonetheless.

These were the thoughts running frantically through his head as he searched the woods for a two year old Silver.

He had only turned around for a second. To look at a bird. Silver had just started walking confidently, there’s no way he could have gone far!

He cursed at himself. 18 years old and wildly irresponsible. How would he face his father?

“Silver!” Tsunotaro yelled. He stood still, trying desperately to hear if he was crying out for help, if someone had kidnapped him and was muffling his cries, if he was being mauled to death by an angry owl.

No luck. He began running again, calling out for Silver, afraid to raise his voice but trying to get it to carry so that the boy might hear him.

Tsunotaro felt sick. How could he lose him like that? His most treasured brother, left to slip through his fingers. What kind of sibling was he?

He tried to take deep breaths, willing himself to focus and not dwell every horrible thing that could be happening to Silver right now. If he found him, he would scoop him up in his arms and hold him tight, and never, ever let him out of his sight again.

“Silver?!”

“Hello!”

“AH!”

A voice had appeared behind Tsunotaro, snapping him out of his focus. Tsunotaro turned around to see the source of the voice.

A person appearing to be around his age wearing a dark uniform stood there, apparently startled as well.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” The stranger was wide-eyed, hands frozen in the air as if afraid that Tsunotaro would run.

He recognized the uniform. They didn’t travel into their town too often, but Tsunotaro had managed to become the darling of the little village regardless. Grandmothers loved his polite mannerisms and proper speech, and the younger kids liked to hang off his horns and ask him questions about all the things he’d read. Friendships with people his age had continued to elude him, however, even as the occasional group of students ventured out here.

The Night Raven College, as it was called, was a school some distance from the town and the forest in which their cottage resided in, splayed out near the near coast. It boasted a student body made up of young, talented magicians who trained in a variety of combat options. Their pupils occasionally entered Tsunotaro’s town to browse the shops on days off, uniforms standing out from the crowd. They were not extremely frequent, however, as this town was only the second nearest to their campus.

This stranger appeared to be one of the students. The sword strapped to their side intimidated Tsunotaro somewhat, as, even though he had grown up with his father’s war relics in the house, he had never thought of them being turned on him.

Tsunotaro didn’t know what to do. They could easily turn out to be someone looking to harm him. This could all even be a ploy to kidnap Silver, for whatever reason. But if the stranger could help…

“Who are you?” Tsunotaro hoped his voice didn’t carry any of the fright he felt. The stranger straightened up.

“My name is Yuu,” they said, “I’m a student from Night Raven, but I got separated from my group. Are you looking for someone?”

Meeting a mysterious stranger sounded like the start of a grand adventure straight out of his books, but Tsunotaro knew that real life posed boring, but much more immediate threats.

The Night Raven students were said to be quite talented, he remembered, and this one in particular seemed eager to help.

Yuu looked at him curiously. It was now or never.

Deciding to take a chance, he said, “I’ve lost my younger brother, Silver. Have you seen a young boy running around?”

His heart pounded, hoping this had not been a mistake and hoping even harder that Yuu had seen him. Unfortunately, they shook their head. “No, I’m sorry, but I can help you look. How old is he?”

Curses. “He’s only two,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm as visions of Silver being eaten by chipmunks returned.

“Ok,” said Yuu, walking up to him, “where’d you see him last?”

Tsunotaro pointed to the exact patch of grass Silver had been sitting in, basket of berries tipped over next to it. “Right there. I only looked away for a moment.”

“Gotcha.” Yuu nodded. They looked around for a moment before jumping onto the nearest tree truck to scale it.

The trees in the forest were all thick, demonstrating how long this forest had stood without disturbance. This one seemed somewhat sparse of branches, but somehow Yuu climbed the trunk.

“Alright!” yelled Yuu, sitting on a branch just under the canopy of leaves. “I should be able to get a good view from here.”

Yuu wasn’t that high up, but just then the wind picked up, causing the tree to sway.

“Be careful!” he shouted up there. If his rescue fell flat on their face he’d have two problems to solve.

Yuu didn’t seem to hear him. They grabbed the trunk to stabilize themselves and put their foot on a branch while shading their eyes with their free hand, to get a good look into the forest. The tree leaned further and further, as if moving with Yuu.

Up in the air, eyes trained so intensely, Yuu cut a confident figure. The wind whipped around them, framing their face, but they didn’t seem to care.

“I think I see him!”

Tsunotaro’s head whipped around to follow Yuu’s pointed finger. “I see a head of silver hair over there!”

He didn’t waste a moment. Tsunotaro took off in that direction, and suddenly saw-

“Silver!”

The young boy looked up at the shout of his name, and burst into a smile. “Taro!!” he screamed, arms outstretched.

Tsunotaro scooped him up, squeezing him as tight as he could. “Oh, Silver! Where did you go?”

Silver snuggled up closer in his arms, blinking away stray tears. “Sorry. You went around and I got lost.”

Tsunotaro maneuvered Silver so they were looking at each other, Silver dangling in the air. “I went around?” Silver nodded, and Tsunotaro could see dried tear streaks.

He kissed Silver on the cheek. “Well, I won’t do that in the future. If I do, however, please remember to stay in one place so that I may find you again.”

“Uh-huh!” Silver nodded happily.

He glanced over to the side and buried his face into Tsunotaro’s tunic. Tsunotaro followed his eyesight and saw Yuu standing there.

“Is that Silver?” asked Yuu. “Hi,” they said, waving, “I’m Yuu.”

Silver peeked his face out a bit, curious. “Hi,” he said quietly.

Neither of them said anything for a moment. Hands on their hips, Yuu said, “Well! I guess my job here is done. It was nice to meet you guys, but I gotta head back to my-“

“Sword?”

As Yuu had been speaking, they had been turning away, exposing their side with the sword at their belt. Silver’s eyes were wide, excited to see his weapon of choise.

Yuu took a few steps towards them and unhitched their sword from their side. “Yeah! It’s my sword. Well, it’s on loan from the school but I’ll probably get to keep it. You wanna see?”

Silver’s eyes were wide with curiosity, and Yuu took that as a sign of affirmation. They held the sword up, scabbard and all.

He giggled, and reached out to try and grab the hilt. “Can I hold?” he said, eyes trained intently.

“Sure!” said Yuu. “Oh, if that’s ok with you.” Yuu was looking at Tsunotaro now.

He swallowed, unsure of how to answer. This was a foreign experience, but Yuu was not unpleasant to be around, and anyways, Silver seemed happy. “We do not wish to trouble you.”

Their face split into a warm, inviting smile. “Oh, no worries! This might be part of my job in the future, anyway.” Yuu held up the hilt so Silver could reach it. He grabbed it in a chubby hand as hard as he could, and he tried to lift it up out of its sheath.

In the distance, Tsunotaro heard a yell.

Yuu heard it too. “Shoot!” they said. “That’s my team.” To Silver, they said, “Ok, I need my sword back now, but if I ever see you around, I’ll teach you some tricks, ok?”

Silver nodded, said “Bye”, and let go. Yuu hitched the sword back onto their belt.

“It was nice to meet you guys,” they said as someone in the distance shouted again, “see you soon!” They scurried off to join the voices, and soon enough, Silver and Tsunotaro were left alone in their corner of the woods.

Tsunotaro pondered the events of the past few minutes. In those moments that he’d been searching for Silver alone, every second felt impossibly long, but Yuu had made the minutes fly by.

It had certainly helped that they had been able to find Silver with their quick thinking.

His initial weariness of their intentions had melted away into fascination. They had carried themselves with such confidence and energy, Tsunotaro could tell they were passionate about their work.

A tug on his clothes brought him out of his thoughts.

“Home?” Silver asked.

Pushing his musing out of his mind for now Tsunotaro rearranged Silver in his grasp. “Yes. Let’s go home,” he said as he bent down to scoop up the fallen basket, deciding to take the walk back to ponder how he would explain this to Lilia.

Tsunotaro set Silver down once they were back in sight of the cottage so he could run to the door. His little legs took him excitedly to the entrance, where he knocked uncoordinatedly on the door as hard as he could.

Inside, a sing-songy voice said, “Who is it~?”

Silver giggled into his hands as Tsunotaro walked up slowly. “It’s me!”

A dramatic gasp came from indoors. “What? But how could that be-”

The door swung open to reveal their father, looking down at Silver with big eyes. “When I’m me!”

Silver burst out in laughter and their father scooped him up eagerly, laughing alongside him. “Well! I am very glad to see you both again, though it seems you were not able to collect as many berries as I’d hoped.” His father looked at the basket, then at Tsunotaro. “What happened?”

Before Tsunotaro could respond, however, Silver said, “I got lost,” as he shrunk into himself.

HIs father looked at Silver again. “Lost? What do you mean?”

Tsunotaro raised a hand. “It was my fault. I apologize, Father.” He ducked his head. “I looked away for a moment, but that’s no excuse.” Not hearing him react, Tsunotaro kept his head ducked down in shame.

After a moment, he felt a soft touch on his chin. His father, carrying Silver, lifted Tsunotaro’s face so their eyes met. Being a good deal shorter than himself, Tsunotaro’s chin wasn’t moved much, but his expression was soft.

“It’s alright, Tsunotaro. The most important things are that you learn from this experience and that nothing bad actually happened.” His father’s head cocked. “Right?”

“Yes, nothing at all!” Tsunotaro enthusiastically confirmed.

He smiled and reached out to stroke Tsunotaro’s arm. “Well then. That’s all that matters.” He turned away to reenter the cottage.

“Besides,” said Lilia over his shoulder, a now-sleepy Silver drooping onto it, “I once left you in a treetop overnight when you were three. Sometimes, things just work out.” He sauntered back into the cottage.

Tsunotaro, not knowing how to respond, followed him.

He went to go wash the berries while his father put Silver down for his afternoon nap. As the water beaded on the blackberries, he came out of the nursery.

He peered over into the bowl. “We’ll still have enough to make at least one jar, and it’s not like the berries are going anywhere.” His father chuckled. “Imagine that! If the berries all ran off tomorrow.”

Tsunotaro, engrossed in his own thoughts, did not react.

His father looked at him. “I meant what I said. Don’t take this so hard, Tsunotaro, you are too serious for your own good.”

Some of the words seemed to connect, and he was shaken out of his thoughts. “Yes, of course.”

His father wasn’t convinced. “Something else on your mind?”

In truth, his father was correct. While Tsunotaro had not yet put to bed his feelings of guilt over losing Silver, he was in fact replaying his interactions with Yuu.

Their appearance had just about been the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him. It really had felt like a page out of his books. The flutters of excitement had only appeared after Yuu had. Somehow, their presence had been able to reassure him.

“Father?”

He looked at Tsunotaro.

“Did you… did you want to do this?” At his confusion, he waved his hands around the cottage. “All of this?”

He pondered the question.

“I didn’t have much time to think about it,” he finally responded, “between everything that was going on at the time. I don’t regret it, of course.”

He took another pause. “I can’t say that I ever really wanted this when I was younger, but I can say I enjoy this now. Knowing what I do now, even if it were in different circumstances, I would choose to do this again.”

HIs father fixed Tsunotaro with a look. “What really happened in the woods today?”

Tsunotaro felt sheepish all of a sudden. Looking away, he said, “Someone helped me find Silver.” He swallowed. “I met- a prince. At least, that’s what it felt like.”

Because, he realizes, it was true. Yuu had ridden in on a metaphorical white horse, sword and all, and had saved the day. The only thing they hadn’t done was sweep him off his feet.

This wasn’t love. Despite his inexperience, he knew better than to conflate excitement or even gratitude for love.

Besides, Yuu seemed a bit too… shrimpy to pick him up.

But they had a certain air about them that made Tsunotaro feel like he was witnessing something happening.

His father was smiling. “Don’t wear yourself out pondering it. You can’t figure out everything in one day.”

He sighed. His father was right.

“I’ll probably never see them again regardless.”

His father walked off. “Nothing is forever, Tsunotaro. Now, could you please grab the sugar?”

Tsunotaro reached for the cupboard, confident in his assertion.

But he wasn’t.

The next day, as Tsunotaro spent a lazy afternoon lying on a riverbank, flipping through an old favorite of his next to the lake, a familiar voice called out.

“Hey.”

He looked up. Sure enough, it was Yuu, uniform-clad as they were last time, and Tsunotaro’s shock could not be contained.

Shock, and… excitement.

That same smile painted their face. “It’s nice to see you again. Do you mind if I sit down?”

Tsunotaro gestured wordlessly to the patch of grass next to him, thinking it would be rude to tell them to leave a wood he didn’t own.

“Excellent.” Yuu plopped down heavily, took off their jacket, and leaned over to cup some water from the stream.

They took three big sips, and then went back for another handful but this time, ended up tipping their head back and pouring it on their neck.

Tsunotaro watched them closely away as they removed their jacket and unbuttoned the top of their shirt, going back for another cupful of water to pour on the sliver of newly exposed skin.

He watched the droplets catch the light as they dripped down Yuu’s skin, some disappearing down into the folds of their clothes, others spreading out and evaporating slowly.

Tsunotaro’s eyes stayed on them as they pasted their palms to their cheeks, sighing.

“That feels good,” they said. “This heat is killing me.”

“Oh,” he said, his mouth feeling awfully dry, “is your work difficult?”

“I don’t know, it’s just that we’re paired in teams,” they took a deep sigh then, “and I’m having trouble getting along with them.”

Tsunotaro shifted off of his stomach and sat cross-legged. “Are they difficult?”

Yuu laughed a bit. “Not quite. They can be a bit eccentric, but…” They trailed off.

“But what?” Tsunotaro was not one to leave a story unfinished.

“You’d think all of us being outcasts would make us wanna band together, but they’re all so homesick they can barely see past their pain to try.”

“Homesick?” So the Briar Valley was not their home, then. “Are you all from far away?”

Tsunotaro had always longed to see past his small corner of the world, though his father had made sure to educate him on every nook and cranny of the Briar Valley. He of course had his books as well, but he had hoped that, one of these days, they would go on a trip.

“Yeah,” said Yuu, “I mean everyone else is. I’m only two days away, in Yumen.”

Yumen was one of the many kingdoms that bordered the Briar Valley, populated mostly by humans. Tsunotaro had heard of some immigration to and from each country, but most of the residents in the town nearest to his were fae.

Tsunotaro had never been. But he had read about it extensively, knowing it held some true treasures of architecture he had found himself entranced by.

“Yumen,” he said, breathing out the word with awe. “And do you find the Briar Valley to be quite different?”

“In a couple of areas. The buildings are different, obviously, but the food’s actually pretty similar. That’s been comforting.I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since I’m kind of close to the border, but everyone else is from much farther away.”

“Such as where?” he asked, eager to listen. The Night Raven College only attracted the best, and the best came from all over.

“Well, there are two from Pyroxene,” Tsunotaro knew that as a distant land large enough to house both dry prairies and icy tundras within its borders, “and two others from the Rose Kingdom.” He had read about the flourishing economy of the Rose Kingdom, as they were a great source of luxury goods. “None of them knew each other before coming here, though. They didn’t live close enough.”

“Fascinating,” he said. “But you have not had any opportunity to exchange details of your lives?”

“Nope,” they said with a small shake of their head.

“That is disappointing,” replied Tsunotaro, “as I had hoped to hear some stories from far away.” He wondered what fairytales and legends they must all be privy to and felt let down by Yuu’s lack of knowledge. “I have never left the Briar Valley myself, and have not seen most of it.”

“Really?” they said. “I’ve heard it’s all so beautiful.”

“I have as well, but my father is weary of venturing out too far from our home.”

Yuu turned away. “Well, it’s definitely not my fault I have nothing to tell you. No one wants to share anything with anyone in that group.” Their cheeks puffed out a bit.

Tsunotaro found this odd, as he himself was having no trouble sharing with Yuu, finding them a good listener. “Oh?”

“Yeah, it’s like they don’t even want to try.”

Try? Tsunotaro tried to imagine himself in a scenario.

Far from home, missing Silver and his father. He quickly banished the thought, as it made him quite queasy. Perhaps he’d be up to traveling alone one day, but he was not yet ready for such adventures, as much as he longed to see the world. He just couldn’t imagine doing it without his family.

Tsunotaro pondered the information he’d been given and his own perspective. The queasiness he had felt had been not unlike a stomach sickness he had experienced once, and it had made it quite hard for him to eat. Thankfully, he had his father to take care of him, but these people did not have that.

In that time, Tsunotaro had put his trust in his father that things would get better and that the medicine would help him. Of course he trusted his father- he was older and wiser, and had likely defeated many illnesses like this.

“Perhaps, as the one who is not homesick,” said Tsunotaro, “you could reach out to them first?”

Their face scrunched. “I have!I have tried talking to them!” They paused. “Kind of!”

He had agitated them against his wishes. “I apologize,” he said, “I did not mean to imply you had not. I may be wrong, then, and they are truly too obstinate to hear words of encouragement.”

Yuu sighed. “I don’t think it’s that, it’s just… I always wanted to be a hero. To save people and do great things, and I thought this would be the first step, but if I can’t even do this, how will I ever get there?”

They scowled. “It’s not even all their fault. Some of the people there can be so mean. I have no idea why, but they pull these awful pranks on us all the time. Even if they weren’t so far from home, it hasn’t been easy.”

“Well,” he said, trying to choose his words carefully, “the only way to be the hero of your own story is to act like one, I suppose.”

These weren’t just words for Yuu. He was telling this to himself as well. He wanted a greater purpose in life, something to live for. He was realizing it wasn’t enough for him to just be a bystander, but he didn’t know where to start.

Could this be that start, he asked himself? If he could not go out on his own yet, perhaps Yuu could and tell him about the world.

Yuu’s face was furrowed in concentration. He hoped he had said something useful.

After a moment, they asked, “What’s your name?”

“Me?” he said, a bit surprised. He hadn’t been expecting that and wasn’t sure how much of himself to give away, but thought this might be harmless.

“Of course. I am Tsunotaro,” he said, introducing himself with all the dignity and grace he could muster.

For some reason, Yuu had found his dignity and grace slightly amusing. “You make a good point, Tsunotaro,” they said with a slight laugh. "Guess all those books paid off, huh? What are you reading now?”

He looked down at the book in his hands. “It’s an older one of mine. I read it quite a few times when I was younger, but I haven’t touched it in some time now, so it feels newer to me.” He looked back up to Yuu. “Unlike many of the other books I own.”

They reclined into the soft bed of grass. “You like reading, huh?” At Tsunotaro’s nod, they said, “I wish I read more. But there always seems to be so many things to do in the day.”

Tsunotaro looked at them, eyes grazing over their body. They seemed relaxed, somewhat of a contrast to the energy they held yesterday.

“If you’d like,” he began hesitantly, “I could read to you.”

One corner of their lips lifted up. “Oh? I’d hate to interrupt your solitude.”

“It is no trouble.” And despite the fact that Tsunotaro had come out here to be alone, it wasn’t. “What would you like to hear?”

They closed their eyes. “I’m down for anything. Whatever you’re reading now sounded good, though.”

Tsunotaro was excited to potentially have someone new to discuss this book with.

Arranging himself comfortably in the grass, he flipped back to the beginning and cleared his throat. “In a land of mystery and magic, a young hero’s first thought was, ‘This was not where I laid my head last’...”

Tsunotaro’s absorption into the tale did not prevent him from hearing every little whisper Yuu made, in response to jokes or plot events.

“Do you have something to say?” he asked, after one particular sound.

“Hm? No, keep going,” they said, waving him off.

“If you have an opinion to share,” he said, measuredly, “I would be interested in hearing it.”

“No, no! It’s fine.”

Tsunotaro’s brow arched, though Yuu couldn’t see that as they had their eyes closed. “It’s. Fine?”

The scene that Yuu seemed to disagree with involved the main character and their love interest, or at least who Tsunotaro hoped their love interest would be. The book itself ended suddenly, wrapping up its storyline but clearly alluding to future conflicts and antagonists made up of characters already introduced.

Written on the edges of his dreams and on a few sheets of paper buried in his drawer was an outline of a continuation, primarily focusing on the budding relationship between his favorite character and the protagonist.

Tsunotaro hadn’t quite worked out all the details, how the antagonists would come to oppose the protagonist, what the true mystery of the world was. The scenes Tsunotaro spent the most time on were ones involving the pair, meant to fit into a greater narrative he was lightly tossing around but hadn’t written yet.

It had made him somewhat defensive of their relationship, he admitted, remembering an incident many years ago when he had asked his father to read the book so he could talk about it with someone else and then proceeded to explain to him why the two were meant for each other, the explanation being one he often argued in his head. His calm presentation had turned into a heated debate on his end as his father had disagreed with one of his points, and he had apoloigzed later.

He felt his points were still correct but that had opened up a level of vulnerability within himself he hadn’t been ready to confront, and so he had thrown the book into the depths of his room to be discovered a week ago by him. Tsunotaro had felt embarrassed seeing the book again, remembering that time in his life when it was all he could think about, but eventually found the courage to reopen it, finding a childish thrill at rereading it with more mature eyes.

So he was curious as to what Yuu was thinking.

“Well,” they said, “if you really must know-”

“I do.”

At his interruption they opened their eyes and laughed, looking up at him from the ground. “I just think that this guy-”

“Pogona.”

“Right. He’s kinda shady.”

“...shady?”

“Yeah, there’s something about him I don’t like.”

Tsunotaro tried not to glare. “Oh? Would you care to elaborate?”

“Hmm.” They stroked their chin. “He seems to be just… amused with the protagonist? But in a patronizing way, like they’re his pet.”

“If I may interject,” he said, “I disagree wholeheartedly. I believe a more correct interpretation is that, while his amusement may be somewhat at their expense, it is primarily because he finds their tenacity in solving this unique problem fascinating.”

Yuu’s lips were twitching. “That’s some subtext you’re reading.”

He blinked. “I apologize,” he started, “this subject tends to bring out-”

“Oh, no, don’t apologize!” They sat up on their elbows. “You’ve clearly thought about this.”

“I have,” he said.

“Now, go on,” they said, lowering themselves back down. “I wanna know what he’s hiding.” Suddenly, they pushed thesmelves back up and gasped dramatically. “Is he the villain?!”

“No!”

Tsunotaro was not enjoying this these questions, but on second thought, it might not be as bad a theory as he initially thought.

Yuu was struggling not to laugh, and Tsunotaro, despite all this, wanted to laugh with him.

Lifting his book quickly so that Yuu could not see his smile, he began again, his voice wavering on the first few words. For a time longer, they would continue as they had before this interruption.

Unfortunately, they had just gasped at a twist when Yuu sat up suddenly.

“What time is it?” they asked.

Tsunotaro looked up at the sky. “It’s at least late afternoon.”

They gasped and shot up. “Oh no! I gotta go now- I’ll see you later?”

Tsunotaro hadn’t been sure he’d ever see them again after yesterday. He wasn’t even sure why he had come out into the forest- he preferred his reading nook by the windowsill.

Was it Yuu? Had his subconscious wish to see them again drawn him out?

Yuu was waiting.

Standing up, he said, “I await our next meeting with enthusiasm.”

They gave him a small laugh. “You talk like you walked out of one of those books of yours.”

“Ah-” he blushed a bit. I suppose I never noticed.”

Yuu’s expression changed. “Oh, well don’t change anything on my account! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel weird about it.”

They walked away. “See you soon!” they waved, just like last time.

But they would not see each other again for some time.

The first few days after their last meeting, Tsunotaro was jittery. Every moment felt impossibly long, even while spending time with Lilia with Silver.

As the days went on, however, he was able to relax. His heart rate settled and he was able to breathe without twitching in excitement. Hours would go by without thinking of Yuu, and he lost himself in good books once more.

One day, a few weeks later, Tsunotaro was pondering. The sky was melting into inky darkness, and he was getting dressed for bed when he remembered Yuu.

How were they doing?

They seemed like a good fit for the school they were attending. Tsunotaro hoped things had gotten better for them, in terms of getting along with their classmates.

As he moved the comforter back, he noticed the book he’d been reading that day in the woods with Yuu on his nightstand.

He had set it aside after that day, not wanting to get too ahead without Yuu, but had forgotten it when their time between meetings had stretched on longer than he had anticipated.

A ray of moonlight shone through his window. He decided he had enough time for a quick chapter or two, so long as he sped read.

Leaving the bookmark where it was, in case he ever did see Yuu again and they wanted to pick up where they left off, he dove right back into the story, just as good as it had been those weeks ago.

One of the characters, a favorite of his, is deciding whether or not to tell his love interest his secret. Though the text only implies their love, it was one of Tsunotaro’s favorite romances to read.

He found it a rational decision to ponder. His secret could hurt his relationship with the main character. Pogona is lying, thought Tsunotaro, but he was doing it for the greater good.

For some reason, however, he wonders if Yuu would disagree, and he finds himself with a sudden, intense craving for their perspective.

What would they say? How would they argue that? Tsunotaro found this new mystery puzzling, frustrated he couldn’t easily seek the answer.

He snapped the book shut, taking note of the page number in his mind, and closed his eyes.

The only thing he oculd think about was how he wanted to see Yuu again. How would he reach out? Go to the school? His father has always lightly mentioned he should consider making a few closer connections, perhaps he could help.

His lack of deep connections had vexed him, though, as he had said earlier, he was quite popular in town. Tsunotaro had a way of drawing out problems in people, and being a steady, listening ear to anyone who just needed to talk. But he had always wanted to find someone who would listen.

Shaking his head, he tried to put those thoughts to rest. In all likelihood, they’d never see each other again.

He placed the book down on his nightstand and pulled his blanket over his shoulders, and tried to vividly imagine his little fairytale.

Two days later, sitting under a tree trying to dodge the midday rays, he was back at his book.

The tension between the main character and their love interest was rising. In Tsunotaro’s opinion, the subtext clearly indicated the main character was falling for him. More importantly, in Tsunotaro’s opinion, he reciprocated.

This was the scene that had originally sparked the argument so long ago between him and his father.He hadn't been quite sure the tension was reciprocated. They only had one perspective to analyze, his father had pointed out, and the main character could not necessarily be trusted.

They have not proven themselves to be an unreliable narrator so far, Tsunotaro had argued.

However, his father had said, the eyes of a fool in love were not reliable, and if Tsunotaro truly believed the main character was in love, or at least infatuated, then that pink haze could be clouding their judgment.

Tsunotaro had disagreed again, despite his father’s logic. But he wondered what Yuu would think in this scenario.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a human-shaped shadow, and his heart lept. Perhaps he’d find out.

“Yuu?”

They turned around.

“Tsunotaro!” They smiled and jogged over.

His heart skipped a beat in excitement. He stood up off the forest ground, dusting the grass off of himself, and taking Yuu’s hand to rise. “It has been a while.”

They kept on smiling. “It sure has! How’s everything been?”

“Very little has changed for me. The summer sun continues to burn with its intensity.”

Yuu’s smile widened, the corners stretching the skin around their eyes. “That’s good to hear.”

“And you?” Tsunotaro gestured to them. “You appear to have news.”

Unable to contain themselves any longer, they burst out, “Yes! Me and my team- we’re finally getting along!”

“Ah, how fortunate!” he said. “I know how much this was weighing on your mind.”

“It was! But now, we’re getting along! We’re talking, we’re bonding, we’re becoming friends!”

“I am very happy for your success, though I do wonder how anyone was unable to resist your charm.”

Yuu lightly slapped his arm. “Aw, you’re so sweet.”

“But, if you are so close now, why are you out here alone?”

“Oh!” Yuu looked like they were remembering something. “Yeah, right! I’m trying to look for a specific plant. We decided to do our alchemy project together, because now we were getting along, but we’re having trouble finding one of the ingredients.”

They looked down at that statement. “I offered to come out here ‘cuz I knew these woods pretty well, and, uh,” they kicked the ground, “I didn’t wanna bring anyone else in case they scared you off.”

Tsunotaro felt… something odd in his chest.

They had been thinking of him. They had wanted to see him, just as he had wanted to see them.

Could this be a friend? Someone a little bit like him, to discuss thoughts he could not voice to his father or Silver?

“What is this plant’s name?” he asked.

Yuu shook their head. “Part of the test is that we’re supposed to figure that out based on its description. We’ve poured over what feels like every relevant book, but we’re totally lost.” They heaved a sigh of frustration. “It’s really rooted in the local culture, and all of us are from out of town.” They massaged their face, and through their fingers, looked at Tsunotaro. “Even though we’ve started to get along, we’re still having trouble making allies.”

Tsunotaro, knowing right away what to do, offered the crook of his arm.

Yuu eyed it warily.

“Fortunately,” he said with no small amount of amusement, “you are speaking to someone who has not only grown up in these woods, but has a well-used library and a father full of stories. Describe the plant to me, and we can look together.”

Yuu’s tension melted away as they stood up straight again, jumping up and locking arms with him.

“I knew I made the right decision coming out here.”

The pair began to make their way through the forest. “Tell me more of the clues you were given.”

“Well,” they began, “our professor offered this project to us instead of the final, and we’ve all heard his finals are legendarily awful. Trick questions, obscure answers- I heard once he did a character count on the fifth essay question.”

“That seems like it would be tortuous to grade.” Tsunotaro did not like this professor.

Yuu waved him off. “Before you go eating him, apparently he does have a reason. He’s required by school policy to give a final, but apparently he doesn’t think a written exam is a good way to measure learning. So he offers this- source and brew a series of potions- instead and hopes no one actually takes the exam.” They shrugged. “I think it’s a good idea, but we’ve been torturing ourselves over this plant for days, and we’re worried it’s about to go out of season.”

They walked jauntily with Tsunotaro, taking slow but wide steps to keep up with his gait. “So! We’ve already managed to figure out about half of the list so far. That still puts us somewhat behind the rest of the teams but at least we have something. The hints we got were- WOAH!”

The sudden flaps of the wings of an owl startled Yuu, unsurprisingly as Tsunotaro knew the owls here were particularly large.

His fears of Silver being eaten were not unfounded.

Yuu seemed to have been caught off guard, and Tsunotaro remembered they were apparently not from around here.

“Ah yes,” he said, “I do hope your heroic nature is not vanquished by a mere bird. It would be a shame to see such an enemy fell you so easily.”

Yuu’s head paused, and then turned slowly to give Tsunotaro a glare.

He roared in laughter, his best response at such an action, and Yuu laughed right alongside him.

“As I was saying,” they said, once every glance they shared didn’t send them into a fit of giggles, “we think this potion has something to do with rejoicing and dreams, and we know the leaves of the plant are deep green, glabrous, and cupped while the stem is hirsute, with trumpetlike flowers.”

“How do you know all this?”

“They told us. We get one piece of the description and a hint. It translated into ‘rejoice of dreams’. They’ve all been weird like that.”

Tsunotaro began to flip through his mind for clues. What could it be?

“It may be helpful to work backwards in this sense,” he said.

“How do you mean?”

“Do you know what kind of potion you are brewing?”

Yuu thought about it. After several seconds of deliberation, they looked up at Tsunotaro and shook their head.

“What other ingredients do you have, so far?”

“Hmm.” As they thought about it, Tsunotaro felt a nice, cool breeze brush through the forest, and he could see the air reenergize Yuu. “A drop of the light of a rainbow, a few ground up seashells, the discarded tail of a lizard…”

As Yuu rattled off ingredients, Tsunotaro closed his eyes and searched his memories for any potions that used those items. Though he favored fiction in general, his father had a decent collection of memoirs and more importantly, very interesting cooking books.

The seashells and the lizard’s tail seem to conflict with one another. Tsunotaro had read the cooking books cover to cover after a particularly vicious spell of boredom. The two ingredients were quite common and could be used for a number of potions, but were rarely used together as some of the desirable properties of lizard’s tail canceled out the remedial enhancement effects of the seashells.

He opened his eyes.

“Why are you searching now? Does it need to happen soon?”

“Oh!” Yuu gave him a look. “There was one more thing we thought might be a hint. In one of the books the hint pointed us to, one of the big themes was the ‘death of spring’. So we think it’s about to go out of season.”

A plant of that physical description, with those ingredients, and… “What did the riddle translate to?”

“‘Rejoice of dreams.’ Yuu paused. “Did you… Tsunotaro, did you figure it out?!”

“I do not wish to raise your hopes. But I think you are making a divination spell, one that specifically reveals visions to the ingester.”

Yuu stopped, and so Tsunotaro had to stop as well so he didn’t trip.

“Oh my goodness. I can’t believe it, you figured it out!” They looked at him with an expression of utter wonder lunged forward to hug him. “Thank you, thank you, I owe you one!”

“Do not thank me yet. I may be wrong, but given your hint, it’s a good place to start.”

“No!” They looked up at him, arms still wrapped around his body. “That makes sense, because the plant would have to be-”

“Mandrake, yes.” Then, Tsunotaro remembered something and grimaced. “Unfortunately, if we are right, we have another issue.”

Loosening, but not relinquishing their hug, Yuu asked, “What?”

“The mandrake flower is, in fact, seasonal to spring, and has already begun to die off for the year. It will be difficult to find a sample in good enough condition to use to brew.”

They finally let go at that, standing up slowly. “Oh no,” they breathed, “so we are too late.”

“I have seen some samples around, but that was a few days ago,” replied Tsunotaro. “I think there is a chance we may yet find some, but we cannot delay even another day.”

Yuu nodded, face set in determination. “So I can’t leave this forest today without a sample.”

“No,” said Tsunotaro, “we cannot.”

Yuu gave Tsunotaro a shy, nervous smile, as if finally realizing they could be as comfortable with him as he felt with them. “Then let’s get looking,” they said.

They searched for about an hour, Tsunotaro feeling Yuu’s anxiety rise as they went longer and longer without finding any samples. Still, they kept their spirits up, laughing and joking with Tsunotaro, until eventually-

“OH! Is this it? It looks like it could be it.”

Tsunotaro came to look at what Yuu had found, and indeed, it was a mandrake.

But it was quite wilted, the deep green leaves having lost most of their fullness and vibrancy. The amount of mandrake required in the recipe was somewhat flexible, but Tsunotaro knew that no herb in this condition would be suitable to brew with.

Yuu knew this as well, sitting up after inspecting the plant. “Alright. Let’s keep looking. If we found one, we can find another.”

Another painstaking half an hour went by without any luck. Yuu, despite their worry, never lost their enthusiasm, and Tsunotaro was so relieved, so happy to be able to call them over when he saw that glorious plant, sitting next to a creek.

With some very careful maneuvering, a very long series of objects tied to one another, and a quick detour for Tsunotaro to return home to collect some earplugs, they were able to extract the plant.

Mandrake in hand, Yuu said, “Thank you again,” to Tsunotaro as they walked slowly back to the part of the forest that led to NRC.

“But of course. It was my pleasure.”

Yuu seemed contemplative now that they had the plant. “So, what do you do most of the time? You can’t be helping everyone at my school find mandrakes.”

“In my free time, I read. But when I’m not free, I’m usually taking care of Silver or doing chores around the house.”

“Hmm. Have you ever wanted to do anything else?”

That was what he had asked his father a few weeks ago, after his and Yuu’s first meeting, had it not been?

“Sometimes,” he admitted, “but not in any serious capacity. I cannot say I dislike my life.”

Yuu looked at him out of the corner of their eye. “So, you’d never leave this life behind?”

“If I had a good reason,” he said, “I would.”

Yuu stopped.

“Well, this is me,” they said. “I guess I’ll see you soon?”

To Tsunotaro, that sounded like a prompt. Relieved at having another chance to see them, he asked, “Do you have free time next week?”

Yuu looked at him for a moment and thought about it. “I don’t think so, what about the week after? Tuesday?”

Tsunotaro nodded. “Then the date is set.”

Yuu threw their head back in laughter. “You gonna kiss my hand too?” they said, clearly amused.

He looked up, seeing Yuu’s expression and decided that was a wonderful idea. They shrieked in delight as he took their hand and kissed it, softly, like he remembered from the illustrations of his books.

Yuu pulled their hand away, saying, “I’ll see you next-next Tuesday.” And with that, they left.

From there, their friendship had only blossomed further. They had shared details of each other's life, their hopes, their dreams, the banalities of their days, and everything in between. For two years, they shared moments between the days of their lives, and grew closer and closer.

Yuu was even able to give Silver that sword lesson they had promised. He had nearly cried when they eventually had to leave, but Yuu promised to keep teaching him, and to come talk to them again when he had a bit more coordination. Since that day, Silver had asked a dozen times when they could go see Yuu again, eyes pleading. Tsunotaro would never admit it, but he felt the same way.

So when it happened- the event that would change the course of his life, he hardly saw it coming until the words were coming out of his father’s mouth.

It was the eve of his 22nd birthday. He thought his father had brought him down to discuss his birthday present. He thought they were going on a trip.

He had called Tsuntaro down after he had put Silver to bed. There was a single candle lit on the kitchen table, illuminating the room just enough so that Tsunotaro could see the grimace on his father’s face and the letter in his hand.

“Sit down, Tsunotaro.” His father’s voice was as serious as he had ever heard it. He rarely found a reason to take that tone with Tsunotaro.

After a moment, his father raised his hand to massage his forehead and let out a deep sigh. The grimace was etched deep into his face, the candlelight growing sharper as the sun set.

“I apologize,” he finally began, “for not explaining this to you sooner. I sincerely thought I had more time, and when the time ran out, I could not find the words to explain this.”

“It’s… alright,” said Tsunotaro.

He didn’t feel like it was alright. A sinking sense of dread was beginning to feel him, but he wanted to keep his father calm.

“Tsunotaro,” he said, “you were born as the Crown Prince of the Briar Valley. Your parents were the Prince and Crown Princess themselves, before they perished to the fearsome dragons that live in the mountains when you were only a baby.”

Tsunotaro didn’t fully understand the words being said to him. He heard them and could provide their definitions, but strung together, his brain could not process them. His father went on.

“The great wizard Rollo was able to defeat the dragons, but not in time to save your parents. The Queen, your grandmother, asked me to take you away and raise you in the forest, so as to protect you.”

Lilia shook his head. “But your grandmother has fallen very ill, and as the last member of the royal family, you must return and take your rightful throne in her steed.”

He let the silence hang in the air.

Tsunotaro slowly processed the information. He had just learned who his biological parents were at last, and that his grandmother was the famed queen he had learned so much about.

He thought back to his civics lessons with his father, hearing of all the ordinances passed by Her Majesty. Never once had he suspected they were related, even in his most distant daydreams.

And now her job was left to him. How was he to do all that? He knew of history, of court politics, of talking to people and befriending them. But he knew nothing of leading, let alone leading so many people.

His father had been close to the queen- his grandmother- and presumably had experience in manners such as this. Silver could grow up a prince, learning all the swordplay he liked.

And Yuu. As the new acting ruler, Tsunotaro would need to scout talent for his court. Perhaps they’d want to work for him- work with him, even. They had been practicing their leadership skills for as long as Tsunotaro had known them, and had demonstrated several times to him and to their school they had the spirit of a leader.

Maybe they’d even want to join him in a more intimate role, whispering not from behind the throne but beside him.

They hadn’t talked about it, but in these three years they had only grown closer and closer. The days between their visits had only fueled their feelings, and when they were together, they spent every moment glued to each other.

Tsuotaro could not be sure of Yuu’s feelings, but when he felt his heartbeat flutter as he looked at them, he thought that could be love.

Yes, with his family supporting him and with Yuu by his side, he was finally able to see a way of being king and doing it well.

“There is,” said his father slowly, “another thing I must mention.”

That sinking feeling was back again.

“The wizard Rollo, having helped Queen Malifica for so long, has demanded a prize.” He paused. “Your hand in marriage.”

…what?

No. No, this couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be… sold like cattle?!

“He has experience, and he is a skilled magician. He can protect you.” His father’s tone was even, but his lips curled in a way that said he was having trouble spitting out his own words.

“Can’t you,” Tsunotaro struggled to find his breath, “is that not a service you can provide?” He tried to keep his voice calm. Through the terror slowly filling his body, he could sense his father was not the final authority here.

His eyes fluttered closed as he gave a minute shake of his head. “Rollo, in the queen’s incapacitation, has assumed control of the crown. If you do not present yourself to the court and take it for yourself, he will surely wrench control in a more forceful way.”

He dragged a hand across his face. “If you are not delivered to the palace tomorrow, he will come and collect you regardless.”

Tsunotaro swallowed. “So, upon being made king, I have lost all of my freedoms? Just like that?”

“I am sorry, love,” said his father, “I am so, so sorry.” He sounded completely defeated.

But Tsunotaro wasn’t done. “There is nothing to be done? In one night, I am no longer a man, but a statue?”

His father sighed deeply. “There will be a carriage coming tomorrow morning. Go upstairs and pack your essentials. A few changes of clothes, toiletries, books for the journey.” At Tsunotaro’s pleading gaze, he held up his hand and continued. “This is not the end yet, but the consequences of failing to make an appearance at all would be disastrous.”

Tsunotaro was trembling. His father stepped forward to lay a hand on his shoulder, softly but firmly.

“Take a deep breath, Tsunotaro. I cannot promise anything, but we will figure this out together. That I can assure you of.”

He removed his hand. “Now go upstairs. Pack quickly. You will need every ounce of strength for tomorrow and the coming days.”

His father embraced him, wrapping him up tightly. Tsunotaro had long since outgrown his father, his own shoulders nearly as wide as the length of his father’s arms, but he hugged him tightly anyway.

“I love you,” he said. Tsunotaro felt his father’s arms relax, allowing Tsunotaro to push himself up and walk into his bedroom.

He tried to think as little as possible as he pulled out his one piece of luggage and began mindlessly stuffing clothes into it. If he thought any harder, he would have to think about how his entire life was going to end.

About how he was going to lose Yuu.

He was struck with the thought. Yuu. He had to see them, tonight. They had a date set for the day after tomorrow, Tsunotaro having anticipated his birthday celebration taking up too much of the actual day to have sufficient time to devote to one another.

Yuu had something planned. They had been acting oddly, failing to conceal their smile whenever he brought up the date.

In the past few years, they had brought him a little treat on every one of his birthdays. A little bag of madeleines, a palm-sized portrait of the sea, a tray of artfully made macarons. They wouldn’t tell him what they had gotten him this year, but they were excited. Tsunotaro could tell.

Now he’d never know. He’d never have another loving birthday, chained to a man he didn’t know but knew he could not love.

He tried not to think. He tried so hard to let the roar in his ears fill his mind, let the noise crowd out any thought of fear or sadness.

With a soft thump, his bag slipped between his fingers. He felt totally disconnected from his body. Behind him, the window was open to reveal the icy night sky.

He saw his hands move to his coat and shrug it on, completely of their own volition, as he slipped on his shoes and put his hands on the windowsill.

As hard as he could, he tried to stop thinking as he opened the window and breathed in air so cold it was forming ice crystals in his lungs. He put his heel on the edge of the frame and stared down the flowerbed sitting underneath him.

Turning slowly, devoid of feelings, memories or thoughts, he steadily moved himself on top of the windowsill before lowering himself slowly, trying to lower himself as close to the ground as he could before he would have to let go.

Carefully, he kicked off the wall to dodge the carefully tended flowers. He landed, and, with nothing more than the vague feeling of the coldest ice he’d ever felt on his cheeks and the full moon shining above him, his legs began to take him to the jagged shadow of the Night Raven College.

He kept his thoughts blank and empty, even leaving his hands out of his pocket so the icy pain would fill his mind, but when he eventually slipped them in, his mind began to warm up too.

The forest was beginning to clear as Tsunotaro saw the road up the hill. He’d never been this close, but Yuu had described their dorm many times before, and that it was the nearest to the main hall.

Yuu had also mentioned their promotion to dorm leader very excitedly one day. That was one of the best moments of Tsunotaro’s life, seeing Yuu finally cross a finish line they’ve been working at for so long.

The promotion had come with a change in rooms, and Yuu’s team had moved to the big suite of the dorm, Yuu themselves getting the master bedroom that included a king sized bed and a perfect view of the forest and the town.

Tsunotaro tried not to laugh. King sized.

He figured he could just find whatever room had the largest window and wake Yuu, and explain to them the situation.

Trying to dodge the other windows, he found what he was looking for after rounding the corner. The window was clear enough that Tsunotaro could see inside the room, decorated fancily with a canopy bed and a sofa. Around the room a few things were strewn about, like a throw blanket, a sword sheath and a uniform blazer. Tsunotaro, hiding the rest of his body behind the wall, noticed that Yuu themselves was not there.

Suddenly, the door opened. Tsunotaro shrunk away from the window as Yuu walked through the door, plate of macarons in hand.

Something about finally acknowledging his feelings had changed him, because seeing Yuu like this made his heart swell.

Yuu’s pajamas had made him realize he had only ever seen them in their uniform. He thought they had revealed quite a few sides of each other to one another, but Tsunotaro had never seen them like this. Soft, comfortable.

It made him want this forever.

The sentiment brought tears to his eyes. He knew now more than ever what he had to lose.

He hated to interrupt the moment but time was of the essence, the moon in the middle of the sky. Tsunotaro tapped on the glass and Yuu jumped, a macaron dropping from their plate as they looked at him with wide eyes.

They mouthed Tsunotaro? at the window, and put down their plate on the bed before coming to the window to open it.

“What are you doing here? Oh my goodness, get in here, it’s freezing!” Yuu hurried Tsunotaro in through the window, yelling in a whisper.

“Yuu,” he said, unheeding of their words, “I am so happy to see you.” After making his way in, he reached up to his face and wiped away a stray tear.

“I’m glad to see you too,” they said, “but why are you here? Is something wrong?”

The rush of emotions seemed to have gotten to Tsunotaro, and with a gasp, the tears flowed from his eyes.

Yuu reached up to brush them away. “You’re crying.”

The words tumbled out. “I’m getting married.”

Yuu’s hand jolted away. “What?!”

He took a deep breath. “I’m a prince, apparently. My grandmother is Queen Malifica.”

Something in Yuu’s eyes changed as they took a long look at him, searching his face.

“I’m engaged to the court wizard Rollo. Yuu, I cannot marry him.” He took Yuu’s hands into his own. “Because I love you. I know you feel the same, please help me.”

Yuu stared at him for a few moments in total silence. Then, before he really knew what was happening, Yuu’s hands let his own drop.

“I’m sorry Tsunotaro,” they said, “but I think you’ve gotten the wrong idea.”

Once again, Tsunotaro couldn’t understand what he was hearing.

“What?” he croaked out.

“I… I do care about you, Tsunotaro, but I am not in love with you. And I don’t think you’re in love with me either.”

“No.” He knew his heart. “No, I know what I feel, Yuu. Do not doubt my passion-”

“I’m not.” Yuu backed away. “I’m really not, but Tsunotaro… what you feel isn’t love.”

He was shocked. “How can you say that? How can you deny my feelings so?”

“Because I know what you’re feeling, and that’s not love.” Yuu’s hands were raised in the air before then. They kept backing up, slowly and steadily, and Tsunotaro kept following them.

“No,” he whispered, “no, this isn’t right.” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You would not have acted in that manner if you did not love me.”

Memories of their adventures played out in the eye of Tsunotaro’s mind. All of the secrets they had shared, the intimate moments they had experienced…

Could it truly have been solely one-sided?

Tsunotaro felt like he was being crushed. Surely, Yuu was only saying this out of fear, or some other external factor was preventing them from revealing their true feelings.

Like any hero he had read about, he would vanquish any foe standing in their way. He felt like nothing could stop him right now, no person or force.

But, as the moonlight betrayed a sheen in Yuu’s eyes, he realized there was no one to defeat.

“I do really care about you, Tsunotaro,” they said, voice wavering, “but I’m sorry. I don’t love you, and nothing will change that now.”

They ducked their head to wipe away a stray tear. Voice stiff, they said, “You should go with Rollo. He can protect you, and with him, you have a shot at love.”

Tsunotaro gasped as sobs began to wrack his body. Yuu looked away even further, trembling.

“I’m sorry to have brought you out here for nothing.”

He couldn’t move. Tsunotaro wanted to collapse right here on the ground, having lost all feeling in his body again.

He fell to his knees, begging the floor to swallow him up.

“Stay warm. Maybe someday we’ll see each other again.”

He put a hand over his mouth, trying to muffle his cries. Through the blur of his eyes, he could see Yuu clutching their arm.

“You should go now.” Yuu’s voice was creaking. “Goodbye.”

Despite their words, Yuu didn’t move. Tsunotaro wished for nothing more than for the floor to open up and devour him, to take him away to another world where this wasn’t happening.

There was nothing worse than this. He had spent so long reading love stories he couldn’t separate fiction from reality any longer.

Every piece of him protested against getting up off the ground. At least this way, he was still with Yuu somehow. But he had to go back.

Summoning every ounce of strength he had left, he pulled himself off the ground. He saw his tears fall to the ground, but looked up to see Yuu’s stone-still form.

They weren’t looking at him at all. He could barely see their face, the single sliver obscured in shadows. He ached for that single sliver regardless.

He couldn’t believe it. His own heart had betrayed him, entwining him so deeply with one person he would never have.

Tsunotaro didn’t know what would have been worse. To have gone without knowing, to have lived in ignorance with a single ember of hope, or what he was going through now, painfully aware that there was never any hope.

The only defense he had was total numbness. He crawled through the window, not daring to spare a glance back though he wanted to lest he start sobbing again.

His limbs were shaky, exhausted from the force of his sobs, but he stepped back out onto the grass without falling over.

He wanted to ask for one more hug. Or one kiss. He wanted to ask Yuu to kiss him once, and then tell him they never loved him.

But he didn’t want just one kiss.

The pain of his broken heart was purely mental, but it felt as horrific as any mortal wound. Every movement of his body aggravated the wound, and every heartbeat brought a fresh wave of pain.

So, focusing every part of his mind on that pain and nothing else, he let his legs carry him back home, not letting himself sob again until he was deep into the forest.

Somehow, he found his way home. The moonlight illuminated the top of his cottage, clear to see as the deep night stretched on.

Looking at his bedroom window, he knew he couldn’t jump from here or climb. He decided to go around to the front and enter as quietly as he could.

His father never locked the door. There usually wasn’t any reason to.

He crept in, door creaking. Tsunotaro knew he should watch his footsteps but his body felt so heavy, he couldn’t bring himself to care anymore than the bare minimum.

Walking up the stairs, he kicked off his shoes and threw down his coat. He curled up in on himself and wrapped a blanket around his body. Reaching for his pillow, he stuffed his mouth into the fabric before beginning to cry again, trying not to think about anything at all for as long as he could until exhaustion overtook him.

A noise downstairs woke him up.

His eyes felt glued shut, and his face felt dry. Despite his deep sleep, the faint light of the sky outside told him he hadn’t slept for very long.

He peeled himself off his bed, joints sore as he came undone from the odd position of his sleep.

His heart felt totally empty, like he had cried out every feeling in his body. His tongue stuck to his mouth, dehydrated, and he looked at his unpacked bag.

Something bumped downstairs.

Getting up, he peeked out his bedroom door to see what was happening.

There were a few people dressed in uniforms, standing in the doorway and in the living room. His father was standing in the living room as well, with a sour look on his face.

“Though I did not invite you to sit down, go right ahead and destroy my antiques,” he said, “and for your information, it’s hardly morning. He is likely still asleep.”

“Fetch him, then,” said one of the people Tsunotaro guessed were guards. She leaned back into the chair and crossed her legs. “The King’s orders were specific, and he will not tolerate any delays.”

His father’s face grew dark. “Such blasphemous talk will not be tolerated in my home. Our Queen is still alive, and our future sovereign has not yet been sworn in.

A man chuckled behind Lilia. “All in due time. Now, tell me, do you have any refreshments? I’d take a cup of tea, two sugars if you please.”

HIs father’s head snapped to the man. “This is not a hotel. If you are feeling peckish, you are more than welcome to leave,” he said, spitting out the word, “and find a restaurant in town. Though, as I mentioned before, it is currently so early in the morning I would be shocked if anything was open.”

“Cease your complaints,” said a third guard, leaning on a wall. “Wake the boy and fetch whatever luggage he has with him. We need to be off.”

His father scowled at the man, but he set off to grab Tsunotaro.

He darted from his position at the doorframe, and remembered he hadn’t packed much. He needed to decide whether or not to fake sleeping or to make himself busy packing. His eyes darted to the bed, but at the last second, decided to explain that the noises downstairs had woke him up, and that he’d fallen asleep in the middle of making his bag.

He grabbed the stack of books off his nightstand and threw them in, and was searching around for his little bottle of perfume his father had gotten him once when the door opened.

A knock. “Tsunotaro? Are you awake?”

His father’s voice was gentle and sweet. He walked through the door and said, “Oh, you’re awake already.”

He looked up from where he was crawling to fetch a little stuffed dragon from under his bed. “Yes,” he said on his second attempt, his throat incredibly scratchy. “I heard a noise downstairs and realized I’d fallen asleep packing.”

His father nodded. “The carriage is here, but take your time. Just pack your essentials, if you forget anything you want we can always send someone to fetch it.”

“I’m done, actually,” said Tsunotaro, placing his socks in his bag, “aside from my things in the bathroom.” Which was the truth. He’d like to bring this entire cottage with him, but as far as things that could only fit in his bag, his books and Silver were all he needed.

“Alright. Grab your coat and meet me downstairs.” Tsunotaro nodded, taking his coat as his father went to go downstairs.

Before he did that, however, he turned around and put his hand on Tsunotaro’s shoulder.

Squeezing, he said, “It’s going to be ok, Tsunotaro.” Without looking up from the floor, the taller man nodded.

His father wasn’t convinced. “You believe me?” Tsunotaro gave him a small nod. His father let go, and turned to go down the stairs.

Tsuontaro grabbed his hairbrush and toothbrush, trying not to catch his reflection in the mirror, shrugged on his coat, and left.

The imposing guards made him feel nauseous. They were so comfortable here, as if it was their birthright to invade his home and take him away.

A few of them looked up at him as he walked down the stairs, and their gazes made his skin crawl. They made no secret of their appraisal of him. He couldn’t tell if they were judging his looks, how this would be transformed into the future king, or if they were examining his body.

“Excellent.” The guard on the sofa stood up. “I’ll take you to the carriage, Your Highness.” She grabbed onto his arm.

“Tsunotaro. I need your help with Silver.” His father spoke up from the entrance to the nursery, now converted into his room.

“Aw, loosen up old man, I’m sure the prince can come hang out with us-” Before the guard could continue, his father marched over and yanked him free from her hold, dragging him over to Silver’s room.

He pulled him in with so much force, Tsunotaro could feel his rage. His father kicked the door but didn’t bother to shut it all the way.

Plonking Silver’s old diaper bag on a table, he said in a clipped tone, “Grab a few changes of clothes from the dresser and his toys off the floor, I’ll wake Silver. He won’t be happy.”

Tsunotaro opened the drawer and picked out some of Silver’s favorite clothes, along with his coat, hat and lumpy mittens Tsunotaro had knitted him.

After placing the clothes in the bag, he bent over to pick up his deer plushie, his little wooden horse, and his three little bird dolls, leaving the squirrel alone as Silver was clutching it in his sleep.

He saw his little sword next to the bed and packed it in with the rest of the things.

“Silver,” whispered his father, “it’s time to wake up.” Silver did not move, his sleep always as deep as a ravine.

“Tch. We don’t have time for this.” His father picked up Silver and wrapped him in his little blanket embroidered with the same three birds he had as dolls, and placed him over his shoulder. “Are you done?”

Tsunotaro nodded. “Take his bag, then, and let’s go.” They walked out of the nursery.

“A child? We’re not bringing a kid with us,” said one of the guards.

“We are not abandoning him here.” His father’s tone was in no mood for games, and he clutched Silver, who was beginning to stir.

“We don’t have time for this,” said a different guard. “Get in the carriage.” He proceeded to walk out the door, and the rest of the guards followed.

His father followed as well, and Tsunotaro trailed behind him. Outside, the sky was a thin blue, the sun not quite up yet, and the temperature was freezing.

“Daddy?” Silver’s voice was soft and sleepy. His father shushed him and stroked his back as he stepped into the carriage.

Tsunotaro took one last look at the cottage and stepped in. A guard tried to follow him.

“Excuse me, what are you doing?” his father asked.

“My job is to protect the heir. You understand.” The guard’s tone was gloating.

“I don’t, actually,” his father bit back, “there is hardly enough room for you here.”

He reached out to grab the suitcases, which is when Tsunotaro noticed that his father had apparently not packed anything.

The guard looked annoyed, but his father refused to budge. “You may ride on the outside. I can protect him just fine from here.”

Frustrated, he slammed a fist on the carriage and went to go side on the edge. His father reached out and closed the carriage door firmly, muttering about the audacity of some people.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to antagonize them, Father.” The slam had scared Tsunotaro, everything seeming louder in his frail state, feeling just as weak as he had a few hours ago.

“They’re spies,” his father replied, “the fewer chances they get to spy on us, the better. Now settle in, we have a long journey ahead of us, and you are right. We should try to speak to them as little as possible.” He slumped down into the seat as the carriage began on its journey, Silver trying to lie down on the rest of the bench.

Tsunotaro nodded, watching Silver use their father’s lap as a pillow.

“Now that we have a moment,” said his father, softly, “are you alright, Tsunotaro?”

He looked up at his dad. “Yes,” he said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

His father didn’t say anything for a long while. It had long since been Tsunotaro could recognize anything out the window before he finally replied, “Is this about your friend from the forest?”

He looked at his father with surprise and a flood of emotion, wanting desperately not to think about them of all people.

His father took his expression as a look of confirmation. “We will figure this out, Tsunotaro, I promise you. I-” He cut himself off. “I shouldn’t promise anything right now.” Sighing again, he said, “It’ll work out, somehow. Try to get some sleep.”

Tsunotaro nodded. Sleep sounded good right now.

Before his eyelids could shut, however, his father spoke up again. “Your parents-” Tsunotaro snapped fully awake.

“Your parents. They wanted to call you Malleus. That was your name, when you were born. In case anyone calls you that.”

Oh. Tsunotaro closed his eyes again, but snapped them open a moment later upon hearing his father call for him.

Or- not a moment later. The carriage had stopped and Silver was wide awake. In the window, he could see black stone.

“Daddy,” Silver was whining. Tsunotaro didn’t blame him, wanting to do quite a bit of whining himself.

“Let’s go, Tsunotaro. We have an audience with Rollo right away, so we can take care of the bureaucratic mixup.”

His father handed him his bag, and Tsunotaro tried to imagine what was about to happen.

He was about to meet his husband, possibly in the worst circumstances possible. Tsunotaro felt a faint pulse of pain and knew love was off the table for him, at least for any foreseeable future, but perhaps Rollo would be understanding. Maybe if he explained himself well enough, that he wasn’t ready for a relationship, let alone marriage, they could work something out.

They stepped out onto a stone pavilion, the afternoon sun shining down, and a handful of guards led them into the imposing castle.

Several long corridors and winding staircases later, they entered what looked like an empty throne room. Silver was asking what was happening, and their father was trying to quickly explain the situation in a way he would understand.

The guards stopped, but Tsunotaro kept looking around, trying to catch a glimpse of Rollo.

Through another entrance, another set of guards poured out, and in the middle was a man with a large hat. As the entourage approached, Tsuntotaro was able to get a better look at him.

He had gray hair, and was evidently some years older than Tsunotaro. His long robes made him feel like Rollo could be hiding anything in them, making Tsunotaro feel even more uncomfortable, if that was at all possible.

The guards parted, and out stepped who Tsunotaro presumed was Rollo.

“Hello,” he said. Tsunotaro noted his voice was surprisingly high, but his face had hardly moved to form the word. “It is nice to meet you all, though I wish it was under more amicable circumstances.” He gestured off to the side. “Lilia, can I offer you and your son a fresh room to retire to while we discuss business? Manon, Xiaobo, why don’t you take their bags.”

A guard moved to reach for the bag in his father’s hand but he moved it away and clutched it tightly. “I would rather stay here. We have many things to discuss.” Silver looked scared.

“Unfortunately, that will not be possible,” said Rollo. “Guards, take them to their room so they can settle in.

His father lunged forward but two guards stopped him with their swords. Silver screamed.

“Lilia, do not test my magnanimity.” A prick of anger was bleeding into Rollo’s voice, and he produced a handkerchief.

His father’s eyes darted between Rolo and Tsunotaro, not knowing what to do.

Tsunotaro nodded at him, trying to get him to back down.

“I will see you later, Father,” he said, “perhaps for dinner?” He looked at Rollo.

“Yes of course,” said Rollo, “now please leave.”

His father swallowed, defeated. He gave Tsunotaro one last look before allowing the guards to take them away to another part of the castle. Tsunotaro did not take his eyes off of them until they had left.

Once they were gone, Tsunotaro looked back at Rollo, who had put the handkerchief away. He gestured to the guards before turning on his heel and they began to walk as a group.

Tsuntaro caught up to Rollo’s side. “Rollo,” he said, “where are we going?” They were headed towards the same door Rollo had appeared from.

“There is a priest waiting for us,” he said, toneless. Despite this, a certain kind of mania had taken hold of him.

A vein was popping in his forehead and his hands at his sides were grabbing at nothing.

Tsunotaro had to speak up now. “Actually, that was something I wished to discuss with you. I do not know why you have asked to marry me, but I feel it prudent to express that I do not wish to marry you.”

Rollo’s eyebrow twitched. “And?” He began to walk a little faster.

And what? Rollo was intent on marrying Tsunotaro against his will? “And I ask that we perhaps delay the wedding, get to know each other.”

Rollo was unphased. “The Queen is ill,” was his only reply.

“I am aware,” replied Tsunotaro, “but that doesn’t mean we need to rush into this. I understand you have experience in politics and ruling that I do not have- I would welcome and in fact ask for any input you may have while I learn how to do this.”

They turned and entered a short hallway with a small staircase they descended, before exiting the castle altogether. Tsunotaro was shocked to see the night sky spilling out above him, and wanted to take a look, but a guard shoved him forward.

The courtyard they had entered was empty. Tsunotaro thought they might be behind the main castle, but it was unimportant as he saw a figure in a robe.

He realized this was his wedding.

It would be a lie to say he hadn’t envisioned it many times through the lens of planning his favorite characters’ ending, a thought he could admit to now that he felt his life as he’d known it was about to end. Tsunotaro had never been able to decide between cake or pie, black or white, roses or daisies. He had a beautiful veil picked out in his mind, dotted spiderweb lace, and after Yuu had mentioned how had hoped they’d have lemon tarts at their own wedding after Tsunotaro brought them to a date one day, envisioned the yellow treats alongside his courses of fish, stew, and roast pig.

They were still walking, away from the castle into a field. He had thought perhaps an outdoor wedding would be nice, but this was not what he had planned.

For some reason, this brought a new wave of pain.

They reached the man in the robes and stopped, the guard surrounding them. Rollo turned to face Tsunotaro and produced a gold band. He nodded to the priest, who began to speak.

“Rollo Flamm, do you take Malleus Draconia to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Tsunotaro didn’t like the bands. Not just because they had come from Rollo, but that didn’t help.

“I do.”

He had entertained something a bit fancier. Black, or perhaps silver with pearls? He usually favored dark colors, but something drew him back to silver and white.

“And you do, Prince Malleus Draconia, take Rollo Flamm to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

He had sketched out the idea, in the margins of the story he was writing. He had shown it to Yuu once.

“Your Highness?”

Yuu had loved it.

“No!”

Rollo and the priest looked at him in alarm

“Rollo, this is absurd. We don’t even know each other! Why must we do this so quickly?” pleaded Tsunotaro, clutching the gold band.

Rollo looked exceedingly bored with Tsunotaro. “There are important matters that must be decided upon very soon, things only I have experience with as the Queen’s right hand for so long. Without marrying, however, I cannot assume the throne.”

“There is no need to assume any throne!” protested Tsunotaro. “I promise, when I am crowned, I will allow such matters to fall to you. It can be in name only for a time until I am more prepared. I will even read your orders word by word! But please,” he said, thinking of his recent disaster in love, “I do not wish to do this.”

The priest didn’t seem to know what to say, but Rollo seemed to be gathering up the words.

His eyebrows furrowed, he gritted his teeth, and his eyes grew bigger as he said, very carefully, “I do not care for your protests, let me make myself clear.” Then, he lunged out to grab Tsunotaro’s wrist in a crushing grip. Pulling his fingers open, he shoved the ring onto his finger.”

“There. Cornélie,” he said, looking at the priest, “I have fulfilled the requirements. I trust we are married now.”

The priest Cornélie nodded hastily and scurried off. Tsunotaro tried to wrench his hand away but Rollo shoved him forward and threw him to the ground.

From the ground, Tsunotaro could see Rollo reach into his robes and produced an impossibly long staff, likely with magic as his hands were sparkling.

A different sort of fear took hold of him. Tsunotaro thought he had felt the lowest ends of the emotional spectrum, but the ice in his veins told him otherwise.

The exhaustion of the past half-day had finally taken its toll on him, however, and the feeling of terror did not translate into a burst of energy. So, just as he was digging his heels in to run, he was hit with a wave of exhaustion.

It gave Rollo more than enough time to strike him across the face, knocking him to the ground again. He attempted to get up on his arms, but by then, Rollo had gotten to him.

“Finally,” he said, “this kingdom and this world will be rid of you and your filth, once and for all.”

The shine of magic filled the air as Rollo’s staff sparkled. A great number of thoughts began running through his head.

He wanted to see Yuu again. Even if on opposite sides of a table. They were still his dearest friend, regardless of their lack of romantic affections for him. Tsunotaro still longed to spend the rest of his life with them, even if only platonically.

“When you wake again,” he said, having regained his even tone, “don’t panic.” Tsunotaro’s breath quickened as he saw the staff touch the tip of his forehead.

Immediately, the exhaustion he’d been trying to fight became an incredibly alluring song, lulling him to sleep. His eyelids suddenly felt as heavy as rocks, and his vision swayed.

“Or do,” said the fading image of Rollo. “Actually, that would be preferable.”

He tried so hard to keep fighting. To keep his eyes open, and see his dearly beloved father and brother. He longed so badly for his father, remembering being tucked in by him as a child. He longed to see Silver, to protect him even if only to shield him with his body, to preserve that infectious joy and solemn frown that was years more mature than the rest of him.

One sunny day, they had all gone out on a picnic in the woods. His father had bought bread and sweet treats in town, Tsunotaro had made a salad, and Silver had stirred fruit and flowers into the water.

They had eaten more than their fill and Silver had gone right to sleep, Tsunotaro taking the time to lie down next to him and just listen to him breathing. Eventually he too had fallen asleep, in the shadow of their father.

The frost sharpening the blades of grass were a poor substitute for that.

“Even now, your horrendous, disgusting, wicked power works to bend magic to its will, but rest assured, your sinful body will surrender to my righteous power.”

Tsunotaro closed his eyes.

Yuu had the creeping suspicion that, somehow, their story hadn’t started with them. Their point of view, however, was the only one they had.

They had grown up quietly- quiet town, quiet parents. They loved their mom and dad, carpenters by trade servicing their little town who also managed to keep a chicken coop and a big garden of herbs which they sold to the restaurant the next town over.

Though the majority of the inhabitants of the Briar Valley were fae, there was a significant portion of humans, many having emigrated from neighboring kingdoms. Humans were less common in the center of the Briar Valley, but on the outskirts, they were more prominent.

Yuu didn’t live in the Briar Valley themselves, but they lived close to the border, in the kingdom of Yumen and had thus learned much about it.

Everyone had heard the tale of the Thorn Witch Queen, after all.

She was the current head of the House of Draconia, the ruling family of the Briar Valley. Stated to be powerful beyond belief, an unparalleled mage and older than what should be, she was descended from the ancient dragon fae founders of the Briar Valley. Though long having lost most of their draconic traits, the family possessed a talent for powerful magic.

However, just a couple of years before Yuu had been born, the Crown Princess, the Queen’s daughter, and her son-in-law, were killed by rogue dragons that had attacked the pair on a short outing, mere months after their wedding.

The great magician Rollo, a human from Yumen and an advisor to the Queen, had managed to defeat the wicked dragons, but had not managed to save the royal couple. Thus, the Queen had gone into deep mourning, relying on Rollo to assist her in her duties after promoting him to Grand Advisor.

All of this had been relayed to Yuu in the form of a bedtime story, and had sparked Yuu’s original passion for heroism. They had imagined themselves in Rollo’s position, fighting the mighty dragons, and saving the royals, who would of course have been so grateful they would have made Yuu the captain of the royal guard.

These fantasies were all they had, however, because their real life was quite monotonous.

One day, when Yuu was still a young child, a team of heroes had rolled through town. The feral wolves that had been ravaging the town had been the most exciting thing in Yuu’s life up until this point.

The wolves were crazed, larger than normal with matted fur and wild eyes. They had stuck to picking off livestock, despite leaving the poor animals’ corpses in gruesome shape. Yuu and the other children hadn’t been allowed out of their houses in days, and the adults of the town made sure to travel in groups with sharp implements.

They had called for someone to take care of the animals, preferably magicians as the wolves were believed to be cursed, and so five days after the wolves had come, the team was here.

It was made up of students from the Night Raven College, a school that teaches talented individuals to be heroes, harnessing their skills to protect the world.

Yuu’s family had offered to host the team of three, and so they had gotten a very close glimpse into this life.

The team had been a basic one- a healer, a swordsman, and a bowman. All three were mages as well, the swordsman able to poison her sword and the bowman able to light his arrows on fire.

They had arrived at noon, and so had decided to rest in anticipation of fighting late into the night. Yuu wasn’t supposed to bother them, but had creeped down to the guest room, trying to get a glimpse of their weapons.

The door was ajar, and so Yuu carefully peered in, trying not to step on any creaky floorboards.

Inside, the healer and bowman were asleep on the guest beds, but the swordsman was sitting on the floor, polishing their sword with oil.

Yuu looked at the sword, gazing at its shininess, but when they looked up, they saw the swordsman looking up at them and smiling.

Startled, Yuu turned to run, but the swordsman put a finger to their lips and stood up quietly.

They walked over to the door. “You wanna see?” they whispered quietly, holding their sword.

Yuu nodded wordlessly, and the swordsman tilted the sword to let Yuu touch the blade while holding onto the handle.

Heart beating quickly, they carefully let their fingertips graze the shiny metal. They looked at the sword with wonder, unable to believe what power it held.

“C’mon,” whispered the swordsman, prompting Yuu to look up. They moved past Yuu into the hallway and waved them over to the backdoor. “You wanna learn a few tricks?”

Yuu nodded and they exited the house quietly. Outside, the sun was bright, and Yuu looked to the swordsman for direction.

“Ok,” said the swordsman, a little louder. “I know you’re a bit young, but you should be able to hold this sword. Here,” the swordsman crouched and gave Yuu part of the handle to hold. She looked at Yuu. “Grip it firmly, but not too hard. Make sure you’re always aware of it.” They nodded, able to tell her grip was sturdy and confident.

The swordsman let go of the handle, and Yuu’s arm wobbled a bit under the weight. “Yeah, it takes some getting used to and a lot of training. Use your shoulder to keep your arm straight- I know it hurts.”

It did hurt- but Yuu furrowed their brow and focused all their energy on making sure the sword didn’t fall.

“Move your thumb a bit that way, wrap your fingers- yeah, you got it.” The swordsman’s tone of pride made Yuu smile.

“Excellent,” she said after a moment, taking the sword. “Now, we’re gonna practice swinging. Let me show you first.”

She stood in front of Yuu and backed up, taking a swing. Turning around, she swung again, blonde hair swishing a bit.

Yuu watched both movements with a fiery intensity. They observed how the muscles in the swordsman’s arm rippled, how their wrist snapped, and where the point of the sword went as the blade swung through the air.

It was just as thrilling as they had always imagined.

“Your turn.” The swordsman turned around, and handed them the sword. Yuu felt the heaviness weigh against them, and the tips they had just learned kicked back in to keep the blade steady.

Once it was safely in Yuu’s hand again, she backed up, and crossed her arms to take a look.

Yuu felt nervous, worried about disappointing the swordsman, but they steeled themselves and took a swing anyway.

She clapped. “Good! That was great! Try it again!”

They stepped back and raised the sword, a bit higher this time, and swung harder.

The swordsman clapped even harder. “Wow! You’re doing great! Let me show you a few more tricks.”

For the next half hour, they ran through a few basic drills, and at the end, the swordsman asked Yuu to go through everything they’d been taught.

Swing, thrust, shield up, shield down, sidestep, and all the while, Yuu could feel the swordsman’s hard gaze analyzing them. They were starting to feel the workout, but kept their form strong as they tried to recall everything they had learned.

Finally, they were done, and they could feel the sweat dripping. They took a few deep breaths and looked over at the swordsman’s inscrutable look.

After a long pause, she stood up.

“You know,” she said, making her way closer to Yuu, “you’ve got talent. A lot of talent. You take instruction well, you pay attention, and you’ve just got… something.”

They was astounded by what they were hearing. They had talent? Good enough that someone else had noticed?

“You know my school, right?”

“Night Raven College?” said Yuu. She nodded.

“There’s merit-based scholarships,” they said. “Ask your parents if it would be possible to get you a tutor.”

Yuu’s eyes widened. This was like a dream come true, the chance to be a real adventurer and find their destiny.

She reached down and ruffled their head. “But that’s not everything being a hero’s about. Your talent’ll count for nothing if you’re not using it to make the world a better place.”

The swordsman sighed wistfully. “A lot of people at my school, they’re doing this to learn, to improve themselves. They’re not all trying to be adventurers, they’re just doing it for the education.”

She shook her head. “Which is fine, obviously, that’s not a bad thing. But there are people who get to the top and change, they become cruel and callous. The people they help are just numbers and the skills they accumulate are just trophies. They save people, but only when they have-” She gestured with her hands. “I’m having trouble articulating myself. The point is, Yuu, you’ve got a lot of raw talent. I may be the first person to notice that but I might not be the last. Remember that, ok?”

“I will,” they said, meaning it as hard as they could.

The swordsman smiled. “I gotta get to bed. Best of luck.” She went back inside and Yuu followed, each returning to their own rooms.

That night, way past Yuu’s bedtime, they watched the party defeat the wolves from their window with ease, able to weaken the malevolent spirits holding them enough to lift their curse. The healer patched them up, and with a few scratches behind their ears, the wolves returned to the forest.

Yuu had watched the whole thing in wonder, imagining themselves down there, fighting and jumping around. The next morning, when the adventurers gave the mayor the report that they were all safe again, Yuu was fighting their sleepiness while trying to formulate a way to ask their parents for the chance to be trained.

Between yawns, the swordsman gave Yuu a small wink before they all departed.

Yuu managed to make a deal with their parents. They would find them a book on swordplay, and Yuu was to show they had the discipline to become an apprentice by keeping a routine of exercises in the early mornings and late nights while maintaining their grades. In exchange, Yuu’s mother would ask an old friend of hers to come to their village and live with them, to give them some more focused training.

For a year, Yuu threw themselves into the task, waking up exhausted from the exercises and studying done the night before, and would throw themselves down on the bed every night like a rock.

They still found time to read a bit, chasing dramatic stories with daring sword fights and codes of honor versus the freedom of vigilantism, and it was these bits that kept them going through long days and shorter nights. It was also these stories that cut into their training time, usually only finding the energy at the end of the day when they should have been sleeping.

Yuu was not the perfect student, but though their discipline could have used work, their spirit and dedication were evident, and so Yuu’s mother’s friend was contacted.

She would respond with enthusiasm, delighted at the opportunity to train a young hopeful of ten now, but it had taken some time to make her way from her reclusive residence to Yuu’s family home.

The family friend would take up board with Yuu’s family two weeks after Yuu’s eleventh birthday, spindly limbs and sly smile wrapped up in a long cloak.

“Thank you,” she had said in a slow, sleepy voice after Yuu had greeted her. “I am excited to have such a dedicated protégé.”

Her specialty was not in swordplay, she had explained, but she had worked alongside many a swordsman in her past, and had helped train quite a few of them. She was a mage, she explained, and Yuu would need magical skills to sit for the NRC’s entrance exams.

So for the next four years, that was their life. Working, studying, training. Books from faraway were ordered for Yuu, and the mysterious mage guided them in their journey.

In their little town, they’d become somewhat of a novelty, people having noticed the occasional out of town package. Slowly, their town began to root for them. The baker wished them luck by packing in one extra dinner roll with their daily order at the beginning of the week. The blacksmith had them test experimental forges of swords, meant to be of higher quality, for a reduced price. Even the tailor, who had connections from out of town, offered up bits of gossip he had received from his daughter-in-law about the happenings of heroes.

One day, the mage who had come to town announced their departure.

“But I’ve just booked my dates for the exams!” said a fifteen-year old Yuu. “I still need your help!”

“You do not,” she said, “though you may yet desire it. If you never learn to fly on your own, however, it will do you no favors later.”

“Besides,” she had said with a small smile, “it is my time now.”

Yuu gasped. “Are you dying?!”

She let out a laugh at that. “No, my child, but I must go regardless. We may meet again, but I can no longer help you.”

The woman packed up her things with Yuu’s help, and set off one icy morning, Yuu watching her go until she was little more than a speck in the horizon.

They still had the rest of the town, however, and for that they were grateful. So when they finally went off to the capital to sit for their exams, returned, and waited for four weeks while results were processed and mailed, the town was eager to know whether or not Yuu had passed.

Everyone had heard them shouting, in the kitchen where some closer friends had gathered, and through the open windows where people made sure to be passing by at the appropriate hour.

The town had celebrated, the joy of sending one of their own off to such a prestigious school was cause for celebration. Everyone contributed to a great party, and Yuu’s parents could not express their pride enough times.

Yuu felt so happy, proud to represent their village, and elated at having fulfilled such a long goal.

The next spring, they packed up their belongings and were given a dramatic farewell as the entire town gathered to see them off, as they had to see the old mage. They traveled to the school with their parents, unloaded their things into their living quarters, and eventually gave them a tearful goodbye.

Finally, they thought to themselves in the empty suite, as they had been the first of their team to arrive. This was the beginning of the rest of their life.

Despite Yuu’s confidence, however, this was not meant to be as simple as they had hoped.

They were to live with four other first years, making them a group of unprecedented size due to a high level of enrollment and issues securing suitable housing. The other members of Yuu’s group were Deuce, the next person to arrive, who came with one woman Yuu had an easy time chatting with but who was harder to crack himself, Jack, who came with a lively family, Ace, who had come with his father and elder brother, neither of whom spoke much, and Epel, who had come with no one and, upon finishing moving in, had shut himself in his room to begin crying.

Yuu could tell the other group members weren’t mean. The other students who whispered to them in the halls and stole their notebooks were mean, but to Yuu it was quite obvious that their fellow teammates were just horrifically homesick.

From the little they’d all spoken, Yuu had been able to ascertain that their day journey by horse-drawn carriage had been nothing in the face of Deuce’s two weeks of travel, or Ace’s boat ride down the river, or even Epel’s and Jack’s ship ride across the sea.

Epel and Jack were so far away, in fact, that they wouldn’t be going home for any of the holidays the entire four years they would spend here, because by the time they got back they’d have just enough time to return. This fact was relayed to Yuu quietly by Epel, before he burst into tears and ran off again.

Yuu had managed to get all of this out of them by the time the first month of school had finished, but by the end of their first quarter, they had scarcely made any more progress save for swapping tips on how to keep their books intact from the occasional but highly destructive pranks the upperclassmen liked to pull on them.

This was a particularly dire situation, given the announcement of the Ring.

The Ring was a competition that had been announced by the magician Rollo himself, having given their entrance speech as a special guest. Organized by Rollo and the King of Yumen, the students of Night Raven would be allowed to form teams within the students to compete in matches against each other.

Matches would be held monthly, beginning two months after the start of the school year. Teams would compete within their years, and those who had accrued the most points would receive further training from Rollo after graduation.

In this training, the teams would be allowed to enter the real Ring, being sent out as heroes across the lands and proving their worth to ascend to the Yumen throne.

It was the chance of a lifetime- but given the shape of Yuu’s team, it seemed unlikely to happen.

The only bit of progress Yuu had managed to make was getting everyone to agree to do Professor Crewel’s potion final as a group, which they were allowed to do as the odd rules of this school permitted.

Now that I think about it, thought Yuu, this school had some very interesting methods of grade assignment.

At the beginning of your freshman year, one would be assigned a group of students to work with. It was expected that you at least learn to work with your group, as you would be sharing communal areas as well as group projects and assignments for the next four years.

The ability to get along with one’s teammates was quite variable, however. Some people loved each other, some hated each other, and some would merely be coworkers.

But Yuu didn’t think anyone else was facing a situation quite like theirs, where their teammates just refused to cooperate.

Their homesickness was impeding any efforts at working together, as most of the time when they weren’t forced out for class, they would spend in their rooms. On some days, Yuu could even see their bloodshot eyes.

Yuu was frustrated, not knowing how to help them.

They had known what they were signing up for, right? They weren’t unsympathetic, but couldn’t they try a bit harder?

Yuu didn’t like to admit it, but their patience had worn thin quickly. Yuu had tried, being cheery, even when they were tired, greeting them when they came back, trying to encourage them all to leave together. The team didn’t all have the exact same schedule but shared quite a few periods, but even then, nothing.

None of them spoke to each other now except for the absolute bare minimum, Yuu out of resentment and everyone else out of sadness. They had been hoping the team’s very first assignment, a basic patrol in the nearby woods, would have been able to prompt them closer, but no luck, and now, four days into the assignment, Yuu was resigned to giving up and totally ignoring them as hard as possible for the next four years.

Now, standing in this forest, fired up and angry about how in the world they’d gotten here, Yuu perked up, hearing a shout in the distance.

Yuu stopped. Their teammates weren’t near, and they wanted to make sure to know what direction to run in. They heard the shout again, coming from their left, and took off.

They felt excited, a tiny bit of happiness filling them after weeks of disappointment. This was what they’d worked so hard to do, to be a hero and to get to save people.

They heard a shout again and ran faster, wanting so badly to help. They found-

A man.

That’s the first thing that registered in their brain as they looked at the stranger standing in the woods.

He was quite tall, even without the prominent horns spiraling out the sides of his head. His ears were pointed, and he had a black mop of hair contrasting his paleish skin.

A tall, handsome man, thought Yuu.

Before Yuu could think, they opened their mouth to speak, but the man was already-

“Silver?!”

“Hello!”

“AH!”

The man shrieked upon hearing Yuu, who instantly felt bad. I thought he had heard me.

“I’m so sorry!” they said. “I didn’t mean to scare you!”

The man didn’t say anything. Yuu could see him breathing, his chest heaving quickly, and that was when they locked eyes, freezing Yuu in place.

Bright green with slitted pupils, framed by long, impossibly full lashes, roved over Yuu, assessing whether or not they were a threat.

They didn’t want to break his gaze, for fear of scaring him off, but they couldn’t have if they had wanted to.

“Who are you?” He finally said. His voice was deep and rich, slightly hypnotic.

“My name is Yuu,” they said, the tone of his voice shaking them out of their trance. “I’m a student from Night Raven, but I got separated from my group.” Their words were breathy but true. The stranger didn’t look like he was from the school, or from the nearby town that Night Raven was next too. That meant Yuu’s wandering had taken them much further into the forest than they had noticed, which wasn’t good. They needed to return back to the school soon.

Still, they should have enough time to be helpful. “Are you looking for someone?”

“I’ve lost my younger brother, Silver,” he said carefully, wetting his lips. “Have you seen a young boy running around?”

Yuu shook their head. “No, I’m sorry,” they said, the man’s face falling, “but I can help you look!” they quickly offered. “How old is he?”

“He’s only two.” The man seemed distressed.

“Ok, where did you see him last?”

He pointed to a sunny patch some distance away with a basket full of berries fallen over on its side.

“Right there. I only looked away for a moment.”

“Gotcha,” said Yuu, forming a plan. If the kid was so young and hadn’t had any help, he had to be around here somewhere. He couldn’t have made it far on those short little legs.

A kid would be pretty distinctive against the green foliage, and that big tree over there seemed like it would be easy to climb. Without hesitation, they began to climb.

Making it to the top, they had a better view of the forest floor. “Alright! I should be able to get a good view from here.”

“Be careful!” shouted the man up to Yuu.

They began to scan the forest, looking around for anything out of the ordinary.

A flash of silver hair caught the light and Yuu’s eye. “I think I see him! I see a head of silver over there!”

Yuu assumed that was the kid, living up to his namesake, and pointed where they had seen him. The stranger took off right away, and Yuu saw him sprint to the child and scoop him up.

The stranger kissed Silver on the cheek, who giggled and smiled. It warmed Yuu’s heart as they carefully made their way down the tree.

They didn’t want to interrupt, however, but also didn’t want to just leave without a word. So they stood there for a moment and let them hug before Silver saw them.

He hid his face in the stranger’s cloak, but was apparently conflicted on what he should do as he kept eye contact.

The stranger looked at them as well with an unreadable expression.

Wanting to be polite without being creepy, Yuu said, “Is that Silver? Hi, I’m Yuu.” They got a bit closer and waved at the child.

Yuu was given a very hesitant, “Hi,” as their heart melted.

None of them said anything for a few moments, prompting Yuu to say, “Well, I guess my job here is done. It was nice to meet you guys, but I gotta head back to my-”

“Sword?” said the boy curiously, eyes trained on the sword strapped to Yuu’s side.

The sword was school-issued. Yuu had their own sword back in their dorm room, but this one was sturdy, and the school would pay for any sharpening and repairs.

“Yeah!” Said Yuu. "It’s my sword. Well, it's on loan from the school but I’ll probably get to keep it.” NRC offered a buyback program. “You wanna see?”

Silver looked entranced, and so Yuu unbuckled their scabbard and held it up to Silver.

He laughed a bit, and tried to reach out for the handle. He couldn’t quite reach, however, forcing him to pause and look up to ask, “Can I hold?”

Yuu was instantly swayed by how adorable he was and said, “Sure!” They moved to hold out the handle, but, remembering very weary his older brother, looked at him and asked, “Oh, if that’s ok with you.”

His piercing gaze struck through Yuu, and his eyes squinted, but he cautiously replied, “We do not wish to trouble you.”

“Oh, no worries!” said Yuu excitedly. “This might be part of my job in the future, anyway.” They held up the hilt to Silver, allowing his hand to grab it as hard as he could.

“YUU!” Yuu heard Ace’s voice faintly.

“Shoot! That’s my team!” They looked at Silver. “Ok, I need my sword back now, but if I ever see you around, I’ll teach you some tricks, ok?”

Silver understood and let go, allowing Yuu to put on the sword again. “Bye,” said the soft little voice of Silver.

“It was nice to meet you guys, see you soon!” In the distance, Ace shouted again, and they waved behind themselves before beginning to jog to him.

“Yuu! Finally.” Yuu had caught up to Ace, who was standing around with the rest of their team. “We were just reviewing what we’d all seen. Did you find anything?”

“No, just-” They stopped before mentioning the man and his brother, remembering they didn’t want to talk to their team a minute longer than they had to. “No.” They finished.

Oh. Yuu realized they hadn’t caught their mystery man’s name, which was somewhat disappointing.

Without another word, they headed out for the main hall to report back what they’d seen, in dead silence.

The annoyance was setting in for Yuu again as no one even attempted to speak up. Epel’s teary eyes made contact with Yuu, who tried to hide their eye roll.

Epel looked away suddenly.

Yuu’s thoughts on the journey back were consumed with the handsome stranger. He had a sort of ethereal beauty about him, with his doe-like eyes and tendrils of hair, a being that graced you with its presence and not the other way around.

They gave their report to their professor without feeling, and so the team was allowed to return home for the day with the instruction to repeat their task the next day. They had been doing this the entire week, as Professor Crewel had ordered, as they needed to get a feel for the kind of work they might be doing in the future. Thankfully, the next day was Friday, meaning this expedition would be the last and would likely be more relaxed.

That night, after taking their bath and getting ready for bed, Yuu pondered the mystery man as they drank a glass of water in the communal space. Well, he was clearly fae, given his pointed ears. And those horns- they reminded Yuu of something, but they didn’t know what.

Deuce walked by them to his room. Yuu made no effort to wipe their sour look off their face.

Thinking back to the mystery man, he had been quite skittish, yet imposing, as if not content to let the unknown intimidate him. Yuu was fascinated, but felt awkward admitting an attraction after only having seen him once, for a few minutes.

These thoughts plagued them into the night, but Yuu preferred them to tossing and turning with frustration at their mediocre team.

Speaking of tossing and turning, Yuu was ready to collapse after their long day. After the woods, they had studying and then evening exercises to run through.

In the darkness, they flopped onto the bed… only to feel a sickening splat.

Yuu was hit with a surge of anger, tears springing into their eyes. They could not handle doing one more thing today, and pondered sleeping in the mess.

It would be awful for their skin, however, not to mention the smell, and they weren’t sure they’d be able to scrub it off of themselves (let alone the sheets) if they gave it so much time to set.

They gave themselves one more moment to pretend that this wasn’t happening, to close their eyes and relax.

Yuu pushed themselves up unsteadily, trying to work out how to go through the next few tasks as quickly as possible so they could sleep. The lock to their suite had been picked again and their classmates had slathered their top sheet in curds and whey.

In the darkness, Yuu decided that since no one could see them cry, it was alright to let out a few sobs.

The next day before class, they set out on their final exercise for the week, as wordless as ever. Everyone had gone over their sections four times before this, and so Yuu decided to deviate somewhat and take a scenic route, vainly hoping the stranger would be there.

And in one tiny stroke of luck, he was.

Following the sound of a gushing river, Yuu found him lying on his stomach, legs in the air, reading a book from a stack he had before him, and feeling a rush of emotion at seeing one person who Yuu wasn’t mad at.

Before they could think, they said, “Hey!” startling the stranger.

Crap. They had to stop doing that.

He looked up at them, and Yuu felt themselves smile. “It’s nice to see you again,” they said, meaning it wholeheartedly. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

Wordlessly, he motioned slightly in front of himself, and Yuu sat down again before thinking. “Excellent.” Shrugging off their jacket, they crawled over to the river and scooped up some water to drink. The day had been hot, and the pains of the week were catching up to them.

They drank a handful, and then another, and then another, all with deep satisfaction. The cold water felt good against the stifling heat of the day, and they drank every drop gratefully.

Cupping another handful, they splashed this one onto their neck, feeling the water cool their overheated skin. They slapped their cool hands against their cheeks and sighed.

“That feels good. This heat is killing me,” they breathed out, slumping slightly. Their eyes closed as they felt the bliss of rejuvenation wash over them.

“Is your work difficult?”

Yuu looked over at the stranger, surprised to hear him speaking. He had seemed quite engrossed with his book.

“I don’t know,” they said, shoulders dropping, “it's just that we’re paired in teams and I’m having trouble getting along with them.”

The stranger sat up. Yuu had apparently piqued his interest. “Are they difficult?”

Yuu gave him a slight laugh, then thought about it.

They could be hard to work with. But Yuu didn’t want to label them and give off the wrong impression, even to a stranger. Plus, it seemed kind of unprofessional to badmouth their teammates.

“Not quite. They can be a bit eccentric,” thought Yuu, thinking in particular of Deuce’s demeanor, “but…” They didn’t know how to finish that sentence.

“But what?” he pressed.

They paused to give themselves time to formulate their answer.

“You’d think all of us being outcasts would make us wanna band together,” started Yuu, “but they’re all so homesick they can barely see past their pain to try.” At least, that’s what Yuu thought was happening.

The stranger’s eyes widened. “Homesick? Are you all from far away?”

“Yeah, I mean everyone else is. I’m only two days away, in Yumen.”

“Yumen,” said the stranger. “And do you find the Briar Valley to be quite different?”

“In a couple of areas. The buildings are different, obviously, but the food’s actually pretty similar. That’s been comforting. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since I’m kind of close to the border, but everyone else is from much farther away.”

“Such as where?”

Yuu looked over at the stranger. His eyes were wide, and he was leaning in, clearly interested.

“Well,” they said, pleased to have caught his attention, “there are two from Pyroxene and two others from the Rose Kingdom. None of them knew each other before coming here, though. They didn’t live close enough.”

“Fascinating,” said the stranger quietly. “But you have not had any opportunity to exchange details of your lives?”

“Nope.” Once again, Yuu was struck with a pinprick of annoyance at their situation and teammates.

“That is disappointing,” he said, “as I had hoped to hear some stories from far away. I have never left the Briar Valley myself, and have not seen most of it.”

Yuu looked at him curiously. “Really? I’ve heard it’s all so beautiful.”

“I have as well, but my father is weary of venturing out too far from our home.”

Yuu wondered if that was why he had initially been so apprehensive of them, and why he was so enthralled by them now.

“Well, it’s definitely not my fault I have nothing to tell you. No one wants to share anything with anyone in that group,” huffed Yuu.

“Oh?” asked the stranger cautiously.

“Yeah,” they said, irritation bleeding into their voice, “it’s like they don’t even want to try.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Perhaps,” he said cautiously, “as the one who is not homesick, you could reach out to them first?”

Yuu’s brow furrowed. “I have! I tried talking to them! Kind of!”

They felt a warm hand on their arm. “I apologize,” the stranger said softly, “I did not mean to imply you had not. I may be wrong, then, and they are truly too obstinate to hear words of encouragement.”

Yuu sighed. “I don’t think it’s that, it’s just…” This was kind of embarrassing to admit to a stranger. “I always wanted to be a hero. To save people and do great things, and I thought this would be the first step, but if I can’t even do this, how will I ever get there?” they shrugged.

“It’s not even all their fault,” they continued. “Some of the people there can be so mean. I have no idea why, but they pull these awful pranks on us all the time. Even if they weren’t so far from home, it hasn’t been easy.”

“Well, the only way to be the hero of your own story is to act like one, I suppose,” said the stranger after a long pause.

Yuu blinked.

‘The swordsman had said something to me like that so long ago, hadn’t she?’ thought Yuu.

Cocking their head, Yuu asked, “What’s your name?”

“Me?” he asked. “Of course. I am Tsunotaro,” he said with a flourish of his arm.

…Wow. He’s a real character.

“You make a good point, Tsunotaro.” Yuu had never heard a name like that before. “Guess all those books paid off, huh? What are you reading now?” They looked around to try and see the cover of Tsunotaro’s book.

“It’s an older one of mine,” he said. “I read it quite a few times when I was younger, but I haven’t touched it in some time now, so it feels newer to me, unlike many of the other books I own.”

The day was so nice and the air was finally a reasonable temperature. Yuu took the opportunity to lie down in the long grass, feeling it as comfortable as their own mattress. “You like reading, huh?” Tsunotaro nodded. “I wish I read more. But there always seems to be so many things to do the day.”

He looked at them with hesitation, Lightly wetting his lips, he said, “If you’d like, I could read to you.” Tsunotaro eyed them carefully.

Their own lips twitched. “Oh?” they said with a slight lilt. “I’d hate to interrupt your solitude.”

“It is no trouble. What would you like to read?”

Closing their eyes, savoring the softness of the grass, they said, “I’m down for anything. Whatever you’re reading now sounded good, though.”

Tsunotaro cleared his throat and began. “In a land of mystery and magic, a young hero’s first thought was, ‘This was not where I laid my head last’...”

His voice, rich with feeling, read every word so that Yuu couldn’t help but hang onto each one. He read the story of the blank hero with such passion that Yuu was enthralled.

Still, it didn’t stop them from making a little comment here and there about the eclectic cast of characters.

Especially with this one guy the main character kept meeting. Yuu couldn’t recall his name, but he seemed lordy, and a bit stuck up.

“‘‘For as doe-eyed as you look, you’re quite the schemer.’, he said.’”

Yuu snorted.

He stopped. “Do you have something to say?” he said, a bit coldly.

“Hm? No, keep going,” they said. They were invested now.

“If you have an opinion to share, I would be interested in hearing it.” Tsunotaro was toneless.

Yuu didn’t want to start anything, but they could tell something had struck a nerve. “No, no! It’s fine.”

“It’s. Fine?” He delivered each clipped word through what seemed little gritted teeth .

Yuu assessed poking this further, desperately wanting to make a friend. Would he be more offended by Yuu’s refusal or their willingness to share?

“Well,” they said, deciding to go for it, “if you really must know-”

“I do.” Tsunotaro was not messing around. Yuu suddenly thought the entire situation humorous, and let out a laugh, opening their eyes.

“I just think that this guy-”

“Pogona.” Pogona! Now Yuu remembered.

“Right. He’s kinda shady.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, drawing out the word, he said, “Shady?”

“Yeah, there’s something about him I don’t like.”

Tsunotaro tried not to glare. “Oh? Would you care to elaborate?”

“Hmm.” What had bothered them about… Pagona? “He seems to be just… amused with the protagonist? But in a patronizing way, like they’re his pet.”

“If I may interject, I disagree wholeheartedly. I believe a more correct interpretation is that, while his amusement may be somewhat at their expense, it is primarily because he finds their tenacity in solving this unique problem fascinating.” He said his peace quickly. It was crystal clear to Yuu how much this meant to him, but they still weren’t convinced.

“That’s some subtext you’re reading.”

“I apologize,” he said after a moment, taking a breath, “this subject tends to bring out-”

“Oh, no, don’t apologize! You’ve clearly thought about this.” Also, it was the funniest thing they had heard in a while.

“I have.”

“Now, go on, I wanna know what he’s hiding.” Wait. “Is he the villain?!”

“No!”

Just as they were thinking that the character of Doplo Carroll was so suave but perhaps needed to be less obvious of a sleeper villain, they remembered their own group’s crazy antics and stood up.

“What time is it?”

Tsunotaro looked up at the sky. “It’s at least late afternoon.”

Oh no, oh no. “Oh no!” They stood up and brushed themselves off. “I gotta go now. I’ll see you later?”

“I await our next meeting with enthusiasm,” he said with as much feeling as he put into everything else. Yuu couldn’t help but laugh.

“You talk like you walked out of one of those books of yours.” It was true. He sounded like a princess.

“Ah-” He seemed surprised. “I suppose I never noticed.”

No, they didn't want to make him feel bad! Trying to stay cool, Yuu said, “Oh, well don’t change anything on my account! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel weird about it.”

They really had to get going. “See you soon!” they waved, returning to their group.

Once they were out of Tsunotaro’s sight, they sprinted back. Luckily, they came just as Jack was rolling up to the group as well.

“That’s all of us, I guess,” said Yuu, and they began making their way back to the hall.

Yuu gave their report quickly, wanting to sleep off the week, and they returned to their suite.

While Yuu was in the bath, they thought about what Tsunotaro had said about acting like a hero.

The swordsman’s words echoed in their head.

All this talent, they thought, but if I’m not using it to do good, then what’s the point?

They gave their neck another scrub.

Could there be more than one way to be helpful? Could they be a hero for their own team?

After changing, Yuu stepped out into the kitchen, thoughts clouding their mind. Jack was also in the kitchen, spreading jam on a bread roll.

Instantly, they felt annoyed at his presence, but took a deep breath, trying not to let their biases get the better of them.

They watched him spread the purple jam, trying to come up with something, anything to say.

What could they ask? What kind of things did Jack like? Yuu thought with a stab of guilt that they didn’t know as they had never asked.

He was really spreading that jam, thought Yuu. His back was to Yuu, but the tips of his tall ears were twitching.

Did… did he also want to say something?

Once more, before a single thought could pass through their head, they opened their mouth to speak. However, this time, their impulse would fail them as they sputtered in place.

“I- ah-”

Jack turned slightly, but quickly, bread roll in hand.

Oh no. Think faster, Yuu. Something, anything, oh-

“The basket!” Yuu blurted out. Jack furrowed his brow at Yuu.

Say more words! “The basket was a good idea!”

After last night, with the curds and wade, Jack had found a wicker basket somewhere and had tied a piece of string to it after filling it with an assortment of objects, so he could drag it behind the door as a weight. Yuu had thought it was a waste of time as the basket wasn’t nearly heavy enough to keep the door shut, and they had been right, but the length of the wicker basket had served as an effective door jam, keeping them safe for the night.

Jack had made sure to take a stick from the woods to push out the box from behind the dor, but no one had said anything at the time.

He stared at them for a moment. Some of the jam dripped off the bread roll onto his hand.

“Thank you,” he said, and took a bite of his roll.

Now it was silent again. Yuu resented Jack for not taking the bait, but grit their teeth and tried again.

Trying to think of what Tsunotaro would say, they said, “So! You’re from Pyroxene?”

Mouth full of jam and bread, he nodded slowly, and still didn’t say anything.

Yuu wanted to give up. This was like pushing a boulder up a hill.

“I’ve heard it’s…” Yuu hadn’t heard anything about Pyroxene, actually. “...big?”

Jack nodded again, slowly.

Augh! This was impossible! Yuu was giving up and going to bed.

Pushing off the wall, they went to-

“I hadn’t even heard of Epel’s hometown before I came here. That’s how big it is.”

Could it be? Was Jack trying, as they were?

What should they say?

“Oh, wow. Are your hometowns similar at all?”

He had taken a large bite while they had asked their question, and shook his head as he swallowed. “I don’t know. But I bet they’re quite different, since they’re on nearly opposite ends of the country.”

Yuu opened their mouth, desperate to keep the flame of conversation going, but Jack interrupted them. “I can tell you more about it tomorrow, since it’s so late now.”

Oh, right. “Yeah, that’d be nice! See you tomorrow! Yuu was relieved, and Jack waved them goodnight.

They laid down to sleep, or to ponder the minor breakthrough they had just made, but the minute their head hit their pillow, they fell asleep.

The next morning, they woke up, bleary-eyed and still sore but finally rested.

Sitting up in the sunlight, Yuu stretched and got up, making their way into the communal kitchen to scrounge up something to eat.

Going out at any time was dangerous given the level of hostility some of the students had shown them, but they had to eat somehow. Yuu hoped someone had left some fruit or something.

Moseying around the cupboards, they saw crumbs and dust and little else. Their stomach rumbled, and their mouth felt dry. It seemed there would be no option but to venture outside.

Internally, Yuu groaned. I don’t want to try and imagine what new method of torture they’ve invented that still never got them published.

The school’s policies on bullying were strict, but the practicality of their enforcement was complicated significantly when the bullies’ families were wealthy and well-bred.

After getting their textbook stolen for a third time, a sympathetic professor of Yuu’s had attempted to make a report to the school. Yuu had been hopeful, as though he seemed cold, he also seemed to have little tolerance for the distraction these students caused. He had promised to tell Yuu of any developments, no matter what.

However, after a few days of silence, the professor relayed to Yuu that he had been sternly informed that these particular students were not to be trifled with, and had suggested they instead be moved away to sit father from Yuu.

“The donations and influence their families offer is too great for the school to sik,” the professor had explained. “They own land and have many high positions in the government. Many former students end up working for or with them.”

“So they’ll basically have no consequences because of money?” Yuu had said incredibly.

“Unfortunately,” the professor had said bitterly. “As long as they do not invoke anyone-”

“Anyone that can retaliate.” Yuu understood the message.

In their professor’s defense, they had tried to help. So far, they had used their reputation for strictness to curb any attempts at bullying in class, and made sure to listen to any complaints other students had when the troublemaker students came up.

But ultimately, nothing substantial had been done, and their egos had only grown.

The upperclassmen were too mature for such pranks and jokes, though they hadn’t ended up much friendlier to the group regardless. It was a specific crop of freshman, gravitated to one another as people with money and arrogance are wont to do, who were causing the most of their problems.

It was a game to them now, as it had been before, but they were hooked on winning and so kept escalating their antics.

Yuu’s stomach grumbled again. No way around it. Time to get dressed.

As they turned back to their room, a door opened, and Jack poked his head out to look at Yuu.

“Hello,” he said, the rest of his body behind the door.

“Hello,” said Yuu, slightly weirded out.

“I heard someone was awake.”

“Oh, sorry.” Was I really that loud?

“No problem. I just have sensitive ears. Anyways, on the weekends I like to start my mornings by running in the woods and foraging for berries. I can tell you more about Pyroxene if you come with me today.”

Truth be told, Yuu didn’t really want to start running at, like, 7 in the morning? Their first impulse was to turn him down, politely but quickly.

But he was trying. Yuu thought they could see something white shaking behind his head as he leaned over a bit, and they thought it might be his tail.

Swallowing, they said, “Let me go change.” He nodded and Yuu thought they saw a small smile on his face before he popped his head back into his room and shut the door.

On the jog, breathing in the fresh air, Yuu had to admit it wasn’t so bad.

They had jogged from their dorms through campus, Yuu getting a chance to enjoy the architecture, before they headed into the woods. They weren’t going nearly as deeply as their assignments required, and since they weren’t ‘on’ today, Yuu got a chance to really enjoy the scenery.

The speckled light filtering through the trees made the forest look idyllic, giving the forest a soothing air. The sweet smell of nature and the chirps of the birds made their meal all the more enjoyable when they finally reached a patch of strawberries Jack had found some time ago.

As they ate, Jack told Yuu about his life in Pyroxene. About his younger siblings, his grandparents, his favorite things to do, the bakery that sold his favorite treats.

“My hometown’s a lot warmer than Epel’s, though.”

Yuu was confused. “I thought you said you hadn’t heard of Epel’s hometown?” They bit into another berry, perfectly ripe and delicious. Jack knows his berries.

“I didn’t, but I saw a map in class. His town is much farther up than mine, and I saw that he had packed shawls and a hat. The patterns his hometown uses on their clothes are very unique.”

Maybe I can ask Epel about them, to get him to talk? Thought Yuu.

They wiped their hands on the grass, Jack warning them not to fill up too much so the jog back wasn’t uncomfortable, and they made their way back.

He was in amazing shape, Yuu noticed. While Yuu was no slacker by any means, Jack clearly took a lot of effort to maintain his body in peak condition.

By the end of the jog, Yuu was panting, though they made every effort to try and breathe evenly as Jack had hardly broken a sweat and Yuu wanted to be as tough as him.

When they got back to their suite, Jack bid them a goodbye, citing some studying he had to do, leaving Yuu to ponder on the couch.

Closing their eyes, they decided to savor the single thing that had gone right for them in these endless weeks.

Finally, they thought, a connection.

And Jack was fun to talk to! He had lived an interesting life, and though he wasn’t the most immediately friendly, he clearly had a heart of gold and a sense of discipline and duty that YUu felt rivaled their own.

I’m surprised he’s the one I got through to first, they pondered, given his tendency to keep to himself.

Just as they were thinking this over, another door opened, and out came Epel, eyes as wide as ever.

Yuu sat up instantly, remembering what they’d learned earlier, and watched as Epel went to the cupboards to search for something.

“Sorry, but I don’t think we have anything.” Yuu said. Epel paused, and then shut the cupboard softly.

“Oh,” he said, nearly inaudibly.

“But!” said Yuu, standing up. “Um, uh-” they couldn’t go back to the same bush, that would probably take too long. “I can go to the dining hall with you later, if you want?”

Epel blinked at them. “O-oh,” he said, “ok.” He paused for a moment.

Is… he going to say something? Yuu didn’t know if he was just hesitating or being silent, but he hadn’t left.

“Did you…” said Epel, “go with Jack?”

“Oh! Yeah! Why?”

Epel sighed. “Nothing.” His head drooped a bit.

“If you want, we could invite you next time!” said Yuu, desperate to keep the conversation alive. C’mon, we can do this! “I’m sure Jack would be cool with it.”

Epel looked up. “Really?”

“Yeah! Of course!”

He smiled. “That’d be great. I’ve wanted to exercise with Jack for a while.” He made fists with his hands. “He’s just so strong.”

“Right?” said Yuu, nodding frantically. “I mean, those arms, wow. I wish I looked that good without sleeves.”

Epel’s face lit up with a passion. “I know!” He sat down next to Yuu. “Most people think I’m either just a pretty boy or a country hick,” he said, with a sliding accent, “but I’m not any of those things.”

Yuu kept nodding. “That must be tough, to be judged on your appearance.”

“It is! That’s why I came here, so I could train and be super strong ‘n stuff.”

“Me too!” said Yuu.

They managed to keep talking until it was time for lunch, when Deuce stepped into the common area.

He beelined for the cupboard, but Yuu and Epel said, “There’s nothing in there,” at the same time before Deuce had even opened the door.

He released the handle.

“Do you wanna come with us to the dining hall?” asked Epel. “Me n’ Yuu are going to go together in a bit.”

Deuce turned back to look at them, and said, “Sure. Let me go change.” Yuu nodded.

“Do you think Ace and Jack will want to go?” asked Yuu, turning to Epel.

He shook his head. “Jack studies all day today, and Ace sleeps all day today.” Deuce came back out and they headed for the dining hall.

On their way, their usual silence plagued them. Deuce was wearing his usual resting bitch face and Epel had retreated back into himself.

No! I refuse to let all of this go to waste.

Thinking hard, they remembered what Jack had said about Epel’s clothing.

“Epel!” He looked at them. “Jack mentioned he saw some of the clothes you’d brought from home. He said the patterns were pretty, and that the clothes seemed thick.” Well, he’d said they were unique, but Yuu was sure it was all the same in the end.

“Yeah,” he said, “the patterns are special to my hometown. All of our clothes are handmade, ‘cuz we know how to make clothes that’ll hold up against the cold.”

Epel looked down at that. “I really miss ‘em all. My family.” He turned his head away and sniffed a bit.

Not knowing what to say, Yuu panicked before-

“I know what you mean.”

They both turned to look at Deuce.

“I live pretty far away, in the mountains, and my mom doesn’t have the money to send for me all the time. I send her letters, but it’s not the same.”

Yuu didn’t know what to say, but turns out words weren’t needed, because Epel reached out to touch Deuce’s arm.

“I’m sure she’s really proud of you,” he said.

“She is,” he said with a small smile. “She could hardly believe it, when I got into this school, because of all the problems I had before this. I know she wouldn’t say it to my face, but she was crying tears of joy.”

“You must have worked really hard to get here,” said Yuu.

“I tried. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem worth it, though, but I can’t tell that to her.”

“What do you mean?” asked Epel.

“Well-” he started, “sometimes, people just wanna come up and pick a fight with me for no reason, and someone’s been tearing pages out of my notebooks for weeks.”

“Oh, right, that.” Why hadn’t Yuu thought of that?

“It’s just awful what they’re doin’!” Epel shouted.

“I try to stay calm,” said Deuce, “but they just wanna fight.”

“It is pretty hard to ignore,” admitted Yuu.

“Maybe that’s our problem. Maybe we should stop ignoring it,” said Epel.

“Huh?” said Yuu. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe we gotta get ‘em back somehow,” said Epel, pounding his fist into his hand.

“Honestly, I kinda feel like that would just make it worse,” they replied.

Then they had an idea.

“Wait. What about the Ring match next week?”

The first one of the year was next Friday, and Yuu knew that their group of tormentors would be entering. They were good, if their demonstrations in class were anything to judge by.

“If we beat them, they’d be humiliated, but more importantly, people would start to respect us.”

Epel looked at them hopefully, but Deuce seemed less sure.

“Yeah,” he said, “or they could beat us really badly.”

“No!” said Epel. “This is a good idea! We outnumber them by two, and we don’t have any extra duties this week. If we train really hard, we can do this!”

“Thank you, Epel,” said Yuu, “I really needed to hear that.”

Deuce was silent, hand on his chin. They had reached the dining hall but had not yet entered.

“Screw it,” he said, a smile creeping onto his face. “How much worse can it get for us?”

Yuu couldn’t help but agree.

Upon returning, they explained the plan to Jack, who quickly got on board.

His roommate, Ace, however, seemed less convinced.

“The Ring? You know we’re gonna get beat, right?”

“Not if we all work together.” replied Yuu as confidently as they could. “I’ve seen you in class, Ace. You’re good.”

Ace gave them a pleased smile.

“But you’re unfocused,” they continued, Ace’s smile dropping. “If you took the time to actually learn your spells instead of just memorizing them five minutes before you needed them, you could go far.”

“Still,” he said, “a week?”

“We’ll never know if we don’t try.”

Ace gave it a moment. “Fine,” he said, “what’s your plan?”

Yuu gave him their most winning smile, trying to come up with some sort of strategy.

Together, they were able to come up with a plan that coordinated their strengths.

Jack was naturally drawn to defensive water magic, while Ace had an affinity for the bow and some talent for grass magic. Epel’s ability to boost other’s magic and to wield an axe without hitting himself and Deuce’s unexpected gift for healing made them a surprisingly well-rounded team, and they practiced attack coordinations after class white getting to know each other.

“Weavers!” exclaimed Deuce as he healed a cut on Epel’s palm.

“Lots of my family are good at stuff like that, since we gotta make so much stuff on our own.” Epel exclaimed.

“I imagine it’s gotta be tough getting stuff up there, with all that snow, huh?” said Ace, stopping to stretch. Epel nodded.

Finally, it was Friday. The whole school was abuzz to what those competing, though most of the attention would be focused on the must more interesting seniors.

Teams at this early stage didn’t have much flexibility in who they’d be assigned to fight, but no one had volunteered to fight the bullies. Yuu had specifically waited until the last possible moment to sign them up, trying as hard as possible to throw them off balance and give their team even the tiniest edge.

The big area had been reserved for the senior teams, and the sport courts for the junior and higher-ranked sophomore teams. The freshman and lower sophomores would fight in a clearing.

Yuu’s team had decided to stick together for the day until the match started and support each other.

Breathe, Yuu, they said to themselves as the nerves in their stomach got worse.

“Why don’t we take a walk?” said Epel. His body was calm but his hands kept fidgeting.

“I think we should run through our formations one more time,” said Ace, who couldn’t stop pacing.

“Overtraining ourselves will hurt us in the long run,” said Jack, sitting on tdown. “A walk is good.”

“No, we should warm up,” said Ace.

“Jack is right,” said Yuu. “We’ve got two hours. If we start now, we’ll burn ourselves out. Let’s start easy and work our way up.”

They all got up and began walking around campus, not saying much. This silence was more comfortable than their earlier awkward stillness. Yuu could sense everyone’s nerves had clogged their throats- good. They were silent not because they wanted to be but because they couldn’t speak.

The group turned the corner around the stables, before noticing something odd.

Deuce spotted it first. “Is that bush…”

“Yeah, it’s shaking.” finished Ace.

Everyone drew their weapons and charged their spells, waiting to see-

A cat.

With gray fur and bluish ears, a cat with blue eyes jumped out of the bush, picking the leaves off of their fur.

“Ohh!” Yuu couldn’t help but drop their sword and kneel down to pet the kitty. They had a fondness for cute creatures, and cats were no exception.

The rest of the group awed as well and surrounded the cat, who kept licking himself.

“He’s a real looker,” said Deuce.

“I know!” Yuu picked up the cat gently, looking him in the eyes. Looking to the rest of the group, they said, “We should keep him.”

“What’ll we name him?” said Ace.

“How about…” Yuu mused.

“Fluffy?” said Jack.

“Fluffy?!”

Yuu screamed and dropped the cat, who also screamed in a distinctly human voice.

“Fgna-! What in the world?”

“Demon cat!!” yelled Deuce, stumbling backwards.

“I am NOT a demon cat!” yelled the cat, clearly possessed by demonic powers.

“C-cats can talk?” shouted Epel, frozen in place.

“They definitely can’t, last I checked!” shouted Ace.

“Stop yelling!” yelled the gray cat. “And show some respect!”

“Respect to who?” asked Jack.

The cat puffed out its chest and stood on its hind legs. “To the great magician Grim, of course!”

The group paused, not knowing how to react to that information.

“You’re a… magician?” said Yuu.

“Well, I will be!” said the cat, putting his little paws on his hips. “Once I find a way to get admitted to this school!”

“Night Raven?” asked Epel.

“Yes, ye- what?! I thought this was Royal Sword Academy!”

“We’re way better than those RSA losers, anyway,” said Deuce. “Why do you wanna be a magician?”

“Of course,” said the cat, paw on his chest, “because I have been given the gift of magic!”

“You can use magic?” asked Yuu.

“Yes! And I’m very good at it!”

Yuu fished their magic pen out of their pocket. They weren’t extremely talented themselves and preferred to cast the occasional spell from their sword.

They handed the pen to the cat. The stone lit up as he launched a tiny beam of water into the grass. The group gasped at the display.

“So you can use magic!” said Epel.

“Of course! I wasn’t lying before.”

“I have an idea.” Yuu looked at the cat. “Why don’t you join us?”

“Yuu,” said Jack, “a cat?”

“My name is Grim!”

“He could be useful. Do you want a different team stealing him away?” they argued.

“That’s a good point,” said Deuce.

“And you could live with me,” said Yuu, “since I don’t have a roommate.”

“Perfect! Oh, this is great news!” said Grim the cat.

“Yuu, we don’t have time to teach him everything for the match today,” said Ace.

“Oooh, the match for the crown? I picked a good group, ehehe!” he purred.

“It’s ok,” said Yuu. “Grim and I’ll just fight as one for today. Grim, can you get on my shoulder?” They kneeled down to let him on.

Standing up, Grim looked down at the ground from his new height. “Woah, this is pretty sweet!”

“We should get to our match location,” said Deuce. “Let’s try and hide Grim.”

They made their way to the clearing, Grim in Yuu’s jacket. They quickly went through their new plans and, after waiting for an agonizing amount of time, it was finally their turn.

There weren’t a ton of people here to watch these matches. The junior and senior matches ran later in the evening, to ensure there was enough personnel, but it was really only the friends of the other team and a few random people, either waiting for a later match to start or milling about after an earlier one had ended, who were in the freshman match crowd.

The nerves were getting to Yuu.

They took a deep breath, and tried to breathe out their unease.

“We got this,” they whispered as the team swapped to their match weapons, with blunted tips so as to not inflict serious harm. Opening up their jacket, Grim crawled onto their shoulder.

Stepping out into the arena, from the little makeshift hut set up for the event, the lead bully barked out a laugh.

“I can’t believe you had the guts to show yourself here. I’m gonna enjoy beating you into the ground.

Yuu saw Deuce open his mouth to say something, but Yuu waved to him, signaling him to keep silent. They drew their weapons wordlessly as the other team and a few members of the crowd jeered them.

Professor Trein was supervising this match, and he counted down.

Three, two- the teams took off against each other.

Yuu took on the head bully themselves, as he was the most talented and a fellow sword user. Epel and Deuce took the girl with fisticuffs, and Ace and Jack cornered the fire wizard.

The lead bully laughed as he and Yuu clanged swords. Out of the corner of their eye, Yuu could see fisticuffs swing and miss at Deuce.

Yuu parried and blocked every blow they were thrown, trying desperately to engage him.

“C’mon!” He screamed. “Is that all you got?” Yuu’s defensiveness seemed to be driving him into a rage. They could see the spit coming off of his teeth.

They said nothing. The angrier he got, the harder his blows came down, but at the same time, the sloppier he got. Yuu needed him to be as uncoordinated as possible for what was coming, and though they wanted to scream back, they swallowed their feelings and focused on keeping as cool as possible, knowing it was their only strength.

Grim dug his claws into Yuu’s shoulder, trying to keep himself balanced. It was significantly harder to move, but Grim hissed at the bully and tried to keep Yuu steady in his own way.

Their opponent moved fluidly and assuredly, and as a twist of his blade nearly broke Yuu’s stance, they realized something with fear. They were outclassed.

Their lessons, books and home training just couldn’t compare to years and years of being taught under the best, with all of the advantages of wealth and privilege. They had known this in the back of their minds, but tried to focus, knowing that striking at his ego was more important than any trick Yuu could come up with.

“Aaaah!” Behind him, Yuu could see the fisticuffs girl on the ground, out of the ring.

Amazing, guys! One down, one to go.

Yuu’s opponent turned around to look at their fallen teammate, and he took off running to defend his remaining team member. Yuu couldn’t let that happen.

They chased him, trying to stay pasted to him without physical contact as that wasn’t allowed.

He tried to avoid them but Yuu managed to get between him and Jack.

The bully was hitting wildly now, failing to follow through on his strikes. Eyes bugged out, their intensity scared Yuu.

They were struck by how different Tsuntaro’s burning gaze was to this hate-filled look, and by how much they wanted to get rid of it.

“Move!” He struck down hard and Yuu’s sword wobbled. They took a step back. “Strike!” They barely managed to block his blow in time and took another step back. “DO SOMETHING!”

“Yuu, raise your sword!” Grim whispered into their ear. Things were moving at lightning pace now, so Yuu didn’t have enough time to process why Grim was asking this of them.

HIs paw reached out and the sword glowed.

It’s doing a lot more than glowing, thought Yuu as the air grew hot. Grim had set the sword on fire.

The bully was startled, and stumbled back, but grabbed Yuu’s jacket and swung them around to the other side, causing them to dangle over the edge of the ring.

Grim swung himself around to give Yuu a tiny bit more weight, and they hooked their feet around the bully’s, managing to just throw themselves back in.

They hit the ground hard and scrambled to get up, but heard a scream as the bully charged at them. As alarm shot through them, they slipped on the grass and flipped over to see the shadow of a sword looming over them.

“STOP!”

The shadow stopped moving, as did Yuu.

That was Professor Trein’s voice ringing out. He appeared in Yuu’s vision and offered them a hand, which they took gratefully.

“Excellent job, Yuu. To you and to all of your teammates.” Addressing the small crowd, Professor Train announced, “The winner of this match goes to Yuu, Jack, Epel, Deuce, and Ace.”

Looking up, Yuu realized the other guy was on the ground.

“What?!” shouted the girl. “They cheated! They have a magic cat!”

Grim hissed again but Trein held up a hand. “Familiars are permitted, and do not need to be registered.” Back to the team, he said, “Congratulations. Five points will be added to your total.”

A pair of arms enveloped Yuu, and then another, and then someone blocked out the sun.

“We did it!” shouted Deuce.

“I can’t believe it!” exclaimed Epel.

Neither could Yuu. “I don’t think it’s fully set in for me,” they admitted shakily. For a minute, I thought I might die there.

The group hug came apart but Yuu stumbled forward and everyone moved to catch them.

“Woah there!” said Ace.

“Sorry! I don’t think I can feel my legs quite yet.”

“That’s ok,” said Jack. “Let’s go back.”

“There should be an afterparty in the dining hall,” said Professor Trein.

“Let’s go to that!” suggested Epel excitedly.

“Mrah!” Grim yowled. “We gotta make an appearance!”

“Sounds good, so long as you guys help me there.” said Yuu, still a bit unsteady.

They made their way to the dining hall, where there were some snacks set up but not a lot of people. Most of them were likely heading for the junior and senior matches, but that meant the finger sandwiches were fair game.

A few other people came up to ask them how they’d done and congratulate them, which the team received with pride.

“Hey,” said Yuu, sitting down on a bench, full of punch.

“Hey,” said Ace, leisurely munching on a fruit skewer.

Suddenly, they had an idea. As usual, before they could even thing, they said, “Do you wanna enter the Ring? For real?”

Deuce walked up with petit fours in hand. “What are we talking about?”

“Do you wanna compete in the Ring as a team?” asked Yuu again. “Like we did today?”

Deuce ate a petit four and thought about it. “Ok,” he said, sitting down with time.

“Should we tell the rest of the team?” asked Grim, who was full of tuna sandwiches.

“When we get back.” Yuu closed their eyes and let their head rest on the wall.

They formally entered the next day, all excitedly signing their name on the packet. Yuu came up with a schedule, not only including training activities, but bonding days where they would try to learn more about each other. Yuu was confident that their friendship and their trust in one another would make them a stronger team, so every week, they found some new adventure together.

Crewel’s exam loomed over the group, however. They had an entire wall in their common area devoted to figuring this puzzle out, but they hadn’t made much progress.

Remembering Tsunotaro from the woods, they volunteered to go alone and gather any info possible, and so, they jogged deep into the forest, hunting for clues and their mystery man.

Sure enough, they found him.

“Tsunotaro!” They shouted. He looked at them and, after Yuu had gotten closer, accepted their helping hand.

“It has been a while,” he said.

Their heart soared. “It sure has! How’s everything been?”

“Very little has changed for me. The summer sun continues to burn with its intensity.” There he went, talking like that. It made Yuu’s heart flutter a bit.

“That’s good to hear.” Yuu jumped on the balls of their feet a bit.

“And you? You appear to have news.”

Yuu couldn't contain their energy any longer, and explained how well their group was finally getting along. It felt like they were really, finally seeing their dreams shape up.

They also explained their troubles with Crewel’s potions.

Yuu confessed how they’d wanted to see him, but Tsunotaro didn’t even flinch. “What is this plant’s name?” he asked.

“Part of the test is that we’re supposed to figure that out based on its description. We’ve poured over what feels like every relevant book, but we’re totally lost. It’s really rooted in the local culture, and all of us are from out of town. Even though we’ve started to get along, we’re still having trouble making allies.”

The crook of Tsunotaro’s arm stuck out to Yuu.

“Fortunately,” he said, “you are speaking to someone who has not only grown up in these woods, but has a well-used library and a father full of stories. Describe the plant to me, and we can look together.”

Their hero. Locking arms with him, they said, “I knew I made the right decision coming out here.”

They found the fated mandrake plant and, with Tsunotaro’s help, extracted it safely. It was a bit wilted but should still be useful. Yuu tried to linger, but eventually, they had to say goodbye.

“Well, this is me. I guess I’ll see you soon?” they said. Yuu hoped their next meeting was soon.

“Do you have free time next week?”

Ah! A man who could read their mind.

But unfortunately, next week was packed. They had a lot of training to do.

“I don’t think so,” they said, “what about the week after? Tuesday?” They looked up at him.

“Then the date is set.”

Yuu couldn’t contain their laughter any longer. “You gonna kiss my hand too?” they said, wiping away tears.

Suddenly, they felt their hand being pulled away- Tsunotaro as actually kissing it. They let out another laugh, this one high and giddy.

“I’ll see you next-next Tuesday,” they said, mandrake in hand.

“Well, don’t you look jolly!” said Epel as Yuu skipped into the dorm.

“I met a guy,” they said.

“In the woods?”

“Yep.” And smiled.

“Alright then, did you find what we were looking for?”

“Oh, right! I gotta tell you guys something! That guy in the woods had a lot of great info.”

From their humble beginnings in the clearing, Yuu’s team rapidly went from a bunch of outcasts to the favorite underdogs of the school. They still went up against teams with experience and resources, and they didn’t win every fight, but they were scrappy and quick-witted.

They ended their freshman year 4th within their own group, proving themselves as upstarts with potential. Their sophomore year they pushed 3rd, a vastly more difficult feat than last year, but their joy at having made it onto the podium overshadowed anything else.

Junior year, the year they had really started to be recognized, they made 2nd. Yuu couldn’t help but feel frustrated. First had been within their capabilities but they had made a few silly mistakes that had added up. The team took their placement for what it was, a win nonetheless, and resolved to pull it together senior year.

Second place, however, had meant that the group had been upgraded within their dorm, Yuu becoming the head. They took to the role with pride, although found it hard to manage on top of everything else.

Still, it came with a big room.

This room was where they finally came back to their senses after Tsunotaro, freezing in the cold, had come through and confessed his love as well as his secret identity as Briar Valley’s lost prince.

Yuu couldn’t feel their body. They were left to just stare at this man that they had grown to love, though they had never confessed that to anyone, who was suddenly unavailable because he was engaged to Rollo.

They felt sick. Rollo.

Nobody crossed him. Yuu had heard the rumors. Students and graduates who didn’t do his bidding or comply with his odd requests were never heard from again.

They had met at the final junior match, Rollo offering them a stiff congratulations at their win. Yuu had found him uncomfortable, prickly, and something in the back of their mind had told them to run.

The team had discussed graduation. The rumors around Rollo were swirling, and they had decided to reassess whether or not to go for first this year after winter break.

Yuu feared Rollo, but they would stand up to him if he wasn’t also the trusted advisor of the Briar Queen.

She had entrusted her life into his for so long, he had to be good for Tsunotaro. He could protect him, in a way Yuu could not.

They couldn’t keep him from his destiny.

“I’m sorry Tsunotaro,” they said, lips feeling, disconnected, “but I think you’ve gotten the wrong idea.”

Yuu didn’t hear anything for a moment.

“What?” he said, in perhaps the most pitiable tone of voice Yuu had ever heard.

They had to keep going. “I…” Their heart was breaking. “I do care about you, Tsunotaro, but I am not in love with you. And I don’t think you’re in love with me either.”

“No.” He wasn’t going down quietly. “No, I know what I feel, Yuu. Do not doubt my passion-”

“I’m not.” Please stop making this harder. “I’m really not, but Tsunotaro… what you feel isn’t love.”

“How can you say that?” He pleaded, voice catching. “How can you deny my feelings so?” He touched his hands to his chest.

“Because,” they said, trying to be firm. “I know what you’re feeling, and that’s not love.” Yuu tried back up a bit, giving him, but he only crept closer.

“No,” he whispered again, “no, this isn’t right. You would not have acted in that manner if you did not love me.”

He was right. They had been waiting, soaking up in the feeling of being in love until their life had cooled down a bit.

“I do care about you, Tsunotaro, but I’m sorry.” The words caught in their throat, choking them. “I don’t love you, and nothing will change that now.”

Their voice was thin as paper, ready to break, but they had to keep going. To save Tsunotaro. “You should go with Rollo now. He can protect you, and with him, you have a shot at love.”

Tsunotaro’s gasp tore right through their heart. They longed to hold him, to cry with him, to tell him they’d save him, but this was the only way they could do that.

“I’m sorry to have brought you out here for nothing.”

Tsunotaro was knocked to his knees, crying.

“Stay warm. Maybe someday we’ll see each other again.” Please, stop. He didn’t get off the ground.

“You should go now.” Yuu’s voice was creaking. “Goodbye.”

They waited, hoping he had gotten the message. Slowly, glancing back at Yuu over and over he sobbed his way to the window and returned to the forest, taking Yuu’s shattered heart with him.

They kept watching him, feeling the cold rush in but not wanting to close the window and cut off their connection sooner.

“What was that all about?” Grim was awake from his usual spot on Yuu’s bed. The macarons were untouched, and Yuu didn’t feel hungry anymore.

They closed the window wordlessly, Tsunotaro disappearing into the night, and sank to the floor, sobbing.

The next day was absolute hell. Yuu had not been able to sleep more than a couple of hours, wondering if Tsunotaro was ok.

Grim had explained the situation to everyone, as best as he could, because Yuu was afraid they opened their mouth they’d start crying again.

“And so then he says, ‘I’m the prince of Briar Valley! My mother is Queen Malifica!” said Grim, giving the story big gestures.

“I thought the Queen’s kid was dead from that dragon attack,” said Deuce.

“And then he asked Yuu to run away with him! But Yuu said no.”

“Obviously,” said Jack. “Are you ok?”

They nodded, pressing their lips into a fine line.

“And then he said, ‘I’m getting married to Rollo!’”

“Rollo? Our Rollo?” asked Epel. “What does he want with him?”

“I mean, there are the allegations…” whispered Deuce. Rollo had never been accused, but his harassment took many forms.

“Ew!” said Ace.

“C’mon Yuu, why don’t we have a stiff drink in town and work this all out. I’m sure it’s not all lost,” said Deuce.

Unable to fight them, they went to a restaurant after class. They ordered, but had scarcely received their drinks when someone came running in.

“News from the Briar Valley!” shouted the man. “The lost Crown Prince has been eaten by a dragon!”

The tavern burst into conversation. Yuu’s heart dropped and the group gasped.

“Again?!” asked Ace to the crier.

“The Briar Valley is asking for all heroes to come as fast as possible, to assist in defeating the dragon!” The crier left, presumably to look for more people to shout news to.

Patrons stood up and paid their tabs, the restaurant being popular with NRC students. Yuu couldn’t move.

“Yuu,” said Jack, breaking through their thoughts. “It may not be true. Remember when they reported that the Scalding Sands had been flooded?

They did remember that.

“We can go check ourselves. They called for heroes, so let’s go!” They threw money down and ran out of the tavern.

They ran as fast as they could to their dorm to pick up their weapons and ran back down the hill, to the temporary mirror portals set up to transport anyone available to the capital of the Briar Valley.

“Stop. You’re not allowed to go there.”

A guard stopped them from stepping through the portal.

“Huh?” asked Ace. “Do you know who we are?”

“Excuse me,” said Yuu, “but we’re seniors. We’re in the top three teams of the school currently. We definitely have skills to offer.”

They tried to step through but the guard blocked them with his hand.

“I’m sorry, but you are not allowed to go through here.”

In the distance, Yuu saw another team, number 5th in their year to be exact, be allowed through the door.

“This is crazy!” exclaimed Grim.

“Guys, let’s just go. They’re not gonna let us in.” Yuu didn’t have an ounce of fight in them.

Out of earshot of the guard, Epel says, “So what’s next?”

They shook their head. “I don’t know.”

“Well, we’re not just going to let your prince get devoured, Yuu.” said Jack.

“Could we sneak past them?” asked Ace.

“We can’t walk there,” said Grim.

“Maybe using a distraction,” suggested Deuce.

The day was weighing on Yuu, the well-meaning voices of the group distorting.

Yuu suddenly felt quite tired, a wave of exhaustion hitting them. They slowly tuned out the conversation as the world tilted hard, and they had the distinct sensation of falling.

“Hey. Get up.” Someone was shaking their shoulder.

Yuu didn’t really want to get up, or even open their eyes.

“Hey!”

They opened their eyes.

A man with violet eyes and violet streaks in his hear was looking at Yuu.

“Huh?” they said, pushing themselves up slowly.

“Come with me.” And he walked off quickly. Yuu stood up, annoyed.

They stumbled through a very quiet town, which Yuu would have categorized as sleepy if there had not been literal sleeping bodies strewn across the streets.

They kept walking, passing a large castle. Everything was eerily quiet- was this a dream?

Maybe I hit my head.

Suddenly, they stopped. The man produced a large shield out of nowhere.

“This is the Shield of Virtue,” he said. “It will protect you. You will need its power for the coming battle.”

Excuse me? “What’s going on?” they asked.

“There will be an attack very soon,” the man said. “You must fight with all your might, but you will not be alone.”

He indicated them forward, to follow him around a corner, where they saw it.

The dragon.

It was long and black, scales dark as night. Its body was huge, just barely able to hide behind the buildings lying down.

A massive eye popped open. Yuu looked at the man, who seemed calm.

“What do you want me to do?” they asked.

Yuu looked back at the dragon, stretching his body and wings as he awoke.

The dragon stared at Yuu like they were lunch, They drew their sword, but noticed something.

Those eyes, hugely distorted, set off something in Yuu. They were light green, with slitted pupils, and a gaze that trapped anyone that looked at it.

It couldn’t be.

“Tsunotaro?”

Before anything else happened, Lilia felt obligated to explain his side of the story.

A fledgling soldier in the Moors army, in awe of a Queen who had proven herself battle-hardened, Lilia felt it was an honor to serve under her leadership.

She was wise and careful, prone to anger but never letting her temper get the best of her. The war with the invading humans of Yumen had dragged on, the bloodlust of the human side seemingly growing more fervent every day.

One day, Lilia found he’d been summoned to the Queen’s quarters. He stood still at attention, wondering what the queen wanted with him.

Eventually, she came strolling into the room, her presence alone causing Lilia to feel a mixture of fear and amazement.

Her beauty was as legendary as her strategy, and he had never had a chance to admire it so closely. He let his eyes study her as the rest of him stayed put.

“I’ve heard you have a talent for the magic of deep sleep,” she said softly. Her voice held power, the confidence of someone born into royalty.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he replied quickly but not hastily.

“I have also heard you have mastered teleportation.”

“In the shadows, my Queen.”

His teleportation spell was a tweaked version of the one he’d originally been taught. He had never mastered the art of blending in where one didn’t belong, and so used the obscurity of darkness to travel quicker and farther.

It had made it troublesome for him to keep up with his unit, however.

“I have a special mission for you, that you must keep to yourself until a later time. It will involve temporarily deserting your unit, as I cannot reveal my plans to your commander. Are you up to the task?”

The Queen herself was asking. There was only one right answer.

“Yes, my Queen.”

He was sent back to his barracks with orders to wait until the excursion in a week, and to keep monitoring his commander for any signs of distress. He was as angry as ever, but he didn’t seem different.

“What does this have to do with the situation at hand?!” asked a very nervous Yuu.

“Patience,” he said, “I’m getting to that.”

Anyways, next week came eventually, and his unit was sent out.

Their job was to go try and burn down the lookout towers that had been set up on the borders, engaging any soldiers necessary. So off they went.

As soon as he had a moment, Lilia warped away as deep as possible into enemy territory. His goal was one specific spire in the castle, and, looking out the window of where he had ended up, he was close.

He slipped back into the shadows again and kept trying. The spell wasn’t perfect, though Lilia had gotten better at navigating it with practice, and eventually found a narrow staircase with a bolted iron door.

The presence of so much iron made him uneasy. Deadly to fae in great enough quantities, Lilia thought he could smell the door from here,

Carefully, he pressed himself into the closest shadow he could, making himself fit into the tight squeeze, and tried not to teleport too near to the door without falling out of the tower.

He reached one hand through but withdrew it swiftly upon the burning sensation from touching the door. His next attempt was a little further, and he stumbled through safely.

Sitting down, he closed his eyes and caught his breath. The first warp hadn’t been too taxing, but he knew more in such rapid succession would burn through his reserves of energy. If he made a mistake, he wouldn’t be able to fight his way out in human territory and would need to warp, and for that, he wanted to be as rested as possible.

Above him, a shield glimmered.

It was encased in glass on a small table, as if meant for display despite the door, and it was the first of two items the Queen had asked of him.

He strapped them carefully to his back, preferring alternative means of combat, and touched his fingers to the wall to jump further into the castle.

Blinking, he reappeared in a dimly lit hall, the sounds of cooking and cleaning below him. The Queen had said his final object would be in a lab of some sorts.

“Just take one,” were her orders, and so he would follow.

Using the shadows to look for traces of magic, he made half hops before committing to a full one, searching for something that felt right.

Finally, he found a room of bubbling potions and concoctions. There was a person in there but Lilia whispered them to sleep and stepped in over their sleeping body.

The Queen hadn’t specified what exactly he was taking, only that it was located here and he’d “know when he saw it”. He looked around for anything eye-catching, and then saw a row of eggs on a shelf.

They were actually bejeweled cases, meant to hide something somewhere impractical. Used as failsafes, Lilia thought they might be it.

Sniffing the air, he dipped his fingers into a cauldron of pink and tasted it, the tingling on his tongue confirming his suspicions.

Specific relics held immense magical power, and were devastating to fight against, but some of them needed gemstones to be powered. Gems were rare, however, especially ones of proper size and clarity.

They were synthesizing the proper gems.

He was struck with the desire to take them all and burn down the lab, but Lilia had been explicitly advised to only take one. So, he took a golden egg, tried to rearrange the shelf so it had always looked that way, and slipped back out through the shadows to return to the Briar Valley.

He dumped what he had under his bed at the barracks before teleporting one last time back to his unit in the field, stars exploding on the edges of his vision.

“VANROUGE!” Lilia turned on his heel at the sound of Sergeant Durand’s voice.

“Yes sir!” He said, saluting quickly.

“Where the HELL have you been?” He yelled in Lilia’s face, face flushing red.

“Right here, sir!”

“No you WEREN’T!” He shoved Lilia back. “Deserting in the middle of a mission? If you think you won’t be court-martialed for this, think AGAIN!”

He turned to the unit. “EVERYONE INTO FORMATION, NOW!”

They all scrambled to line up.

“FORWARD MARCH!”

It seemed that the entire unit was headed back immediately, which struck Lilia as odd. This mission should have taken much longer. He should have been able to rejoin them before they had gotten very far, if Durand hadn’t noticed.

He whispered to one of his friends, “What’s going on?”

“We’re done. We took down the camp.”

“What?! That fast?”

“It was weird. Durand seemed so upset about it, but the camp and the lookout towers were completely unguarded.”

They marched on into their barracks as Durand went off to report Lilia for desertion.

Since Durand hadn’t relieved them, they had to remain standing at attention in front of their beds.

“Lilia,” said Renault.

“Shh,” said Chunfang, looking straight forward.

“Lilia, where did you go?” Renault continued.

He tried to respond but at that moment, the door burst open, letting in some other guards.

“Lilia Vanrouge. Her Majesty has requested an audience with you.”

He nodded. “She had also requested some items of me, shall I bring them now?”

“That would be best.”

He grabbed the shield and the gemstone and the guards flanked him on either side as they left the barracks.

The guards deposited Lilia in the Queen’s chambers, where she sat expectantly.

“Have you obtained what I have asked?” she said.

He stepped forward to hand over the stone and the shield. The Queen teleported the gemstone away and examined the shield.

“Well done, Lilia,” she said. She handed the shield to a guard, who took it away.

“I apologize for Durand. It was imperative he not know of the details.”

“If I may ask, your Majesty,” he said. “Why?”

“I suspected he was leaking battle plans to the other side. The mission your unit was out on today involved an ambush.”

The gemstone reappeared in her hand. “Thankfully, they did not have the necessary power to properly use the relic they had planned.” The gemstone vanished again. “Thanks to you.”

“Of course, your Majesty.” He bowed.

“As for the shield, it is of course the Shield of Virtue. It would be more effective with the Sword of Truth, but as that is currently being wielded on the front lines, we will simply have to settle for weakening their strength by separating them.”

“Now,” she said, “I must find a replacement for Durand as quickly as possible.” She looked at him. “Would you like the role, Lilia?”

He gasped softly. “Me?”

“Your unit trusts you, do they not? And you have proven yourself talented and formidable.”

He hesitated no longer. “Of course!”

“Fabulous. I will arrange the paperwork right away.”

Lilia would take over his former unit, and continue advancing up the ranks as the war raged on.

He would also become one of the Queen’s right hand men. He would advise her on strategy and on more personal matters, and was there when Rollo arrived.

A talented sorcerer and proclaimed soothsayer, Lilia was unable to find out anything about his origins. He had appeared one day out of nowhere, promising an end to the war if he was promoted to General right away.

Lilia, recently promoted himself, had been quite apprehensive, but the Queen opted to give him a chance. He proved himself a good strategist but, more critically, a legitimately excellent combative sorcerer, razing his opponents with ease.

However, Lilia was not yet convinced. His talents on the battlefield seemed truthful, but his visions seemed to have a shakier foundation. When questioned on their origin, he remained evasive, and Lilia had caught him tweaking details of his visions retroactively to make them seem more prophetic.

He tried to tell himself it was merely his own bias against humans. The King of Yumen was not known for his mercy towards the fae, though Lilia knew these particular opinions of his were unpopular in his own kingdom. So he tried his best to get along with Rollo.

But he quickly found even that difficult.

He was proud and arrogant, sour and sullen, with a distinct air that said he thought he was better than you. He hardly ever took feedback unless it was from the Queen herself. His strategies were messy, and often risked their soldiers unnecessarily.

Lilia tried to keep him on the front lines as much as possible, where he was most effective and least bothersome. This arrangement worked for a time, until of course, something came up.

A few months into his position, he came to the Queen with a chance to negotiate a peace treaty with the King of Yumen, but only if he and he alone were sent as the envoy.

Even knowing what he did now, he would never dare question the Queen’s orders, but he privately thought the suggestion was so absurd it bordered on disrespectful. That made it all the more shocking when the Queen approved his request.

Lilia had found it difficult to hide his seething, but Rollo didn’t seem to care. He held his head high as he left for the kingdom of Yumen, and Lilia spent the next week wondering which would be worse- if Rollo failed so disastrously it made things worse, or if he succeeded by overpromising.

Of course, that was before he knew what he did now.

Rollo, of course, came back victorious. He presented the Queen a contract for her to sign, one that she had her advisors examine closely.

Lilia examined every word, every phrase, but, without any need to read between the lines, he came to a shocking conclusion.

Yumen had made some drastic concessions.

Land, treasure, a seaport- it was startlingly generous. The only thing they had really asked for was an immediate end to the fighting.

Lilia couldn’t believe it. What was he missing? He poured over the text day and night, but finally, he had to concede to his Queen that it would be foolish not to sign.

So the war ended, with much celebration throughout the land. The peacetime would be marked by the marriage of the Crown Princess and her lover, the ceremony bringing a tear to everyone’s eye.

Seemingly the only person who could not be happy was Lilia, who tried to keep his scowl off his face as Rollo stood at the altar and married the couple.

Lilia found himself with his Queen, sitting in her study, one horrible day a few weeks after the wedding. The couple had hardly gotten back from their honeymoon when, one frigid night, the capital city awoke to chaos.

Dragons, long since believed to have been extinct, had made their way from their alleged home in the mountains to touch down and kill the pair.

Their guards had reported seeing shadows in the sky, but had failed to react in time to save them. Rollo had woken up as fast as he could, rallying his men and slaying the dragons.

The battle had been legendary to all who were present, but Lilia, overseeing construction efforts in another town, had not returned until the evening.

Guards at the front gate took him straight to the Queen, before he even had a chance to change. No one would tell him why the west wing was on fire, or why there was a new hole in the ceiling.

He had been so focused on what was wrong with this deal, with Rollo, that he hardly noticed his Queen slipping away.

As they stood in her study, Lilia took her in once again. She had lost weight, her gaunt frame even sharper now, and her eyes had lost some of their light. She sat as often as she could, and constantly seemed pained by aches in her body.

In Lilia’s defense, she hadn’t noticed either until it was much too late.

“Something is eating at me, Lilia,” she croaked out.

He would agree.

“I am a fool,” she continued, “a wretched fool.”

“No, my Queen,” he replied.

“I have been a fool for so long, I had not noticed my power slipping until only recently.” She touched her fingers to her head. “I blamed age. Tiredness. Anything that would let me ignore the truth.”

“No one would blame you, my Queen.”

She gave him a deep sigh. “My daughter is dead, with her lover by beasts that, long ago, had sworn to protect us.” Lilia gasped. “ I grow weaker by the day, as dragons set fire to their home.” She swallowed slowly. “These are all events of great curiosity, but in my state, I need more time to investigate.”

With a pause, she said, “Lilia. I must ask of you one last mission.” Behind her, she reached over to pluck something out from behind her chair.

It was a basket, something within it covered by a blanket.

She handed the basket to Lilia, who gingerly lifted a corner to inspect its contents.

He dropped the corner and looked up at the Queen in shock.

She nodded in confirmation. “Their honeymoon was spent preparing the traditional birthing rituals. Take him and run.”

Through the weight of these blows, he understood he had a mission once more.

“How long do I have to pack?” he said, trying to remain pragmatic.

She gave him a weak smile. “Leave now. There is a carriage downstairs, bags already packed. Raise my Malleus with love.”

He whipped the reins and took off, baby still sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Wind whipping, Lilia tried to steer in the darkness, mourn his friends and swallow his resentment at being asked to raise a child.

The call of children had never reached his ears, and generally, he found them quite unpleasant and avoided them at all costs.

Still, he thought as he stopped on the side of the road to feed and change Malleus, it was not this poor baby’s fault.

He was the last surviving memory of his fallen Princess, he reasoned as he toured a dilapidated cottage, the baby Prince Malleus sleeping in Lilia’s arms, and he was a guard to the House of Draconia.

“Well, Your Highness, this is our new home,” he said into the dusty, empty cottage.

Malleus looked at him for a moment, and then tried to eat his foot.

“Now now, Your Highness, that is no food for a prince.” He picked Malleus up and summoned a bottle.

“You’ll have to help me with this business,” he continued to the feeding baby. “I know little about children, but I suppose you know even less. And we’ll have to get rid of your name.” Malleus remained focused on his bottle.

“From henceforth, you shall be Tsunotaro, so one shall suspect the next heir to the throne still lives.” The newly anointed Tsunotaro seemed relatively unphased by the news.

Lilia brushed his hair back. He supposed he should cut it.

Tsunotaro released the bottle and fell asleep, as he was fond of doing. Lilia huffed, but assumed they'd have time to work on his conversational skills in the future.

Raising a baby wasn’t easy, but as he watched Tsunotaro grow-

“I’m sorry,” interrupted Yuu, “but is the most important information right now?”

Everyone looked at them.

“It’s just, it kinda feels like we’re maybe on a time crunch- oh never mind. Keep going.” They shut up upon seeing Lilia’s stare.

No no, they were right. They didn’t all need to go through this again.

Many years later, after struggling to rebuild the cottage and worry about the lack of communication from the palace and socialize Tsunotaro enough and teach him everything possible while raising his second son, Lilia received a letter embossed with the seal of the royal family.

This either meant good news or bad news. Opening the letter carefully, his heart dropped as he read its contents.

Lilia Vanrouge,

The court offers you its warmest greetings after such a long period.

The Queen Malifica has fallen severely ill, and it is feared she will not make it much longer, putting the state of the Briar Valley in grave danger. It has come to the attention of the court that she has a living heir currently living with you.

The court asks that you deliver this heir to be examined and married to the current acting leader, Rollo Flamm, to ensure the survival of the Briar Valley.

-Rollo Flamm

Lilia felt sick to his stomach. How dare they demand his son?

He summoned a fireball and burned the letter, hoping they would get the message when Tsuntaro did not appear.

Two weeks went by silently and peacefully. Tsunotaro continued his rendezvous with their so-called prince, and Silver learned how to spell ‘orange’. Lilia pondered Tsunotaro’s birthday gift.

The first day of the third week, he received another letter.

Lilia Vanrouge,

The court of the Briar Valley fears prior correspondence has been lost or intercepted somehow, and so the court sends its message once again.

The Queen Malifica has fallen severely ill-

Lilia burned the letter again.

This was quite fun, actually He almost hoped they kept trying endlessly.

Another week and a half passed without incident. Silver told Lilia of his dream where he became a beautiful horse, and Lilia encouraged him to practice his trot.

“Father,” said his eldest, “what are you two doing?” He had just come back from the woods, likely on a date with his friend given the blush on his cheeks, to see Lilia and Silver in the backyard on all fours.

“Why, we’re practicing for the calvary.” Silver neighed in agreement. “Come now, Tsunotaro, and be a horse with us.”

After that week and a half, another royal letter appeared in the mailbox. Lilia hoped they hadn’t wasted all of the stationary in the castle.

He skimmed the letter, expecting to find the same drivel, but this was not to be the case.

Lilia Vanrouge,

The Queen Malifica is now comatose. She has had many health spells recently, and the palace doctors say she will not live another fortnight. We have sent repeated communications to you and none have been answered. If you do not present yourself to the palace within the week, we will assume your incapacitation and come to collect you and the heir, for your own safety.

If you receive this message, the court asks that you deliver this heir to be examined and married to the current acting leader, Rollo Flamm, to ensure the survival of the Briar Valley.

-Rollo Flamm

Lilia crumpled the letter in his hands. The Queen was officially incapacitated, and that meant Rollo’s power was higher than ever, which did not spell good things for the kingdom.

He stuffed the letter into his pocket, marched into the kitchen, and grabbed a basket and the day-old lemon tart from yesterday’s market.

“Tsunotaro!” he shouted. His son came down the stairs into the kitchen just as Lilia was placing down the last sandwich.

“I have an errand to run in town. I’ll be out for the day, could you watch Silver?”

“Of course,” he said.

“Here.” Lilia handed Tsunotaro the basket with the lemon tart and three sandwiches. “Go out for a walk with Silver. I won’t be back until late, but I should return not long after sunset.”

He set out on the journey to the post office. Lilia wasn’t sure how they’d delivered the mail, as the nearest post office was miles away, but he couldn’t send mail from his house.

Seeing the sun make its way across the sky, he smiled to himself, wondering how Tsunotaro’s date was going.

He rarely ventured out this far from his house, but the occasion necessitated it.

Finally, he reached the small post office, and paid for paper, a stamp, and an envelope. He quickly penned a letter.

Rollo,

Hello and greetings. I am pleased to hear from you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances. It does appear any other correspondence from you was intercepted.

I am saddened to hear about the Queen, and I offer my condolences at this time as I know you two were close.

It is indeed true that Her Majesty’s grandson lives with me though I am curious as to how you came across this information. However, I do not know the significance of the Prince’s marriage prospects in ruling, but I feel the information must be brought up to him carefully.

Perhaps you and I could advise him until he is more prepared for the pressures of the crown?

Your dearest friend,

Lilia Vanrouge

He chuckled a bit to himself upon writing that last bit. Folding up the letter, he licked the stamp and the envelope before handing them to the worker, and started on his way back home.

Entering the hut quietly he found Tsunotaro and Silver embracing one another on the couch, book in Tsunotaro’s hand. He gave their slee[ing forms a warm smile, and went to fetch a blanket.

Lilia hoped Rollo’s madness would allow him to see reason, but a few days later, another letter came in the mail.

Lilia,

The patience of this court has been tested long enough. The Prince will be collected from your residence Friday morning, to be delivered and presented to the court so that he may be married. I have helped the Queen for so long, and she has promised his hand as a reward for my efforts.

Any further delays will be seen as treason against the crown, and will carry an appropriate penalty.

-Rollo Flamm

Lilia’s heart lurched at the information. They were coming to pick him up in a days’ time.

Could they run? Should they run? Lilia couldn’t think straight. They were coming for his son.

Perhaps this would be better for now. He should go and confirm that the Queen was truly comatose. And it was about time Tsunotaro knew, anyhow.

Despite his decision, he fretted about how to tell Tsunotaro. The rest of the day, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything, merely watching him intensely.

The next morning, Tsunotaro was skipping about merrily, no doubt excited about his birthday tomorrow.

His birthday. What a gift to receive.

Lilia resolved to tell him, and over and over, throughout the day, he opened his mouth to say it before bailing out.

Before he knew it, the day was over. He decided to tuck Silver into bed, giving himself one last moment to savor this calm before the storm.

Three stories later, he called Tsunotaro down.

“Sit down, Tsunotaro,” he said with a heavy heart. Tsunotaro did, body alert.

Oh no. He thought this was about his birthday.

“I apologize for not explaining this to you sooner. I sincerely thought I had more time, and when the time ran out, I could not find the words to explain this.”

Lilia’s heart was pounding. Telling Tsunotaro made it all real.

It’s alright,” he said, ever the pleaser.

“Tsunotaro,” he said, trying not to let his voice waver, “you were born as the Crown Prince of the Briar Valley.” His son gasped. “Your parents were the Prince and Crown Princess themselves, before they perished to the fearsome dragons that live in the mountains when you were only a baby.”

Continuing, he said, “The great wizard Rollo was able to defeat the dragons, but not in time to save you parents. The Queen, your grandmother, asked me to take you away and raise you in the forest, so as to protect you from the dragons. But your grandmother has fallen very ill, and as the last member of the royal family, you must return and take your rightful throne in her steed.”

Tsunotaro hadn’t said anything, but his facial expression told Lilia he was totally stunned. His jaw hung open slightly, his pupils wide.

Giving it a moment, he continued, feeling the need to get all of the news out of the way as fast as possible.

“There is,” said Lilia slowly, “another thing I must mention.”

“The wizard Rollo, having helped Queen Malifica for so long, has demanded a prize.” He felt sick again. “Your hand in marriage.”

Tsunotaro’s whole body dropped in disgust.

“Can’t you,” he choked, “is that not a service you can provide?”

Lilia hung his head in shame at his inability to protect his child. “Rollo, in the queen’s incapacitation, has assumed control of the crown. If you do not present yourself to the court and take it for yourself, he will continue to have power.” Scrubbing his face, he said, “If you are not delivered to the palace tomorrow, he will come and collect you regardless.”

“So,” he uttered, his voice rising, “upon being made king, I have lost all of my freedoms? Just like that?”

He always had a way with words. “I am sorry, love, I am so, so sorry.”

Tsuntaro blinked. His eyes glistened in the stray light. “There is nothing to be done? In one night, I am no longer a man, but a statue?”

“There will be a carriage coming tomorrow morning. Go upstairs,” he said, tilting his head, “and pack your essentials. A few changes of clothes, toiletries, books for the journey.”

Tsunotaro looked at him pleadingly, and he held up a hand. “There is not nothing to be done yet, but the consequences of failing to make an appearance at all would be disastrous.”

He looked down at his hands, and Lilia placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Take a deep breath, Tsunotaro. I cannot promise anything, but we will figure this out together. That I can assure you of.”

Lilia had held power in that court once. He was a decorated warrior, with resources and allies. He would not stop fighting until it was over, and even after that.

He stepped back. “Now go upstairs. Pack quickly. You will need every ounce of strength for tomorrow and the coming days.” Then, he stepped forward and gave Tsunotaro a hug.

He let go, and Tsunotaro left to his room, looking like his soul was no longer tethered to his body. After a deep sigh, he retired to his own room to rest off the night.

When the letter had said morning, they had meant it, as the guards pounded down his door before dawn had even begun.

He made no effort to conceal his irritation, trying to keep his son away from the lecherous guards.

Who were all, curiously, human.

The Briar Valley had been opening up to travel between other countries more, so it did not seem unlikely some of them had made their way up the ranks of the guard. Still, it seemed odd that only human guards had been sent. Lilia didn’t recognize any of them, which made sense as they seemed quite young, but their lack of discipline suggested some major changes to the guard had occurred in his absence.

When Lilia slammed the door to the carriage shut, his son jumped a bit. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to antagonize them, Father,” rasped Tsunotaro.

“They’re spies. The fewer chances they get to spy on us, the better.” Tsunotaro nodded. “Now settle in, we have a long journey ahead of us, and you are right. We should try to speak to them as little as possible.”

Silver arranged himself on his lap. Lilia put his hand on Silver’s head.

Lilia, finally done trying to keep the guards away from Tsunotaro, noticed how his son looked.

He was shaking, clutching his arms, and his eyes were ringed red. His hair was a mess, deviating significantly from his usual meticulous brushing.

“Now that we have a moment,” he said gently, weary of further scaring his son, “are you alright, Tsunotaro?”

Looking up slowly, he said, “Yes,” and lowered his head again.

He was obviously lying, but Lilia didn’t know how to help him. It was clear he’d been panicking about this all night, and had worn himself out.

His poor eyes were red, his eyelids heavy. He slumped over, his body clearly too heavy for him to hold up on his own.

Lilia had never felt so awful, trying desperately to think of a combination of words that would let Tsunotaro allow him to carry this burden.

His every breath seemed to be holding back a sob. Lilia closed his eyes to those weak little sobs, but opened them upon remembering something.

“Is this about your friend from the forest?”

Tsunotaro looked at him, eyes veritable oceans of pain.

“We will figure this out, Tsunotaro, I promise you. I-” He stopped. “I shouldn’t promise anything right now. It’ll work out, somehow. Try to get some sleep.”

He nodded gently and leaned against the wall, his eyes sliding shut.

Oh shoot. He needed to tell Tsonotaro one last thing.

“Your parents-” Tsunotaro’s eyes snapped open, and Lilia felt bad for waking him.

“Your parents. They wanted to call you Malleus. That was your name, when you were born.” Silence. “In case anyone calls you that.”

Tsunotaro’s eyes closed again, and Lilia looked out the window.

“What’s wrong?” Silver asked after Tsunotaro had fallen asleep.

Lilia looked down on him with a smile. “What do you mean, what’s wrong?”

“Taro’s sad.”

“Yes,” said Lilia, “he is a bit sad.” He picked up Silver and hugged him.

“Ok,” said Silver. “Can I help?”

“Why don’t you go give him a hug. Gently, he needs to rest.” SIlver crawled over to the other seat, and gave Tsunotaro a light hug, as far as his arms could go.

“Good job. Now, come back to sit with me. It’s dangerous to be walking about while the carraige moves.” He patted his lap and Silver came.

Lilia rested his chin in Silver’s head, who fussed a bit, and closed his eyes.

The next few hours after waking up were a whirlwind.

He hadn’t anticipated how much he had missed seeing the castle in all its glory, nor had he remembered feeling so anxious around Rollo.

Older, but not much larger, the lines across his face had sunken in. There was a meanness in his stare, and a leer in his eyes when he looked at Tsunotaro that immediately raised Lilia’s hackles.

They were ripped apart, however, despite Lilia’s best efforts. The defeat he felt was crushing, but even if Rollo tried anything, there was nothing that couldn’t be undone by morning.

Under the gaze of the imposing guards, they made their way up to a guest room, Lilia unlatching the suitcase.

Silver had been sobbing, fat tears streaming down his cheeks, from the stress and now from being overtired. Lilia had him change and tried to tuck him into bed when a rumble shook through the castle.

It sent a tremor down Lilia’s spine, his gut telling him something was wrong.

Silver looked at Lilia, lower lip wavering again.

“Alright, come here,” said Lilia, wrapping him up in a little blanket. “Hold onto me as tight as you can.” Knowing there were guards posted outside the door, Lilia snuffed out some candles, leaned into the wall, and tried to find the shadows again.

They dipped into the inky darkness, coming out on the outside of the castle, trying to follow the source.

“Woah!” whispered Silver. “Let’s do that again!” he said, swinging his legs.

Lilia laughed. “We’ll see.”

He had traced the magic source to somewhere here. He was out of practice, but the signature indicated a huge surge of magic usage. He squinted into the darkness, the light of the torches offering little slivers of visibility.

They looked around a little further, Lilia on the lookout in case he had to leave Silver and distract their foe… but he didn’t have to look long.

Scaly, monstrous, could crush a building with ease- the sheer size of what he was looking at made it difficult to process.

But his mind made the connection. He was looking at a dragon.

Ducking behind a wall, he clutched Silver to his chest and watched as the dragon scrambled back from something in the corner.

Upon closer inspection, it was Rollo.

“Back, back, you wicked beast! Your kind will be eliminated if I have to do it all myself!” Rollo fired a spell, and the dragon roared.

Despite its size, the dragon seemed to be scared, giving off little whimpers instead of mighty roars and hesitating to spit either fire or water. He was hardly even breathing smoke or steam out of his nostrils.

He was also backing up quite a bit into a line of houses, his serpentine body attempting to avoid not only the attacks thrown at him, but the people themselves.

His body hit a wall and he jumped, creating even more damage which caused the dragon to whimper even harder.

Lilia has a realization.

With this realization, he formed a plan. He placed Silver gently on the ground, saying, “Alright Silver, I will be back in no less than a minute. Do not make a sound, and do not move.”

“Ok!” he said cheerily.

Lilia smiled, then charged a spell.

Running forward, he blasted at Rollo, knocked back in surprise. He managed to get between him and Tsunotaro, and began charging another spell.

“Rollo!” he shouted. “I never thought you had it in you.”

Rollo moved his hand in front of his face. “Stand in my way, Lilia, and I will have no choice but to defeat you as well.” His speech was muffled by the hand.

Lilia fired his spell into the sky, a ripple of magic spreading throughout the sky. Rollo looked up, then back at him. “What have you done?!”

“Run now, Rollo.” Lilia barked back.

Rollo’s eyebrows knit together, and he shouted, “We need reinforcements!”. His group turned tail to run away.

Lilia looked back at the dragon. “Tsunotaro!” he shouted. “Is that you?”

With an exaggerated motion, he nodded his head, unfamiliar with the new size of his limbs, and lowered his neck to meet Lilia’s eyeline.

“Oh Tsunotaro,” he said, reaching out to stroke his scales. “I am so sorry.”

Tsunotaro shook his head. “No,” said Lilia, “I am.”

He stepped back. “But I will make this right.”

Tsunotaro cocked his head. “I will go and fetch my own reinforcements.” Tsunotaro nodded, and gave him a jaw-cracking yawn.

He looked at Lilia. “I’ve cast a sleep spell on the area,” he explained. “It will keep people from moving anywhere so you do not harm anyone by accident.”

Tsunotaro gave him a mournful sound. “Relax, Tsunotaro, I will bring you a hero.” Then he left.

Checking on Silver, he was trying very hard to fight the sleepiness.

“Lie down, Silver,” he said. He rested Silver’s head on the soft bed of grass.

“But I wanna help,” he said as his eyes closed.

Lilia ruffled his hair. “You are,” he said.

He lay down next to him and watched him sleep for a few moments, then closed his eyes and pressed a palm into the grass, slipping away.

The spell had created an enclosure, slowing down time within it and warping time and space around it. The borders could even slowly creep forward, encasing more people in its grasp. Unsurprisingly, it took a massive amount of Lilia’s power to fuel, an amount that only grew as time went on. It was made an effective stopgap to buy them time, but it meant Lilia alone could not defeat Rollo, let alone anyone else he brought.

He drifted in the darkness for a while, trying to reach out to find Tsunotaro’s friend. He knew that they were a particularly brave student at the Night Raven College but not much else, and Lilia traced shadows near the school.

Time was advancing much faster outside of his shadow field than he was used to. His sleep spell was devouring his energy- he knew he had to move faster.

People were moving and changing rapidly. Taking a chance, he dove and ended on the forest floor, the school visible from here.

“So what’s next?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, we’re not just going to let your prince get devoured, Yuu.”

He had struck gold! Lilia charged up his spell and made sure to identify who ‘Yuu’ was.

“Could we sneak past them?”

“We can’t walk there.”

Melding the shadows around him, he reached out to grab them.

“Maybe using a distraction.”

They went through the shadows together, but Lilia felt something twinge in his head. He was overexerting himself, and wouldn’t be able to go as far as where he had started.

Appearing near the town square, the trip must have been hard on Yuu because they flopped on the ground and didn’t awake.

“Hey. Get up.” They didn’t have time for this. The sky was a beautiful starry night, but the spell’s time warping meant it could be any time and any day.

They still weren’t up? “Hey!”

Finally, they opened their eyes.

“Huh?” they said groggily.

“Come with me,” he said, and began walking to where Tsunotaro was.

Yuu followed them hurriedly through the town, but Lilia remembered they needed some things.

He stopped to reach into a shadow and produce the Shield of Virtue, still where the Queen had hid it in her room over two decades ago.

“This is the Shield of Virtue,” he explained. “It will protect you. You will need its power for the coming battle.”

“What’s going on?” This Yuu wasn’t really good at picking up context clues.

“There will be an attack very soon,” he said quickly. “You must fight with all your might, but you will not be alone.”

He waved them around a corner, finding Tsunotaro again.

“What do you want me to do?” they asked incredulously, hand hovering above their sword.

Then, after taking a good look, they finally made the connection.

“Tsunotaro?”

He exhaled. Finally.

Finally was right. This story has gotten derailed enough times.

Yuu shook their head. Where had that thought come from?

“Is it you?” they said to him, reaching out a shaky hand. “Are you really… alive?”

The dragon said nothing, but Yuu could tell.

“Oh,” they said, the joy crashing through them. “You’re ok!”

They stumbled forward to hug hi(s face) but Tsunotaro growled and snapped his teeth at them.

“Um- hey!” Yuu yelled, thrown off by the icy response as they stumbled backwards.

“Tsunotaro!” chastised Lilia. “What is wrong with you?”

Lilia’s hand was on his hip, and his foot was tapping. Tsunotaro said nothing but huffed, blowing hot steam out of his nose.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, young man,” started Lilia, “but you have better knock it off right now.”

Tsunotaro turned his head around to face away from them.

Lilia rolled his eyes. “Children,” he muttered. To Yuu he said, “Rollo the wizard has become intent on hunting Tsunotaro down. He has no experience living in this form and is terrified.”

“Wha- Rollo?!”

He looked at them. “Is that a problem? Are you allied with him?”

Yuu shook their head. “No, no! It’s just, I know he’s very powerful. You want me to defeat him? I haven’t even graduated from school yet.”

“Tsunotaro has spoken highly of your skill. If you are half as talented as he says, defeating Rollo should be within your power.”

Yuu felt heat creeping up their neck. Tsunotaro shifted further away.

“Why can’t you do that, if I may ask? You seem as much a match for Rollo as I am.”

“The spell enclosing this area draws from my power,” he said, waving to the unnaturally green glow the blue sky was giving off, “and so I am too weakened to join you for the moment.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” they said, glancing at Tsunotaro’s scaly spine.

“You may be right, however. Placing all our eggs in one basket is unwise with someone as devious as Rollo. The short fae set his hands on his hips. “Do you have any such allies we could call upon at this time?”

“My friends!” said Yuu instantly. “I was with a group of people when you grabbed me. Can you bring them here?"

Lilia cocked his head. “How many?”

“Four. Well, five, if you count Grim, but he’s pretty small.”

Lilia closed his eyes, contemplating. “Yes,” he replied, “but I will need time to gather my strength to pull that many people through. You will have to hold off Rollo on your own until I arrive.”

“That I can do.”

“Then I will be back as quickly as possible.”

Lilia turned and left, leaving Yuu and Tsunotaro alone.

“So!” they said to his back. “I thought you were dead!”

Tsunotaro humphed and shuffled away.

“Excuse me, what is wrong with you?” They said, upset, trying to walk around to get a glimpse of his face. “I get dragged all this way to help you, and you won’t even look at me?”

Tsunotaro humphed again. That sounded like a yes.

“Can I ask why? Oh wait, you can’t tell me.”

At that, Tsunotaro turned around and unfurled himself to look at Yuu, anger flashing in his eyes and a growl rumbling in his throat. Yuu really did not want to admit they found this obscenely attractive, and tried to focus on the impending siege.

Tsunotaro continued to growl at them, and indicated to their body with his head as if it were obvious what the source of his frustration was.

Oh, right.

“I’m sorry,” they said, “How was I supposed to know this was going to happen?”

Tsunotaro blew steam at them again. His brows were furrowed, clearly not over it.

“Tsunotaro,” they continued, “the situation is a lot more complex-”

“Stand down!” A voice rang out.

Tsunotaro and Yuu looked off to the side to the source of the voice, where Yuu saw a guy with a large hat pointing at them with an ornate staff, standing in front of an army of people.

The guy in the hat must be Rollo, thought Yuu.

“Is that who did this to you?” Tsunotaro nodded.

“Then we have our target.” Yuu drew their sword, but before they knew it, a large tail was sweeping them away from the crowd.

“Wha-HEY! I’m not letting you sideline me!” They hopped over the tail and charged forward to meet the invaders, drawing sword and shield out of instinct.

Tsuntotaro, having the advantage of size, flattened himself in front of Yuu, blocking them totally from the enemy.

“Come on!” they shouted at the wall of scales, fist shaking in the air.

He looked at them smugly for a moment before roaring out in pain as something stuck him in the back. The cry went straight to Yuu’s heart, and they felt helpless to comfort him.

Tsunotaro!

“Tsunotaro!” they cried out loud. “Don’t do this to yourself, please! This isn’t worth hurting yourself over, let me help you!”

“Stand down, you evil monster!” Yuu heard what sounded like Rollo shouting behind Tsunotaro. They saw sparks of magic explode over his body, and he roared in pain again.

“No! No! Stop doing that!” They shouted over the noise.

What do I do, what do I do? Yuu was frantic to fix this somehow- Lilia had trusted them, but they were only one person.

“Tsunotaro!” they yelled, desperate. “Listen, I know you’re hurt, and I know that’s my fault.” Their voice cracked a bit, both with the force of yelling and with emotion. “I’m sorry for hurting you, do you hear me? I am so sorry.”

He didn’t look down at them, his face resolute. Yuu couldn’t tell if he was trying not to show he was in pain or trying to resist

“I can’t change the past, a-and I can’t unsay all those things, but please! Can’t we argue about this later?”

He looked at them, struggling not to show any more pain, and conceded.

His tail shot out, knocking down the mages doing the most immediate damage, and he sat up, growling at the crowd with head-sized teeth.

“Thank you,” they said, and took a look around the battlefield.

Rollo’s initial group was getting back up after Tsunotaro’s attack, but Yuu could see more mages in the distance.

They seemed to be… appearing?

Yuu remembered the mirror set up near the school. They had to have an exit, and this was probably it.

“They’re using mirrors, Tsunotaro, we have to destroy them before this gets any worse! Can you fly over there?”

Tsunotaro crouched in on himself and shook his head. He was still uncomfortable with his new body, Yuu could tell.

“Could you jump, maybe? I’d go myself, but you would be a lot faster.”

He nodded and coiled his body. Springing forth, he lept through the crowd and ran.

“Stop him!!” shouted Rollo, and he began to glow.

“Oh no you don’t!” Yuu charged forward, trying to knock down as many people as possible in their pursuit of Rollo. Their eyes were trained on him, but an unseen figure from behind tackled and pinned them to the ground.

“Agh!” Someone was sitting on their spine. Someone else tried to rip the shield from them, but Yuu held onto it as tight as they could.

Tsunotaro’s footsteps caused the ground to rumble, the only sign he was still alive as the crowds of people blocked their vision.

They took a deep breath and relaxed, allowing their attackers to relax as well, before shoving themselves as hard as they could away from the ground. They managed to disbalance their attacker just in time to see Tsuntoaro’s tail crash down and shatter something.

Their joy was immediately replaced with fear as Rollo finished with whatever spell he was charging, which engulfed him in bright flames.

Yuu had no idea how he didn’t catch on fire, but that didn’t seem to matter very much as Rollo shot a pillar of flames towards Tsunotaro. They felt themselves scream, but they could hardly hear anything over the blood rushing in their ears as they saw the pillar strike a wall of scales.

Someone knocked them down again, the air rushing out of their lungs as they were pushed onto the stone.

“Not so cocky now, are you-” the voice taunting them cut off, and the pressure on their back was relieved.

Spots in their vision, they gasped and stood up, seeing the mage wince around an arrow in their shoulder.

Yuu turned around to see Ace’s bow, along with Ace, Deuce, Jack and Epel, Grim balancing on Jack’s shoulder.

“Yuu!” they cried out.

“Ace! Jack! Epel! Deuce! Oh, Grim!” they shouted over the crowd of mages surrounding them.

They stepped forward, encircling Yuu, but they struck back and opened the circle to allow the rest of the team a chance to help.

Another arrow flew past Yuu’s head, and Epel shot a beam from his wand, washing away the remaining mages.

Pushed back, Jack held his arms out to let Grim crawl back onto Yuu’s shoulder.

“Oh man, Yuu! Are we glad to see you!” said Ace.

“I should be saying that to you guys!” said Yuu.

“What’s happening?” asked Deuce.

“Rollo turned Tsunotaro- I mean, the prince, into the dragon. He’s not dead! Do you see him over there?”

They looked over to see Tsunotaro on his side, burns embedded in his scales, as he flailed and squirmed. There seemed to be ropes encircling him, pinning him down.

On second thought, Yuu saw loops of chains clanking against him. Everytime he shifted, they could see the chains ringing red marks onto his scales. He was groaning, seemingly unable to escape the torment of pain.

No!

“Deuce,” they said, tears in their eyes, “is there any way you can help him?”

He thought for a moment, and cast a spell. “From here, I can only heal him a little.”

“If we take out Rollo,” said Epel, “we can get everyone else to stop! There’s too many people for us to just confront head on anyway.”

Yuu’s wand glowed, in Grim’s paw. “Then let’s get to working!” He said, firing his spell and cutting a line straight to Rollo.

They sprinted through, trying to make it as far as possible before the army closed ranks again. Yuu rammed their shield and brandished their sword, slashing and cutting as they led the charge.

Epel and Jack pushed against the closing walls of the mages, Deuce trying his best to help Tsunotaro as they approached.

“No!” Yuu could see Rollo preparing another pillar. They were close, but they’d never stop him in time.

“I got it!” Ace took his aim and loosened his arrow at Rollo.

Most of the arrow burned up in the flames, but he managed to smack him in the wrist and break his concentration.

The flames he was working up dispelled, and he shot a look of pure rage towards the source of the arrow.

He took his staff and raised it, summoning another pillar of fire. He thrust it forward, but Epel lept to the front and fired as much water as he could summon in one go, extinguishing the flame and allowing the group to get closer.

“Rollo! Stop this, now!” Yuu was ready to kill him out of anger, but they had to give him a chance to explain himself first.

Instead of politely laying down his weapon, however, his face grew even more twisted, and he raised his staff again.

“You will not impede my righteous mission with your weak impulses!” he said, as flames began to dance around him once again.

“Oh, cork it!” shouted Grim, who shot another powerful null spell at Rollo.

He dodged the spell and Yuu’s sword swipe but not without stumbling backwards. Deuce rushed to unchain Tsunotaro, Jack rushed forward to defend him against the mages who tried to stop him.

Yuu pointed their sword at his neck, but he blasted them with another wave of fire. They barely managed to lift their shield in time to protect themselves, but it was them who ended up getting knocked down, shield jamming into their face.

They struggled back to their feet, but Rollo fired off a smaller fire spell that caused them to stagger, Grim’s claws digging into their jacket as he tried to stay balanced.

Tsunotaro snarled, and spit out a wave of water, but Yuu was caught in the blast. The shield protected them again, but they ended up knocked down, again.

Rollo recovered quicker, and turned his anger to the still-chained dragon. Yuu raised their sword and charged, but Rollo summoned his own sword, white and glowing, and parried their blow.

His staff vanished as his hand released it, but he switched back to his staff and dispeled his sword as he raised the staff against Tsunotaro. Yuu couldn’t tackle him without burning themselves on his flames, so readied their shield and rammed into him again.

“Fine!” shouted Rollo. “I will take care of you first!” He engulfed Yuu’s shield in flames, pinning them to the ground again.

The dragon roared, and opened his mouth, but Yuu shouted, “No!” and held up their hand. They had to keep Rollo’s attention on themselves.

Yuu could see his facade cracking, and knew that he was so close to exploding. His rage was starting to crowd out everything else in his mind, and Yuu knew that, once he got sloppy, it would be exponentially harder to recover.

To their other side, Epel was using his water to keep the crowd at bay, Ace picking at the rowdiest ones, but Yuu could tell he was getting tired. They had to escalate Rollo’s anger as quickly as possible.

They kicked their shield and dug the tip into Rollo’s chest, the heated metal burning into his robes. As fast as they could, they lunged and twisted the staff out of his hand. It clattered and vanished again.

It was working. If Rollo could have shot flames from his eyes, he would have. But it wasn’t enough, Rollo needed to do something stupid, so dumb that he’d get knocked onto the ground and wouldn’t get back up.

“That was the Sword of Truth, right? Why don’t you let it be reunited with its shield. Or are you not that good a swordsman?”

Rollo had schooled his expression into something slightly less murderous. “I will not be provoked into-”

Yuu spit in his face.

Well, it was near his face. The spit itself sizzled on the flames and evaporated, but it was enough for Rollo to break. He summoned his staff in one hand and the sword in another, and the sword and shield glowed as their proximity to one another powered each other.

Wiping at his cheek, he yelled, “Allow me to plunge you into the fiery pits of HELL!” Rollo pounced forward with the sword with a truly righteous passion, forcing Yuu on the defensive.

Grim shouted and shot at Rollo’s sword, but flames crashed against them once again and he was forced to retreat.

“You want to see my sword skills? Then stand up!”

Yuu held up their sword as Rollo’s blade bounced off of it. The shield dug into Yuu’s arm, and with one more swing, forcing Yuu onto the ground.

Looking up at Rollo from the ground, they felt a familiar sense of fear rise within them, and realized the same thing they had recognized so long ago. They were outclassed again.

Rollo had decades of experience and devotion to his craft that Yuu just didn’t. He had fought many a battle like this one and had won, repeatedly.

I can’t beat him on brute force alone, they thought, but I can do something else.

“Did you honestly think you could defeat me?” He said, his tone startlingly cold. Rollo extinguished his flames and summoned the sword, the fires from behind illuminating him.

“Now, you and your beast will die together.”

Yuu panted as they waited for their opening. His arrogance had finally won, and all Yuu had to do was pounce on it.

He placed his sword tip on Yuu’s neck, standing directly over them now. Lifting his sword, Tsunotaro’s livid roar rang through the air.

They placed their hands on the grass behind them, and, as Rollo’s sword came down, they kicked their legs forward, knocking him off his balance and just barely missing their neck.

Yuu grabbed the sword and flipped Rollo over, blade to his neck, knees to his back.

They took a few heavy breaths as Rollo tried to break out of the hold, to no avail. Yuu could pin people with the best of them.

Eventually, he stopped struggling, and his head dropped on the ground.

Yuu leaned down. “Change him back.”

They could feel his gasps. “Burn in hell.”

“Rollo. You can walk away from this.”

He grit his teeth and looked Yuu in the eyes as much as he could. “Burn. In. Hell.”

The blade slashed, and it was over.

Yuu sat up on weak legs, and looked onto the crowd silently. The wordless message rippled through the crowd, and weapons were put down.

Grim scrambled up their shoulder and raised his wand, enveloping the army in a white glow, and they disappeared.

Yuu looked at him with confusion. “I was able to reverse the mirror spell,” he said. “But- whew.” He flopped onto their shoulder. Yuu gave him a little pat on the head.

The team members looked at each other, not saying anything but exchanging tired smiles.

Chains fell to the ground behind Yuu, and they turned around.

“What?” they said softly.

Tsunotaro was still a dragon, looking at Yuu with fear. He stretched himself out, but looked around for a solution.

“I don’t understand,” said Epel. “Shouldn’t he be changed back?”

“Yeah,” said Yuu, incredulous, “I don’t- I don’t know.”

Tsunotaro lowered his head to meet Yuu’s eyes.

“It’s gonna be ok, Tsunotaro,” they said. “We’re gonna figure this out somehow.”

They walked forward slowly, Grim hopping off their back to lie down, and crawled onto Tsunotaro’s face.

“And if it isn’t,” they said, “it’ll be ok anyway. I can love you like this.”

He looked at Yuu questioningly.

“I lied. I do love you, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier, I really thought I was doing the right thing.”

Tsunotaro’s eyes widened, but they drooped again shortly.

“I mean it! This time, I’m not lying.” They leaned down to give his nose a quick kiss. “See?”

The scales on Tsunotaro’s body shimmered, and he disappeared.

Looking into the face of their friend, they realized he had not disappeared, but shrunk.

“Yuu,” he muttered, looking a bit worse for wear. Day was breaking behind his head.

“Tsunotaro?!” they exclaimed. “Oh, you’re back!”

“It appears I am,” he said, blinking. “I think-”

Moving without thinking, they reached out to cup his face and kiss him, on the lips this time, and Tsunotaro did not protest as he brought them in closer.

He was carrying them in his arms, and so was able to clutch at them tightly as Yuu deepened the kiss.

“Awwwwww!”

They broke their kiss, remembering the rest of them were there.

“Don’t start, Ace,” said Deuce.

“Aw, but they’re basically asking for it, right?” Epel nodded. Jack did too, a little.

“Thank you all for your help,” said Tsunotaro. “I cannot articulate the panic I felt when I awoke in that form. Without all of you, I likely would have perished at the hands of Rollo.”

“But why didn’t Rollo dying get rid of the curse?” asked Yuu, Tsunotaro still holding them. “And what did get rid of it?”

“True love’s kiss,” said Lilia, strolling in with Silver in his arms. “In this case, however, the kiss likely relaxed Tsunotaro enough so that he could transform back.”

“Father!” Tsunotaro started to run to him, but stopped when he remembered he was still carrying Yuu.

“Oh! You can put me down,” they said sheepishly. He seemed to think about it for a moment but didn’t get to make a choice before someone else interrupted them.

“That seems most truthful,” said a shadowy figure. A woman in dark robes and tall horns holding a staff appeared behind Lilia. “When one hasn’t practiced this sort of transformation, the transition can be rough.”

Tsunotaro looked at the woman, seeming to recognize who she was to him.

“Tsunotaro,” said Yuu, tapping his chest. “I can stand.” Yuu would have thought he didn’t listen to them at all by the way he didn’t look down if he hadn’t tightened his grip.

“Queen Malifica,” he said with reverence and a little bit of apprehension.

“Prince Malleus,” she replied in kind, slowly striding towards him.

“My name is Tsunotaro,” he corrected, still not letting go of Yuu. Thankfully, Queen Malifica was not looking at them at all.

“It’s nice to meet you, then.” She smiled.

“What’s this?”

Tsunotaro, going by Prince Malleus to the public, worked with Queen Malifica to explain the situation to the kingdoms of Yumen, the Briar Valley, and anyone else who asked.

Rollo had been working for the King of Yumen this entire time, from the very first moment he had arrived to the Briar Valley. Infiltrating the court was part of his plan to destabilize the kingdom and take it over. His marriage and subsequent murder of Tsunotaro and leaching of Malifica’s power would have solidified him as the only legitimate ruler to the throne, and with every generation of graduates from the Night Raven College, his ranks grew stronger.

Fortunately, most of his followers who were unwilling to come to their senses had willingly returned to their homeland, apparently far from here, and the rest were shipped off on a boat anyway.

Rollo’s death had broken the curse laid upon Malifica but not the one laid on Tsunotaro because it was no curse at all. Though the Draconia line had lost many of their draconic powers over the years, they still retained the capability to transform, though not the ability to do so totally on their own. Rollo had simply triggered the transformation, as he had with Tsunotaro’s parents.

The truth of their untimely deaths were finally revealed, and they were able to be mourned properly. Though he hadn’t met them, Tsunotaro felt a small pang of sadness at their gruesome deaths, their last moments filled with such fear.

The King of Yumen was quickly deposed by his daughter, who had been shut out of court for years by him and had instead spent her time wandering the lands as a swordsman hero. As soon as she could, she sent a letter to the Briar Valley apologizing for Yumen’s role in the plot and offering to set aside time to negotiate another treaty, one that more fairly included both kingdoms.

Any concessions made in the original treaty had only existed to build resentment within Yumen, sowing a potential generation of those who would hate the fae, and so it was imperative to renegotiate it swiftly.

She had also mentioned hoping to find her long-lost brother, born many years after herself, given away by her late mother, the Yumen Queen, to a trusted friend so that their father could not influence him with his horrible beliefs. Her hope was that the Briar Valley could help her look, as he was last seen around there.

Tsunotaro’s education would prove useful for these negotiations, as he understood what his people wanted, but he feared the leadership role his crown brought.

His fiance Yuu, however, was vastly more prepared and willing, and so, after they graduated from Night Raven, joined him in the castle to spend a few years apprenticing under Queen Malifica to ensure they were ready for when they eventually wed and were formally crowned.

Yuu, wanting people they could trust, suggested bringing in their friends to fill positions Rollo’s sudden death had left vacant. The human-fae nature of the new court would hopefully allow for more varied discussion and new perspectives.

Now, Tsuntaro was picking through the library, and had found the book he’d been reading to Yuu that day in the woods, along with several sequels.

Yuu looked over at the drawer Tsunotaro had opened on his side of the bed and shut it promptly. He looked at them, wondering what was wrong.

Silver was attending school now, with his friend Sebek whose family had moved closer to the capital city recently. He had taken to books and stories eagerly, but still preferred to have Tsunotaro read to him. Lilia was happy to be raising him and reconnecting with the Queen, who was eager to train Yuu so she could retire and enjoy her great-grandchildren.

“Don’t worry about it,” they replied.

He reopened the drawer to find a wrapped gift, bow and all. Yuu plucked it from his hands and put it back in the drawer.

“Excuse me,” he said, “but I would like to know what it is. Who is it for?”

They looked away. “It was for you,” they said, “right before everything went down.” Everything referring to Rollo turning him into a dragon and Yuu kissing him. “I was going to give it to you for your birthday, but now you don’t need it anymore.”

He looked at the drawer. Yuu stepped away, but he quickly reopened it and took the present.

“Hey!” Yuu reached out to try and grab the book, but Tsunotaro, with the advantage of height, was able to keep it out of their grasp.

“It is my birthday gift, is it not?”

“I never gave it to you! It’s not technically yours!”

Tsunotaro did not care to listen to Yuu, and opened the gift, a bit awkward while trying to keep it out of Yuu’s hands.

“Oh!”

It was the sequel to his favorite book, the one he had read Yuu and the one he’d defended to his father.

“I told you, you don’t need it anymore.”

The castle library had the entire series (there were so many! Tsunotaro had exclaimed happily to Yuu), but he hadn’t gotten a chance to read them yet.

He touched the book to his chest. “But this is the only one that is mine.”

Yuu rolled their eyes and leaned their head up to kiss him, enveloping his hand in theirs, and Tsunotaro bent down to reach their lips.

They came apart and Yuu said, “I couldn’t believe it when I saw there was a sequel. I almost told you so many times.”

Tsunotaro touched the small of their back and pulled them forward to him, throwing them a bit off balance as they kissed once more. Tomorrow, and for a long time after that, they would have to show off for the world, but as they kissed, he knew this moment was just for them.