[12K] The Tales of Twelve Kingdoms :: Chapter X
Title: Snowfall
Fandom: The Twelve Kingdoms
Characters: Youko, Taiki, Keiki, Enki
Prompt: New Year
Word Count: 1442
Rating: G
Summary: In which there are new beginnings.
Author's Notes: None
“This is… unusual. This weather.”
“The snow? Is it not often snowy in Kei?”
“No…”
“Buck up, Keikirella. A little snow never hurt anyone.”
The reply earned Enki an exasperated sigh. The smallest kirin grinned cheekily and Taiki hid a small laugh behind a delicate hand. It had been a while since he had been brought back. How long exactly, Taiki didn’t know. He had stopped counting the days the moment he left Hourai behind. He didn’t want to know how long he had searched for his king. He didn’t want to watch the days go by while he unturned every frozen stone in Tai in what felt like a fruitless search. Watching the seasons turn had been enough. So he had simply stopped keeping track. But that had all been a very long time ago. Or maybe not, but it felt to Taiki like all of it had been a waking dream. Now was the reality, the continuation from his fleeting happiness upon Mt. Hou.
Dressed in the warmest robes and a thick scarf, Taiki was walking through the wilted gardens in between the taller Kei Taiho and the shorter En Taiho. Taiki hadn’t been back in Kei since his rescue. He hadn’t even really seen Enki or Keiki since then either. Since then his hair had grown much longer, down past his shoulders. It still seemed too short compared to the others, but the wonderful thing about hair is that it would keep growing.
“It is unusual though,” Enki was saying when Taiki returned to the conversation. “En doesn’t get much snow either. Just a lot of rain during the rainy season. En is further up so for Kei to get snow and not En is weird.”
“The weather is strange lately,” Keiki mused quietly. “Like it’s changing.”
Enki shrugged. “Could be. I doubt the weather has been the same throughout the centuries.”
Suddenly Taiki laughed, causing the two others to look at him. “I’m sorry,” He apologized quickly, still looking amused. “I just find it… really silly that we’re here talking about the weather.”
Enki paused and then laughed too. Keiki, however, didn’t seem to understand why it was humorous. The group walked on in silence for a while and snow began to fall from the gray sky. Taiki glanced up into the falling flakes. He was so use to snow. That’s all it ever seemed to do in Tai.
The trio made their way at last inside and Enki let out a dramatic sigh at the warmth of being indoors. At that moment Youko rounded the corner, wearing robes that managed to be casual, fancy and warm all at the same time. Yet they were still considerably less fancy than the ones she had been wearing earlier and Keiki sighed when he noticed it.
Enki lifted his hand in greeting. “Yo! You look worried.”
Youko shook her head. “I’m not. Well, I’m actually looking for your king. He disappeared. I think it’s because the King of Han arrived.”
“Most likely. Where do the girls in this palace hang out?”
Youko looked confused. “Why?”
“That’s probably where he’s hiding.”
Taiki couldn’t tell if the kirin was annoyed or not. He mostly seemed exasperated. Youko looked thoughtful and then laughed. “Everyone’s busy working. He won’t find anyone. You have no idea how high strung the staff is right now to have En, Tai and Han here at once.”
“I’ll bet!”
Youko then turned her gaze at Taiki, smiling fondly. Taiki returned the smile shyly. He never knew quite how to act around Youko. The selfless deed she had done for him was always present in his mind. She had risked a lot for the sake of someone she didn’t know and knowing he’d never be able to properly pay her back was sometimes troubling.
“It’s nice to see you again. It’s been awhile.”
Taiki nodded. “Yes, thank you…”
Youko hesitated for a moment and then asked quietly, “How is the King of Tai?”
There was a moment of silence and Taiki could feel Enki and Keiki glance at him worriedly. He smiled, albeit weakly. “He’s better. After all, Tai is getting better now…”
The state of Gyousou when he had been located had not been a good one, both physically and mentally. He had needed a lot of time to recover, which was unfortunately not time they could afford with Tai the way it was. Yet with Risai’s help, slowly word had spread of his recovery and the request for help to rise against Asen was sent out. Small strikes here and there saw the recovery of territory that had not yet been ravished by Asen’s armies. By the time everything had been pulled together for a full out attack, Gyousou had finally been well enough to fight for his throne. But there were still problems, of course. There were problems with Tai and still with Gyousou and always with Asen and his supporters, all who had yet to be caught. But they were together again, Taiki always told himself. That’s what mattered.
“I’m glad. I’m even more glad I’ve lived long enough to see the day when Tai starts to recover,” Youko said with a kind smile.
Taiki bowed slightly at her. “Thank you, Queen Kei… ah… I mean, Youko.”
Youko smiled more and then blinked. “Oh! Right, I need to find the Ever-King…”
“I’ll get ‘em,” Enki said. “It’d be easier for me to locate him anyway.”
A moment later he dashed off, disappearing around the corner. The three left chatted about many things, most of which Taiki didn’t pay attention to. Keiki and Youko began to bicker and so the black kirin slipped back out the door without being noticed. The air was cold but it lacked that numbing bite to it that the air of Tai had. He stood in the snow, staring up at it falling and thinking of nothing in particular. Everything was just so peaceful. There was nothing to truly worry about, no sense of dread or loss. He had come a long way and had a long way to go. He liked it that way.
He walked from the door across the gardens again, pausing at a small and naked tree. Glancing up at the tightly closed buds, he noticed that at the end of one of the branches a flower was still there, attempting to display its bright pink petals in defiance of the cold. He was distracted by the door opening and turned.
“Don’t give me that look, you brought it on yourself. I’m outta here.” With a sigh that formed a white cloud in the cold, Enki stepped outside and shut the door behind him.
He joined Taiki near the tree. “Ironically the King of Han found him first. Serves him right.”
Taiki laughed. He found it almost embarrassingly entertaining to watch Shouryuu and Enki bicker. They reminded him a lot of an old married couple that use to live down the street from his family’s house, but he wasn’t sure Enki would appreciate that comparison. He turned his gaze back to the flower and Enki followed, tilting his head curiously at the tree.
“It feels so strange to be back in Kei after everything that’s happened. Everything is different now.”
“Different? I guess it is. The kingdoms are more at peace lately than they have been in a long time. Ryuu and Tai are the only ones in real turmoil now, but I bet in less than one hundred years they’ll be back on their feet for good.”
Taiki reached up and tried to grab the branch, but his fingertips barely grazed it. It was too high up.
“That too. But I meant for me. It’s different.”
Standing on his toes, Taiki managed to snag the branch and bend it lightly. The snow fell off in a shower of white powder, dusting his black robes with specks of white. Yet the flower was now free from the snow that had mostly hidden it. It stood out, glaring pink against all the white and gray.
“It’s… like this saying that I heard in Hourai once. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. That’s how it feels. It feels like this is the first I’ve seen the snow.” He chuckled, “Pretty silly, right?”
Enki looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he smiled fondly. “Sounds good to me, kid.”
Taiki smiled.
Fandom: The Twelve Kingdoms
Characters: Youko, Taiki, Keiki, Enki
Prompt: New Year
Word Count: 1442
Rating: G
Summary: In which there are new beginnings.
Author's Notes: None
“This is… unusual. This weather.”
“The snow? Is it not often snowy in Kei?”
“No…”
“Buck up, Keikirella. A little snow never hurt anyone.”
The reply earned Enki an exasperated sigh. The smallest kirin grinned cheekily and Taiki hid a small laugh behind a delicate hand. It had been a while since he had been brought back. How long exactly, Taiki didn’t know. He had stopped counting the days the moment he left Hourai behind. He didn’t want to know how long he had searched for his king. He didn’t want to watch the days go by while he unturned every frozen stone in Tai in what felt like a fruitless search. Watching the seasons turn had been enough. So he had simply stopped keeping track. But that had all been a very long time ago. Or maybe not, but it felt to Taiki like all of it had been a waking dream. Now was the reality, the continuation from his fleeting happiness upon Mt. Hou.
Dressed in the warmest robes and a thick scarf, Taiki was walking through the wilted gardens in between the taller Kei Taiho and the shorter En Taiho. Taiki hadn’t been back in Kei since his rescue. He hadn’t even really seen Enki or Keiki since then either. Since then his hair had grown much longer, down past his shoulders. It still seemed too short compared to the others, but the wonderful thing about hair is that it would keep growing.
“It is unusual though,” Enki was saying when Taiki returned to the conversation. “En doesn’t get much snow either. Just a lot of rain during the rainy season. En is further up so for Kei to get snow and not En is weird.”
“The weather is strange lately,” Keiki mused quietly. “Like it’s changing.”
Enki shrugged. “Could be. I doubt the weather has been the same throughout the centuries.”
Suddenly Taiki laughed, causing the two others to look at him. “I’m sorry,” He apologized quickly, still looking amused. “I just find it… really silly that we’re here talking about the weather.”
Enki paused and then laughed too. Keiki, however, didn’t seem to understand why it was humorous. The group walked on in silence for a while and snow began to fall from the gray sky. Taiki glanced up into the falling flakes. He was so use to snow. That’s all it ever seemed to do in Tai.
The trio made their way at last inside and Enki let out a dramatic sigh at the warmth of being indoors. At that moment Youko rounded the corner, wearing robes that managed to be casual, fancy and warm all at the same time. Yet they were still considerably less fancy than the ones she had been wearing earlier and Keiki sighed when he noticed it.
Enki lifted his hand in greeting. “Yo! You look worried.”
Youko shook her head. “I’m not. Well, I’m actually looking for your king. He disappeared. I think it’s because the King of Han arrived.”
“Most likely. Where do the girls in this palace hang out?”
Youko looked confused. “Why?”
“That’s probably where he’s hiding.”
Taiki couldn’t tell if the kirin was annoyed or not. He mostly seemed exasperated. Youko looked thoughtful and then laughed. “Everyone’s busy working. He won’t find anyone. You have no idea how high strung the staff is right now to have En, Tai and Han here at once.”
“I’ll bet!”
Youko then turned her gaze at Taiki, smiling fondly. Taiki returned the smile shyly. He never knew quite how to act around Youko. The selfless deed she had done for him was always present in his mind. She had risked a lot for the sake of someone she didn’t know and knowing he’d never be able to properly pay her back was sometimes troubling.
“It’s nice to see you again. It’s been awhile.”
Taiki nodded. “Yes, thank you…”
Youko hesitated for a moment and then asked quietly, “How is the King of Tai?”
There was a moment of silence and Taiki could feel Enki and Keiki glance at him worriedly. He smiled, albeit weakly. “He’s better. After all, Tai is getting better now…”
The state of Gyousou when he had been located had not been a good one, both physically and mentally. He had needed a lot of time to recover, which was unfortunately not time they could afford with Tai the way it was. Yet with Risai’s help, slowly word had spread of his recovery and the request for help to rise against Asen was sent out. Small strikes here and there saw the recovery of territory that had not yet been ravished by Asen’s armies. By the time everything had been pulled together for a full out attack, Gyousou had finally been well enough to fight for his throne. But there were still problems, of course. There were problems with Tai and still with Gyousou and always with Asen and his supporters, all who had yet to be caught. But they were together again, Taiki always told himself. That’s what mattered.
“I’m glad. I’m even more glad I’ve lived long enough to see the day when Tai starts to recover,” Youko said with a kind smile.
Taiki bowed slightly at her. “Thank you, Queen Kei… ah… I mean, Youko.”
Youko smiled more and then blinked. “Oh! Right, I need to find the Ever-King…”
“I’ll get ‘em,” Enki said. “It’d be easier for me to locate him anyway.”
A moment later he dashed off, disappearing around the corner. The three left chatted about many things, most of which Taiki didn’t pay attention to. Keiki and Youko began to bicker and so the black kirin slipped back out the door without being noticed. The air was cold but it lacked that numbing bite to it that the air of Tai had. He stood in the snow, staring up at it falling and thinking of nothing in particular. Everything was just so peaceful. There was nothing to truly worry about, no sense of dread or loss. He had come a long way and had a long way to go. He liked it that way.
He walked from the door across the gardens again, pausing at a small and naked tree. Glancing up at the tightly closed buds, he noticed that at the end of one of the branches a flower was still there, attempting to display its bright pink petals in defiance of the cold. He was distracted by the door opening and turned.
“Don’t give me that look, you brought it on yourself. I’m outta here.” With a sigh that formed a white cloud in the cold, Enki stepped outside and shut the door behind him.
He joined Taiki near the tree. “Ironically the King of Han found him first. Serves him right.”
Taiki laughed. He found it almost embarrassingly entertaining to watch Shouryuu and Enki bicker. They reminded him a lot of an old married couple that use to live down the street from his family’s house, but he wasn’t sure Enki would appreciate that comparison. He turned his gaze back to the flower and Enki followed, tilting his head curiously at the tree.
“It feels so strange to be back in Kei after everything that’s happened. Everything is different now.”
“Different? I guess it is. The kingdoms are more at peace lately than they have been in a long time. Ryuu and Tai are the only ones in real turmoil now, but I bet in less than one hundred years they’ll be back on their feet for good.”
Taiki reached up and tried to grab the branch, but his fingertips barely grazed it. It was too high up.
“That too. But I meant for me. It’s different.”
Standing on his toes, Taiki managed to snag the branch and bend it lightly. The snow fell off in a shower of white powder, dusting his black robes with specks of white. Yet the flower was now free from the snow that had mostly hidden it. It stood out, glaring pink against all the white and gray.
“It’s… like this saying that I heard in Hourai once. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. That’s how it feels. It feels like this is the first I’ve seen the snow.” He chuckled, “Pretty silly, right?”
Enki looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he smiled fondly. “Sounds good to me, kid.”
Taiki smiled.