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Chiaki dreams.
She dreams of walks without samurai beside her—dreams of the sun hitting her bare skin instead of the finest silk she's draped in for what feels like forever now. She dreams of feeling the coarse sand and dust beneath her bare feet, instead of the clicking sounds her heels make when she's granted the rare chance to do anything outside of being confined to the royal palace. She dreams of being able to mingle with children on the street once more, dreams to interact with the commoners her new family despised, ignoring the pang in her heart when they start staring at her with reverence, with respect, with fear.
She dreams of the times she'd play with children her age, unburdened by reality, sheltered by a privilege she never even knew she would consider one until it was all taken away from her in a blink of an eye.
Chiaki dreams, dreams, and dreams—
And Kunishige is there, with a smile on his face that she can't quite picture anymore.
Chiaki does not dream today.
Instead, she is to bear witness to a fate too gruesome to tell.
And yet—as Princess Soga before anything else; she must wake from this nightmare, her voice as steady as ever as she tells of what she has seen.
Her heart hammers in her chest as she finishes to tell the prophecy, but no one would know, no one wants to know—because no one cares to know.
It doesn't stop the tears from falling.
Chiaki vomits as soon as the guests leave and the curtains go down.
She closes her eyes in pain, wishing they could be plucked out by the birds outside that she doesn't see anymore.
Anything to stop this, she thinks.
There is no comfort for a princess.
Chiaki dreams again.
Kunishige holds her by his arms, her fingers trailing down to trace the scars and burn marks littered across his skin. He smiles at her like she is the world itself to him—he smiles at her like she was still Soga Chiaki instead of Princess Soga.
Her heart swells all the same, even if waking up to reality is inevitable.
This is enough. This is enough. This is… enough.
Chiaki thinks, burying the ache in her chest as she looks at Kunishige once more in this wonderful dream, if only to preserve what she has left of him in a place no one else could reach except her.
There is comfort for a princess, even if it is one now out of reach.
There is no comfort for a princess.
Her duty is to be the pinnacle of obedience. She bows her head to everyone in the room, makeup set, lips sealed, face blank, steps measured, breaths even—
This is what Japan wants to see.
In Chiaki's final dream, she is the happiest she can be.
She's going on a walk on her own, the sunlight hitting her bare skin, warmth enveloping her body in waves, with no annoying silk that drapes over her entire body. She feels the sand and gravel between her toes and beneath her feet, the annoying clack of heels completely absent as clouds of dust kick up at every step she takes. She plays old games with Kunishige, Shiba and Azami again—she gets to talk to the other children, their grandmas and grandpas approaching her with an ease only a fellow commoner could muster for one of their own. They all stare at her with love, with fondness, with familiarity.
She is here, playing with children her age, unknowing of the future that would come to pass, basking in the joys of life she has come to known the longest.
Chiaki dreams, dreams and dreams—
And Kunishige is there, with a smile that she remembers as clear as day.
Kunishige holds her, blood seeping out of their bodies, with tears in his eyes as his chest heaves, uncaring of the mess they both make.
"Chiaki, stay with me, please," he whispers, before hot tears fall out of his eyes as he prays for a miracle.