Chapter Text
An’s very first introduction to magic was a chance encounter at the very worst moment of her life.
When the carriage toppled over, An, at first, felt proud of herself. She had an “I told you so” mentality towards the whole thing, as, thus far, she had been persistently announcing that the carriage was undoubtedly, most definitely, going to fall over. And yet, her aunt, uncle, mother, and even her own father, all ignored her. They’d told her to sit down and be quiet as the adults talked.
Frustrated with the way they wouldn’t listen, An sat there huffing and puffing for half an hour, just waiting for one of the adults to notice her sour mood. But they never did. They were huddled up together, whispering about something An couldn’t quite hear. It seemed serious, sure, but couldn’t they take a break for a second to pay attention to her? They’d been in the carriage for hours at this point. They hadn’t stopped once on the way back from the Aoyagi kingdom, and An was itching to move. But the adults had just been engrossed in their own world the entire time.
So, when the carriage shook a final time before ultimately teetering onto two wheels instead of four, An felt pride bubble up in her chest. A beaming smile found itself on her lips, yet just as she was about to tell the adults all about how right she was, and how they should’ve listened, the carriage hit the ground hard. With the thud of the vehicle hitting the dirt, An was out cold.
An recounted those memories more times a day than she could count. Her last moments with her family were An bitterly sitting off to the side as everyone she loved paid no mind. Desperately, An wished she could go back. She wished she could hug Aunt Nagi again; she wanted to sing with her father again; she would give up everything to have another afternoon of her mom dressing her up for some event. They were all gone, though, while An was not.
When she came to, all those years ago, she was far away from the wreckage. She vaguely recognized the forest as the one she liked to sing in, trying to summon woodland creatures like in the fairytales she loved to read, though she was unfamiliar with this specific part of the forest. As she looked around and assessed her surroundings, she noticed what looked to be sparkles all around the area. There was also a slight aura around herself and the area surrounding her. When she looked up, in awe, she saw a flash of yellow in the trees. However, the second An noticed it, it was gone with a rustle.
A miracle, and yet a curse. That’s what it was. Because had she died there in that freak accident, six-year-old An never would have had to haphazardly make her way through the woods, just to emerge and find a wrecked carriage and the nearly-unrecognizable bodies of her family. She was hardly old enough to understand the concept of death, yet here she was surrounded by it.
In the subsequent years, as she worked through her feelings and tried to live a normal life, An realized it was magic that saved her life. She realized that some gracious soul had seen the accident happen and saved her before she could meet the same fate as her parents. But she always wondered–why didn’t they save them too? Were they really such a good samaritan if they left a child alone with the image of her family’s corpses burned into her memory?
An raced through the village square, laughing as she did so. Townspeople scolded her as she hurtled by, but their scoldings were cut short the moment they saw that flash of blue. It wasn’t just any scoundrel running around their food stalls, it was the princess.
Usually, An tried to steer clear of the heavily populated parts of the village. Typically, she would stay near the houses as everyone made their rounds in the town, or even on the outskirts of the kingdom, right where the forest began. Today, however, it couldn’t be helped. The guards her grandmother had hired to keep her locked up in her stuffy room were getting faster, and she needed a place with lots of obstacles to make sure she could lose them.
It was working so far, as she ducked and weaved through the carts of bread, apples, pastries, and any other food you could think up. Passing by all the smells had An’s stomach grumbling, and she groaned, cursing herself for not taking some time to shop before she was caught. Hopefully dinner in the palace would be good tonight, and she wouldn’t be punished by her grandma for leaving. Again.
Thinking about all of this had slowed An down ever so slightly, which she tried to make up for by jumping on top of a sturdier looking stand. It didn't quite work, however, as An tripped over herself, knocking the person’s sign down.
“Ah–sorry!” She shouted behind her, regaining her footing. She really was sorry, so much so that she made a mental note of the seller so that she could compensate them later. She might have been a nuisance to the townspeople, but she would always be sure to make up for it.
That little slip-up, though, had given the guards time to lessen the distance between them and the girl. An was fast, yes, and quite athletic, but these guards were specially trained in endurance. Even if they didn’t catch her now, should she keep running, she would run out of stamina. And then they would catch her.
That couldn’t happen, now could it? The last thing An needed was another “talking to” from the queen, during which all that would happen would be her blaming An for her parents’ death. “What a reckless girl you are. It’s no wonder you killed your father.”
An shook the thought out of her head, forcing herself to go faster. She leaped behind a building (it looked to be a tailor shop), holding her breath and watching as the guards stupidly continued onwards. Her little scheme had worked.
From there on out, An was smooth sailing back to the castle. She walked without haste, a smug smirk on her face all the way home. She climbed the wall up to her window with ease and expertise, exhaling as she rolled in through the window.
“An.”
At that, An yelped embarrassingly loud. It could’ve been her grandma. Or worse: a ghost. When she looked up, though, she was only met with orange. And, of course, a streak of yellow.
“Akito! Won’t you warn a girl before you do that?” She huffed, exasperated. She stood up, dusting off her garments, which had gotten significantly dirty from all the running.
“Can’t you warn a guy before you sneak out all day?” He shot back, arms crossed. Oh, yeah, An definitely forgot to tell Akito that she was going out to partake in her more… controversial hobbies. “The queen’s been on my ass all day about making sure you’re in your room. I tried covering for you, but this is just ridiculous. You were gone all day.”
“I was caught up, okay?” She sighed, flopping back onto her bed.
“Caught up?” Akito repeated with a scoff. “Really? I checked your room before the sun was even up, and you were already gone! And you’re just now getting back at sunset.”
An sighed. She knew he was right, but she couldn’t help it; she was utterly obsessed with magic. She could practice all day and all night if she could, but clearly, she couldn’t.
“Sorry,” she muttered. “It’s just so boring here.”
Akito tsked, but he didn’t disagree. He just sat on the edge of the princess’ bed, staring at her with a stern look. An tried not to meet his eyes; she was feeling guilty about the whole situation already. It was just… too tempting. To look outside of her windows before the sun rose every morning, looking over the very forest where her life was saved all those years ago. She yearned to learn magic every time she looked out at the trees.
“I’m hungry,” An finally said, breaking the silence. Akito scoffed in return.
“It’s too bad you were gone for dinner. I told Her Majesty you weren’t feeling well.”
An shot up, sitting up straight. “What?! Why would you tell her that?”
“What else did you want me to say?” Akito asked defensively. “‘Oh, Princess An isn’t here because she’s doing the very thing you told her not to do.’”
An groaned, though she knew he was right. “But I’m hungry.”
“So you’ve said,” Akito said under his breath. “I’ll go grab you a plate from the kitchen.”
As Akito left the room, An smiled to herself. She knew that Akito’s job was pretty much just to care for her, but it still felt… familial. She’d never been one of those only children to hope and pray for a sibling, but she couldn’t deny that sometimes it felt like she’d found one in her guard. Every time she saw him interacting with Ena–his real sister–she couldn’t help but be reminded of them.
After several minutes of mindlessly staring at her ceiling, Akito finally came back with her food. An sat up, looking at what the meal was.
“Don’t get too excited. It’s nothing special,” Akito grumbled as he brought the food over to the table in An’s room. She quickly went over, sitting before the plate. It was just seafood today; it wasn’t her favorite, but it also could be worse.
“Thanks, Akito.” An smiled at him before digging in. She was famished, having not eaten before she left, and she’d left before the sun had come up. She just got so caught up in practicing magic.
Though, it felt like she got nowhere. No matter how many hours she spent outside, studying books of spells and practicing pronunciation and hand movements, An could barely manage the simplest of maneuvers. Though it was highly frowned upon for someone of her status to do so, An couldn’t help but wish to befriend a witch or mage. Surely, they would have several things they could teach her.
“What are you thinking about?” Akito asked, snapping An out of her thoughts.
“Just the fact that I’ve been practicing magic for years, and it still feels like I’m getting nowhere. I’m so determined to get better, but it’s like I’ve hit a wall.” She sighed, taking another bite of her food. “At this point, I’m considering seeking out a witch to mentor me. I know my grandma really wouldn’t like that idea, but…” she trailed off.
Akito hummed. “You know, the Aoyagi kingdom had a resident mage family. The mother died a while ago, and the father… I’m pretty sure he’s really sick. But I hear the daughter is really good.” Akito tried to feign nonchalance as he coolly suggested, “We could always go to the kingdom for a couple days and pay her a visit.”
An couldn’t help but laugh. Akito was never this willing to help her with anything related to her interest in magic. Though he wasn’t anywhere near the level of the queen, he still was against the idea of An learning that sort of stuff. She knew the reason he wanted to go: the youngest of the Aoyagi sons.
He and Akito were best friends. Honestly, An couldn’t see what was so special about the prince. During one of the several diplomatic meetings the king would have with her grandmother, she and Toya were forced to interact. And by interacting, that meant An was awkwardly trying to make conversation as Toya sat there stiff as a board, not cracking a hint of a smile. He was the perfect little prince, poised and stoic, just like his father. Whenever Akito talked about him, though, it seemed as if they were thinking of two different people.
Still, it wasn’t a bad idea. An was desperate for any sort of help with her progress (or lack thereof), and even if Akito suggested it for ulterior motives, it would still help.
“Do you wanna go tomorrow?” An asked.
Though he tried to hide his excitement, An could see right through the facade as he shrugged. “Yeah, tomorrow’s fine. I just need to go tell Ena.”
An nodded. “Can you take my plate on the way out?” She asked sweetly, internally laughing at the way Akito huffed and rolled his eyes.
“Are you gonna stay there tonight?” An asked, standing up from her place at the table and handing Akito her plate.
“Might as well,” Akito said in response. “It’s already getting to be late, and we should probably leave at sunrise. Do you want me to let the coachmen know?”
An nodded. “Have a good night, Akito. Tell Ena I said hi!” She farewelled as Akito left her room. In response, he simply put an art up to wave behind him. An closed the door once he was down the corridor.
An once again noticed how filthy her clothes were, and she decided she should probably bathe before she slept. She didn’t want to make a bad impression tomorrow, as she would probably be forced to make small talk with King Aoyagi. As much as she loathed her grandmother, An would never purposefully set a bad image of the kingdom; it would be hers one day, and she needed to treat it like such.
After bathing and throwing on some pajamas, the princess tucked herself into bed. She thought about the fact that she would have to wear some fancy, over-the-top dress tomorrow. It wasn’t as though she didn’t enjoy getting dressed up, she just didn’t feel like she fit that typical princess mold.
Sometimes she worried about that. If she could hardly feel worthy enough to be a princess, how could she ever be fit to be a queen? Even with her private treatment of An, her grandmother was an exemplary queen. She was objectively gorgeous, always cordial and respectful, and she definitely never spent days running away from guards in pants and a button-down shirt.
It never felt this hard when her dad was alive. Of course, she was still a kid and the full weight of responsibility wasn’t on her shoulders, but her dad had been… fun. He was fun, and kind, and jovial, and so, so lively, and it made An feel okay for not being all prim and proper like the other princesses that would visit the kingdom.
And Aunt Nagi. She was a duchess, so she was still held to incredibly high standards. But still, just like An’s father, Nagi was so spirited. She was confident, smart, and outspoken–all things that people hated to see in a noble woman. Yet, they loved it with Nagi. She was charismatic and kind to everyone, so even if people found her to be improper, they couldn’t help but love her. An especially couldn’t help but love her.
Why did she have to…
Or better yet, why couldn’t An have gone with her?
Before she knew it, tears were welling up in An’s eyes. She rubbed them away, trying to ignore the dull ache in her chest. The past was in the past. What she needed to do now wasn’t reminisce about her family; she needed to sleep.
“Jeez, how heavy do you sleep?”
Those were the first words An heard when she opened her eyes. She was greeted by the sight of Akito staring down at her, looking mildly annoyed.
“Fucking finally,” he muttered. “I’ve been trying to wake you up for at least ten minutes. We’re leaving in an hour and a half.”
An made an unintelligible sound in response, glancing out the window. There wasn’t even a hint of sun coming up over the horizon yet. Still, it was better to get up this early, as it gave An time to get dressed up, put on her makeup, and do her hair. So, as much as she wanted to stay in bed for just a few more hours, An summoned the willpower to get up and trudge to the bathroom.
Nearly an hour and a half later, and An was putting the finishing touches on her hair. Though most princesses had servants do that for them, An had gotten quite good at doing it herself. When she was young, her mother and Aunt Nagi had always been the one to do it, so when others tried… it just hurt too much. And so, An had learned to do it all by herself (or sometimes with Ena’s help; she was very good at dressing up).
“Are you ready yet?” Akito asked, heavy fist pounding on the bathroom door.
“Yeah, just about,” An replied, rolling her eyes at Akito’s dramatics. She knew better than to make them late.
After just a couple of minutes, An emerged from the bathroom to see Akito sitting on her bed, his leg bouncing nervously. Once he noticed she was ready, he instantly stood up. “Let’s go.”
Too tired to bicker, An simply nodded and followed him out after grabbing the bag she’d packed earlier in the morning.
Once in the carriage, An barely got to sit down before it started to move. She was nearly knocked to the floor as they began the journey to the Aoyagi Kingdom.
“Did you tell the queen?” Akito asked, keeping his voice down, once An had finally managed to get comfortable in her seat.
She dryly chuckled in reply. “No. She probably would’ve sent someone with us to make sure I’m not running our reputation or something.”
“That wouldn’t be the worst.” Akito shrugged.
“We’re not just there to see Prince Toya, you know,” An reminded, watching as Akito’s mouth opened to defend himself. “Don’t forget the reason I’m going in the first place.”
Akito just sighed and crossed his eyes, settling deeper into his seat. This was going to be a long ride.
For the first hour, An and Akito sat in silence. It was too early for An to make any conversation, and Akito knew that. An dozed off every few minutes, only to be rudely awakened at every sharp bump in the road. At every single one, her eyes widened suddenly, stomach lurching and hands gripping the sides of the carriage. After a few seconds, she would realize how ridiculous she looked, and each time she would catch the sympathetic look Akito would cast her out of the corner of her eye.
For the second and third hours, the road was largely smooth and straight. These were the perfect conditions for An to sleep in, and so she did. Her sleep wasn’t particularly deep, her dreams vague. All she could remember was the unmistakable feeling of falling.
For the fourth hour, An and Akito made idle chit-chat. They couldn’t speak about anything too personal, at least not over a whisper, as An knew the coachmen would tattle to her grandmother should they hear anything that even might upset her. The only reason they hadn’t told the queen she was leaving in the first place, Akito informed her, was because he lied and told them she already knew, as he was sure An probably hadn’t told her. She didn’t need any more punishment as she would already get after returning from an unauthorized trip to another kingdom.
For the fifth hour, An went back to sleep, bored out of her mind with nothing else to do.
For the sixth hour, An practiced her singing. Akito pretended to be annoyed for the better part of the hour, but eventually he joined in as well. That was how they had met–before practicing magic in the woods, An would spend her time practicing her harmonies. One day, a little boy with orange hair emerged from the trees, joining in on her song. They became close friends after that, and once Akito was older and was proving to be quite strong, he was hired as An’s personal knight.
For the seventh hour, An slipped out of her seat, sitting next to Akito instead to read whatever book he’d packed over his shoulder. An knew he wasn’t one for reading (and neither was she, but she was too bored to care), but he always seemed to have his face in a book when they were going to or coming from the Aoyagi Kingdom. He snatched the book away at first, glaring at her, but he eventually came around and let An read along with him.
For the eighth hour, An was feeling particularly impatient, as it was the last leg of the trip. She was incredibly hungry, too energized to sit still, and super sore from the worn cushions in the carriage. She would rotate between staring out the window, annoying Akito, trying to sleep, and trying to keep herself entertained by counting trees (or animals, or houses, or whatever other object she could spot out the window).
Finally, the carriage came to a halt in front of the large Aoyagi castle. It was larger than the one in her own kingdom, and it felt quite daunting whenever An had to stand right in front of it.
“Finally.” Akito voiced An’s exact thoughts out loud. They both grabbed their things and got out of the carriage. An paid the coachmen generously despite the fact that she knew they were both less than fond of her. Once they were out of sight, An was able to act “unladylike” and stretch.
Once the both of them felt less still from the several hours on the road, they walked up the castle stairs and knocked on the grand doors. Usually the entrance of a royal such as An would be treated with much more fanfare, and an official royal guide, being greeted with the entire royal family once they stepped inside. But since An had decided to come on a whim without telling anyone, there was no one in the Aoyagi kingdom who knew they’d decided to come.
One of the most beloved servants of the Aoyagi family opened the door, prepared to give her usual speech to turn away commoners. However, once she saw An’s familiar face, she scrambled to bow and keep the door open at the same time.
“Princess Shiraishi! I apologize for not being ready for your visit–I wasn’t informed that you were coming!”
“It’s no problem!” An assured, feeling a little guilty. “It was kind of a… uh… surprise visit, you could say.”
“I see,” the servant replied, finally standing up from her bow. “Please, come in, I will have the king come greet you immediately.”
An and Akito stepped inside the incredibly spacious entrance of the castle. Though it was large, there weren’t many places to sit, so they simply stood around as they waited for King Aoyagi.
Instead, the first royal to see them was Prince Toya. He emerged from the top of the staircase, peering down. An noticed as he immediately locked eyes with Akito, and the small smile that formed on his lips might have been the most emotion An had ever seen the prince show.
“Akito,” he called as he walked down the stairs. He kept his pace steady, though An could clearly see that he was holding back. It was so stupid; if he was happy, why wouldn’t he just show it?
“Your highness,” Akito said back when he finally got to the bottom of the staircase. Toya shook his head, cracking a smile–an actual smile, with teeth and all.
They stood there staring at each other for a good minute with An standing off to the side awkwardly. She figured she would probably greet Prince Toya, but it felt like it was out of turn to speak, despite the fact that it was silent.
Finally, Toya turned to her. “Hello, Princess An,” he said with a cordial bow. An replied with a curtsy and a similar greeting. But after that, all of his attention was back on Akito.
“I didn’t know you were coming. How long has this been planned?” The prince inquired.
“About 14 hours.” Akito gave a smile along with his response.
“I see…” Toya furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you here for any specific reason?”
Akito opened his mouth to speak before looking up, then simply saying, “I’ll tell you about it later.” Both Toya and An followed his graze to see the one and only King Aoyagi coming down the stairs.
“Princess An.” The title sounded less like a greeting and more like an observation. “Your grandmother didn’t tell me you were coming here.”
His presence was overwhelming. An thought it was probably the same way most people felt speaking with her grandma–hell, even she felt like that speaking to her sometimes. But with King Aoyagi, it was entirely different. He wasn’t a particularly big man, nor did he speak with a loud, booming voice, unlike King Tenma for example. His being was simply just suffocating, and his gaze was frigid. Whenever she saw the king, An was immediately reminded of why Toya was the way he was.
“Ah, it was kind of an impromptu visit,” An chuckled nervously. “I just wanted to… check in on the Aoyagis, y’know?” Though she tried lightening the mood with her friendliness, the king just stared down at her with that same cold glare.
“I see.” He paused. “Hm. You would make a good wife for Toya. I wouldn’t be unhappy with him ruling the Shiraishi Kingdom.”
At that, An’s eyes widened instantly. “H-huh?”
“You’re both getting to be that age, and Toya seems to have no interest in the several maidens who come to visit our youngest prince. You wouldn’t be the worst option.”
It seemed as though King Aoyagi’s eyes were surveying An as if she was livestock. She felt so uncomfortable as he looked her up and down, just the mention of marrying into this quite frankly horrifying family made her blood run cold.
It seemed Akito felt similarly, as he was staring at the interaction between An and King Aoyagi with disgust. Toya, however, just looked down, his face covered by his bangs.
“What do you think, Toya? You’ve known Princess An here since she was just a little girl. She’s grown up quite nicely, hasn’t she?” The king turned to his son. His tone and facial expression made the question seem like more of a quiz than genuinely asking.
“Yes, father,” Toya agreed, his head lifting to meet the king’s eyes. “I must ask, weren’t you attending to some business before you were made aware of Princess An’s visit?”
King Aoyagi stared down at his son, a slight snarl tugging at his lips. “Yes, I was getting some important work done. Can I trust you to be hospitable to our guests, Toya?”
The prince nodded. “I doubt they’ve eaten yet, so I was going to take them to the dining room. Is that alright with you?”
“Perfect.” The king turned back toward the staircase, getting ready to leave. He halted, though, and placed a hand on Toya’s shoulder. “Get to know the princess better, won’t you? I am truly considering her as your wife.”
Toya swallowed, exhaling heavily. “Alright.”
Once Toya’s father was completely out of sight, An breathed a sigh of relief. She’d never been one to swallow back her words, but it was something about King Aoyagi that made her afraid to speak up. As much as she had wanted to speak her mind, all words were lost the second she got a glimpse of those icy grey eyes.
“Why are all royals such assholes?” Akito asked aloud, breaking the tension.
“The Tenmas are nice,” Toya protested, which Akito scoffed at.
“They most definitely are not. Maybe to you because they want to keep in your dad’s good graces.”
An agreed with Akito. They weren’t as bad as Toya’s dad, but they were pretty bad. King Tenma seemed like he was constantly on a power trip, and it drove An insane.
“Would you guys like to have lunch?” Toya changed the topic, actually looking at An for once.
“Please,” An groaned. Her stomach grumbled just at the mention of eating.
“Yeah, I’m hungry as hell,” Akito agreed. Toya nodded and led them up the stairs, towards the dining area.
“Lucky for you,” Toya started, turning towards Akito, “we had pancakes this morning.”
Akito pretended like he wasn’t super excited at that fact, but he was hiding it pretty poorly. An stifled her giggle as she watched him walk with that much more of a pep in his step after Toya said that.
As they ate lunch, An felt like an intruder in Akito and Toya’s conversation. An had never really hung out with just Akito and Toya, usually another adult was around which kept Toya behaving at his best, so she’d never seen this side of the prince. He was laughing and actually conversing with Akito, smiling wider than she thought he was capable of. There was no way Akito of all people was making him feel like this.
Honestly, despite it being their closest ally, An liked visiting the Aoyagi Kingdom the least out of the three closest kingdoms to them. In the Tenma Kingdom, there was Mizuki, who An had a blast with every time they hung out. She was super skilled in makeup, hair, and clothes, so she was half the reason An knew how to do all of that. Though they couldn’t talk much due to distance, their friendship always picked up where it left off when they finally met up again.
Then, in the Momoi Kingdom, there was the only friend An had made before she met Akito: Lady Haruka. Anyone would think she’s shallow from first impressions, being incredibly well behaved and impressively proper (almost like Toya, An realized), but when the adults weren’t around, An got to know one of the kindest people she’d ever met.
And then there was the Aoyagi Kingdom, with boring Toya and his two cold older brothers. One of them had moved to a far-off kingdom a few years ago, but An still remembered being ridiculed by him when she would visit the kingdom as a kid. Toya never joined in, standing off to the side looking apologetically, but he also never said anything.
Lady Emu lived in the Aoyagi Kingdom, and she was always fun to hang out with, but it seemed she was constantly being sent to charter schools to try and straighten out her behavior. An respected how no matter how many times her parents sent her off, she never let her spark be snuffed out.
An leaned over to talk to Akito during a lull in his and Toya’s riveting conversation. “Can I go see the girl now?” She asked, trying not to make it super obvious in her voice that she was incredibly bored of watching the two boys catch up.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, that,” Akito muttered back. “Uh, I need to accompany you.”
“Okay?” An didn’t get how that was a problem.
Akito looked back at Toya. “I’m not exactly ready to go yet.”
An rolled her eyes. They were staying overnight; there was literally no reason for Akito to be this enthralled in the conversation that he thought it couldn’t wait.
“What’s going on?” Toya noticed all their whispering to each other, because how could he not.
“Um, the real reason we came here was because An wanted to visit your resident mage. She has some questions for her,” Akito explained.
“Ah, I see.” Toya looked away. “Am I keeping you? I apologize…”
“It’s fine, I’ll go later!” An interrupted, standing up from the table. “You guys can keep talking. I’ll go put my stuff in my room.”
“Are you sure?” Toya asked, standing up after her. “Do you need a servant to accompany you?”
“To the same room I’ve stayed in when I came here since I was born? I think I’ll be fine,” the princess laughed, grabbing her bag. “Akito, come get me whenever you’re ready.”
An didn’t wait for a response, leaving the room as soon as she said her piece. She wasn’t annoyed at Akito for wanting to spend time with his friend–An would probably be doing the same thing! She was just impatient. This mage girl was the reason An came to this kingdom in the first place, but Akito forgot all about it. The second he saw Toya again, it’s like everything else was forgotten.
If she was completely honest with herself, An was jealous. Even though she had good friends, like Mizuki and Haruka, it wasn’t like Akito and Toya with them. The way Toya could hardly contain his smile when he saw Akito… everything about it was so pure. It was like friendship, but something more meaningful. Like true friendship. An really wanted that, but she’d never met someone who she clicked with the same way those two did. And by god, she did not understand how those two clicked so well.
An sighed once she reached the familiar room, stepping inside and placing her bag on the coffee table in the middle of the room. It was an elegant, beautiful room, and definitely much cleaner than her own, but it always felt suffocating. Perhaps it was just the act of being in the Aoyagis’ castle in the first place that made her feel claustrophobic. It definitely didn’t help that the room didn’t even have a window, a far cry from An’s which had one on three of the four walls.
She fell back onto the bed, taking in the smell. It was pleasant, but so clean. So expensive. It screamed Aoyagi in the worst way possible.
Still, the bed was really, really comfortable. If she hadn’t slept all that time on the way to the castle, An might’ve fallen asleep right then.
To keep herself occupied, An brought out the one book she’d brought. It was a book about magic, one of her newest ones. Though she hated studying for her actual studies, she always became engrossed when she read old magic handbooks and actual spellbooks from long-gone witches. She opened the book up, tracing the textured, yellowed pages before she began reading.
The book was insightful, though she knew much of what was being taught. But no matter how much An knew, she couldn’t put it to use for the life of her. Every time she actually tried casting a spell instead of just reading about it, she failed miserably. At most, she would get a bit of illumination, and she could feel a faint hint of energy in the air, but the second she broke her focus to get excited, it was all over.
So frustrating.
Hours flew by as she flipped through page after page, taking notes on the things she didn’t know and revisiting the things she did. She was so engrossed in it, that her soul practically left her body when she finally noticed Akito staring down at her.
“Jesus christ! You couldn’t say anything?” She shouted, regaining her composure.
“I tried, but you were in your own world. Don’t blame me,” Akito defended, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you ready to go?”
“Is that even a question?” An asked, springing up from the bed. She pulled her shoes back on and grabbed the small bag of magic supplies she had with her, just in case. “Do you know how we’re gonna get out of the castle?”
“I figured we’d just walk out,” Akito said. “It’s not like it’s late at night. It’s, like, seven o’clock right now.”
“Ahaha, right…” An nodded. “Let’s go.”
They made their way through the long halls of the castle, finally finding themselves at the entrance. Once they opened the castle doors, the cool night air hit An’s face, and everything settled in.
She was meeting a mage for the first time. Her entire life, all she wanted to do was meet a spellcaster, but it never seemed probable. At best, her grandma laughed off the idea; at worst, An was ridiculed and lectured for hours for even having the idea of interacting with filthy people like that.
Their blood was tainted, that much An knew, of course, but how could such a beautiful power be held by horrible people? It didn’t make sense.
“You okay?” Akito questioned, leading her through the village. They passed by several people whose eyes widened at the sight of An, but none approached.
“Yeah. I’m just… hopeful, I guess.”
Akito nodded, though An knew he didn’t understand. He could never really get behind An’s desire to learn magic. He vowed to protect her, of course, and it wasn’t his place to keep her from doing anything, but his subtle distaste for it had become increasingly obvious over the years. As much as An wanted someone to completely understand her, Akito could never be that person.
“We’re here,” he finally said, stopping in front of a house at the very edge of the village. It was a nice-sized house, but it was very run-down, with many of the windows being boarded up. There were no lights on, and if An didn’t know any better, she would think it was a house that had been vacant for a long time.
“Are you just gonna stare at it, or are you gonna knock?” Akito asked. An shot him a dirty look before bringing her fist up to the door. It was almost soft, as if the wood was rotted.
After a few minutes with no response, An knocked again. Then again. Then again. After a few more times, An had lost hope. As much as she wanted to meet a mage, it seemed as though she wasn’t going to have any luck here.
“Should we just go?” An turned to Akito, the disappointment apparent in her voice. Before the knight could respond, however, the door swung open.
Inside the house was a short girl. She was incredibly skinny and incredibly pale, and her long, silvery hair went down to her waist. This girl wasn’t at all what An had imagined. In all of her books, mages weren’t just powerful in terms of their magic, but they had strong personalities to match. This girl looked frail and exhausted.
“Do you need something?” Her voice was quiet and curt. It wasn’t rude, but it was straight-to-the-point, as if she didn’t have time for whatever these two were here for.
“I’m Princess Shiraishi An from the Shiraishi Kingdom,” An greeted, plastering on her brightest grin.
“Oh…” the girl didn’t bow or curtsy, nor did she look impressed whatsoever. It wasn’t as though An demanded respect–honestly, she felt super awkward whenever people clambered to bow to her and made a big deal out of her status. It was just odd, is all.
“Do you… need something?” The girl asked again, tone not changing one bit.
“I’m not exactly sure how to ask this, but, um–” An paused. “You’re a mage, right?”
The girl stared at her before nodding slowly.
“Great! So, uh, I want to be mentored. In magic. So I can get better,” An explained nervously. She saw Akito smirking to himself in amusement out of the corner of her eye, and she’d never wanted to slap a smile off of somebody so badly.
“You’re not a spellcaster?” The girl questioned after a pause.
An shook her head. “No,” she confirmed.
The girl paused again, staring at her intently.
“Sorry, I can’t help you,” she finally said, going to close the door.
“Wait!” An shouted, shoving her foot between the door and its frame before the girl could shut it. She didn’t know what to say now that the girl was staring up at her with tired eyes; she’d just acted without thinking.
“Can we come in?”
The girl sighed, looking between her and Akito. “Okay.”
The inside of the house was just as dingy as the outside. There were papers, glass bottles, and various animal feathers, claws, and limbs strewn about. It was freaky, but An tried to tough it out.
Once they were all just inside the house, the girl shut the door behind them and stared at them expectantly. When neither of them said anything, she opened her mouth, “What do you guys need?”
“Can we sit down?” An requested. That was what was standard when you went into somebody’s house. Three people being crammed into the messy entryway of a house didn’t exactly add to the flow of conversation.
An half expected the girl to say no when she blinked at them with a blank stare, but to her surprise, she led them to another room. Assumedly, it was the living room, but it was just as filthy as the rest of the house, if not more. The fireplace was absolutely covered in soot, and the same gross ingredients for potions laid around, but there was a functional couch and chair in the middle of the room (even if they were quite worn and considerably torn).
The girl took the armchair, so An and Akito sat on the couch. Though she might not have acted all above-it-all like some royals, An was still raised in luxury, and she had her limits. She was practically not even sitting on the couch with how close to the edge she was, not wanting to dirty her dress.
The girl stayed silent, so An cleared her throat and spoke up first, trying not to let the awkward atmosphere get to her. “What’s your name?”
“Yoisaki Kanade,” she replied.
“Oh, that’s a pretty name,” An complimented, trying to improve the vibes in the room. But Kanade didn’t say anything in return, so nothing really changed. “Do you like being a mage?”
At that, Kanade looked away. “I need to.”
“You… need to?” An repeated.
“I need to save people,” Kanade affirmed.
“Oh! Well then you can save me by teaching me!” An suggested with a smile.
Kanade shook her head at An. “That’s not what I mean.”
An didn’t really know what to say to that. Though her hope had been restored when it turned out there actually was someone in the house, it had been rapidly declining all over again ever since Kanade began speaking. Now, it was pretty much completely crushed after she’d flat out told An no.
The silence was unbearable for a few minutes as Kanade seemed to be deep in thought while An was excruciatingly in-the-moment. She looked over at Akito who just shrugged.
“Well, I guess we’ll be going then,” An awkwardly said, standing up. Akito followed suit.
“What kingdom are you from again?” Kanade suddenly asked, meeting her eyes.
Though she was confused, An answered, “The Shiraishi Kingdom..?”
“Shiraishi…” Kanade repeated to herself, then beginning to mumble, which An couldn’t make out whatsoever.
Finally, Kanade spoke up again, just as An was about to announce their leave once again. “I can’t mentor you,” Kanade stated, which made An’s heart sink. Why would she get her hopes up all over again just to reaffirm what had already been established?
“But I can help you in another way,” she continued. An’s head swung around, looking at her with desperate eyes.
“Really? How?” She asked, an edge of urgency in her voice.
“Come on,” Kanade commanded, leading them out of the living room. They went to the back of the house, entering the cleanest room An had seen thus far. There weren’t animal limbs, nor were there random herbs and spices. But there were dozens upon dozens of journals and files to one side of the room, while in the middle… there was a bed with a man on it.
Akito had already explained that the mother was dead and the father was sick, but he hardly even looked sick… he looked dead. His eyes were sunken in, his hair was sparse and what he did have was thin, and the bit of his body that was visible above the heavy blankets was even more frail than Kanade, and that was saying something.
Kanade paid no mind, though, hardly sparing her father a glance as she went to the far side of the room to rummage through files. An tried not to look at the man in the bed as she waited for Kanade to retrieve whatever she was looking for.
Finally, she stood up holding a thick file. Most of the files in the room had a decent amount of papers crammed into it, but this one was completely full. Kanade shuffled through it faster than An could keep up with, eventually landing on the piece of paper she intended on.
“Azusawa,” was all she said.
“Huh?” An questioned, looking at Akito, but he was just as clueless.
“There’s a family of mages in the Shiraishi Kingdom,” Kanade clarified.
“There is?!” An felt excitement bubble up inside of her.
“At least, there was whenever my father wrote this. The Azusawas.” Kanade put the file back. “He must have written this a long time ago, but it’s still worth checking out. Mages don’t usually relocate.”
An thought she knew everything about her kingdom like the back of her hand–and maybe she did, and this was all just fake, or the Azusawas had left a long time ago–but the idea that they could be out there… that they could’ve been out there this whole time, right under An’s nose… She was excited, and she was hopeful.
“Thank you, Kanade.” An smiled at the girl. Though she wasn’t very lively, nor did she know much about having guests over, she was a huge help, just not in the way An had intended.
In return, Kanade just hummed. “Is that all you needed?” She asked once An and Akito didn’t leave.
“Oh–yeah, sorry!” An dug into her bag, pulling out her wallet. She dumped a couple of handfuls of money into Kanade’s hand.
With an expression of subtle shock, Kanade looked at the money and then at her dad. Then, she gave An a gentle smile. “Thank you.”
“Bye!” An called before leaving the house, Akito in tow. She had a pep in her step, repeating the name in her head all the while.
Azusawa, Azusawa, Azusawa, Azusawa…
As they made their way back to the castle, and back up to their respective rooms, she continued repeating it in her head. And after she changed and lay down on the sickeningly-sweet-smelling bed in the room, An thought of those four syllables as she fell asleep.
Azusawa.