[fic] [Saiunkoku Monogatari] The Secret Garden 1/1
This was written for the saiunkoku_fic contest but I don't think it got more than two votes, which was depressing but not entirely unexpected. I kind of liked how it ended up, though.
notes: no kouyuu, sorry D:
it wasn't supposed to be a Shuuei POV but that's the way it turned out.
please enjoy!
THE SECRET GARDEN
for KyraEnsui
Shuuei's not-exactly hiding from his brothers but he's certainly not in the same area that they are in. It's not their fault that he lost humiliatingly to Prince Seien, but they are rubbing it in a little too vigorously for good taste. He is also certainly not sulking. If he is honest, it was his own fault. He underestimated the second prince and paid the price.
Still, he's not happy. He sits in the shadow of one of the buildings and promises himself that next time he will beat Prince Seien -- not humiliatingly, of course, but just enough to make it clear that his elegant understanding of the courtesy due to princes held him back, and if Seien was not the second prince, Shuuei would clobber him utterly. This pleasant vision occupies him for a while until he catches a glimpse of the deep, shining purple that Prince Seien often wore; it was not quite the rich color that the oldest son dressed in, but it was very, very close. It looks like the prince is trying not to be noticed as he slips quietly through the palace grounds. Shuuei raises one eyebrow and gets up.
He's good, Shuuei thinks, but the Ran clan has always been better at this sort of thing, nearly as good as the Kou clan. He follows him through courtyards and halls and corridors, hesitating a bare second before Prince Seien turns to look behind and around him. Shuuei's curiosity is going to kill him one of these days, but it'll be worth it, especially if he manages to get back to his family in time to spread the word before he dies.
Prince Seien slides out an open door into a small, hidden garden. Shuuei blinks, surprised. He's never seen this place. It seems like it's not even part of the palace grounds. It's as quiet as a garden in a country estate. There's old, twisting trees blooming, with wisteria and jasmine vines falling in heavy blossoms down to the ground. The entire space is full of clumps and clusters of irises and heavy pink and gold and red peonies, drooping under their own weight, soft grass, little flowers tucked in the spaces between the flagstones of the path. There is even a tiny, pebbled stream winding through it, the water falling from a fountain at one end and disappearing into a stone basin in the other. Shuuei has never seen such a beautiful garden.
Seien steps out into the garden path, without seeming to even notice the beauty around him. His attention is on something else, even as he looks around. There's something impatient and eager about the way he looks around. He's looking for something but Shuuei can't figure out what he could find here. A girl, perhaps? Shuuei hadn't heard anything about a girl and the second prince. Nobody has heard anything about the second prince and anybody. He simply goes his own way, his head lifted proudly, not looking to another person.
Shuuei slips out behind him and melts quietly against the shadow of the wall, where his dark blue robes will fade into the vines growing there. The stone is cool against his back and the vines hang a little over him, shading him from view. Prince Seien isn't paying attention, anyway, concentrated on something else. Not good, thinks Shuuei, but he knows that if he makes a sudden movement Seien will react instantly.
"Ryuuki," calls the prince softly, "Ryuuki."
For a second Shuuei wonders if Prince Seien has a pet he is raising in secret. Not that Shuuei blames him; the imperial family is a nest of vipers on good days, and showing any sign of affection for something is fatal. He tries to imagine what sort of thing Prince Seien would raise in secret -- a hunting dog? a hawk? Perhaps a cat or a songbird. Perhaps ---
There's a rustle in the underbrush and Shuuei sees a small blond head pop warily up. It's a child, Shuuei realizes, a little boy of perhaps four or five, with his long blond hair in tangles and his lavender robes dirtied and wrinkled. Despite his clothing and dirt, he is a surprisingly lovely child, with small white hands and large eyes, and a sweet, full mouth.
Lavender robes, Shuuei thinks, even as the child's eyes widen in happiness and he flings himself toward Seien, saying, "Lord brother, lord brother!" His voice is also beautiful, but a little hysterical in its relief and gladness. Shuuei realizes this is the first time he has seen the youngest prince. He hasn't heard much about him, either. The mother was a bitch and had failed to keep the emperor's interest. The Ran family keeps an eye on him as they did everybody, but the youngest of five healthy sons is not of major interest.
Prince Seien laughs, his face open and tender, as he holds out his hands to the child. The little boy jumps into his arms and Seien lifts him up high, spinning around with him and holding him close. "Ryuuki," says the second prince, bending over the child. "Are you so glad to see me, then?"
The child buries his head in Prince Seien's shoulder. "Lord brother," he says, his voice a little muffled. For a second he keeps his head against the purple brocade of Seien's coat, and then he lifts it up and looks straight at Shuuei. The child's face is wary and curious, but not frightened, although Shuuei sees that some of the scrapes on his face are not from a child's clumsiness. There is a distinct bruise on one childish cheek, as if he had been slapped. There is something feral and lonely about the child's eyes. He looks half-tamed, not like an imperial prince at all, and yet somehow Shuuei can see the untrained intelligence he holds. He is clinging tightly to Prince Seien, as if he was afraid to let go.
He looks at Shuuei, waiting.
Shuuei bows silently, very low, and fades away from the garden.
notes: no kouyuu, sorry D:
it wasn't supposed to be a Shuuei POV but that's the way it turned out.
please enjoy!
THE SECRET GARDEN
for KyraEnsui
Shuuei's not-exactly hiding from his brothers but he's certainly not in the same area that they are in. It's not their fault that he lost humiliatingly to Prince Seien, but they are rubbing it in a little too vigorously for good taste. He is also certainly not sulking. If he is honest, it was his own fault. He underestimated the second prince and paid the price.
Still, he's not happy. He sits in the shadow of one of the buildings and promises himself that next time he will beat Prince Seien -- not humiliatingly, of course, but just enough to make it clear that his elegant understanding of the courtesy due to princes held him back, and if Seien was not the second prince, Shuuei would clobber him utterly. This pleasant vision occupies him for a while until he catches a glimpse of the deep, shining purple that Prince Seien often wore; it was not quite the rich color that the oldest son dressed in, but it was very, very close. It looks like the prince is trying not to be noticed as he slips quietly through the palace grounds. Shuuei raises one eyebrow and gets up.
He's good, Shuuei thinks, but the Ran clan has always been better at this sort of thing, nearly as good as the Kou clan. He follows him through courtyards and halls and corridors, hesitating a bare second before Prince Seien turns to look behind and around him. Shuuei's curiosity is going to kill him one of these days, but it'll be worth it, especially if he manages to get back to his family in time to spread the word before he dies.
Prince Seien slides out an open door into a small, hidden garden. Shuuei blinks, surprised. He's never seen this place. It seems like it's not even part of the palace grounds. It's as quiet as a garden in a country estate. There's old, twisting trees blooming, with wisteria and jasmine vines falling in heavy blossoms down to the ground. The entire space is full of clumps and clusters of irises and heavy pink and gold and red peonies, drooping under their own weight, soft grass, little flowers tucked in the spaces between the flagstones of the path. There is even a tiny, pebbled stream winding through it, the water falling from a fountain at one end and disappearing into a stone basin in the other. Shuuei has never seen such a beautiful garden.
Seien steps out into the garden path, without seeming to even notice the beauty around him. His attention is on something else, even as he looks around. There's something impatient and eager about the way he looks around. He's looking for something but Shuuei can't figure out what he could find here. A girl, perhaps? Shuuei hadn't heard anything about a girl and the second prince. Nobody has heard anything about the second prince and anybody. He simply goes his own way, his head lifted proudly, not looking to another person.
Shuuei slips out behind him and melts quietly against the shadow of the wall, where his dark blue robes will fade into the vines growing there. The stone is cool against his back and the vines hang a little over him, shading him from view. Prince Seien isn't paying attention, anyway, concentrated on something else. Not good, thinks Shuuei, but he knows that if he makes a sudden movement Seien will react instantly.
"Ryuuki," calls the prince softly, "Ryuuki."
For a second Shuuei wonders if Prince Seien has a pet he is raising in secret. Not that Shuuei blames him; the imperial family is a nest of vipers on good days, and showing any sign of affection for something is fatal. He tries to imagine what sort of thing Prince Seien would raise in secret -- a hunting dog? a hawk? Perhaps a cat or a songbird. Perhaps ---
There's a rustle in the underbrush and Shuuei sees a small blond head pop warily up. It's a child, Shuuei realizes, a little boy of perhaps four or five, with his long blond hair in tangles and his lavender robes dirtied and wrinkled. Despite his clothing and dirt, he is a surprisingly lovely child, with small white hands and large eyes, and a sweet, full mouth.
Lavender robes, Shuuei thinks, even as the child's eyes widen in happiness and he flings himself toward Seien, saying, "Lord brother, lord brother!" His voice is also beautiful, but a little hysterical in its relief and gladness. Shuuei realizes this is the first time he has seen the youngest prince. He hasn't heard much about him, either. The mother was a bitch and had failed to keep the emperor's interest. The Ran family keeps an eye on him as they did everybody, but the youngest of five healthy sons is not of major interest.
Prince Seien laughs, his face open and tender, as he holds out his hands to the child. The little boy jumps into his arms and Seien lifts him up high, spinning around with him and holding him close. "Ryuuki," says the second prince, bending over the child. "Are you so glad to see me, then?"
The child buries his head in Prince Seien's shoulder. "Lord brother," he says, his voice a little muffled. For a second he keeps his head against the purple brocade of Seien's coat, and then he lifts it up and looks straight at Shuuei. The child's face is wary and curious, but not frightened, although Shuuei sees that some of the scrapes on his face are not from a child's clumsiness. There is a distinct bruise on one childish cheek, as if he had been slapped. There is something feral and lonely about the child's eyes. He looks half-tamed, not like an imperial prince at all, and yet somehow Shuuei can see the untrained intelligence he holds. He is clinging tightly to Prince Seien, as if he was afraid to let go.
He looks at Shuuei, waiting.
Shuuei bows silently, very low, and fades away from the garden.