Major Arcana - 5/22
Title: Major Arcana - The Emperor (5/22)
Author:
lksugui
Characters/Pairings: Rome, China, Korea, Japan
Rating/Warnings: PG-13. Wiki-based history research (sorry, but that's the only tool I
have at hand now...). English is not my mother tongue so there might be
odd sentence constructions and/or vocabulary usage.
Summary: There was only one place in the vast world that made Rome feel young and uncertain.
Notes: This is part of a project based on Tarot cards. Twenty-two drabbles/shortfics, each one related to
one major arcana (main cards) of a Tarot deck.
04 - The Emperor (Father - Discipline - Tradition - Inflexibility - some things may not be controllable)
Serica, land of the Seres - "a vast and populous country, touching on the east the Ocean and the limits of the habitable world, and extending west nearly to Imaus and the confines of Bactria."
Circa 100 BCE
The world belonged to Rome. His army had marched over it, fought and won many wars in it. And, even though he had met admirable nations on his way to glory, he had never doubted that he was superior and it was his right to conquer and dominate.
It was only there, inside that lush garden in the East border of the world, that Rome felt uncertainty clouding his usually sharp mind.
The peonies had blossomed beautifully and the slight breeze of spring blew handfuls of white-pink petals in the air. The grass was rich and green, colorful fish could be seen swimming in the lake and somebody was playing erhu not very far from there.
“Are you leaving, my friend?”
Serica was smiling but his eyes were wistful, misty. Sensing his sadness, his younger siblings, all of them with the same dark, impenetrable eyes, surrounded him and quietly offered the comfort of their presence. Serica addressed them with kind, but unmistakable authority.
“Rome is leaving. Be polite and bid him farewell properly.”
To Rome's surprise, the young ones ran off without saying a word. Serica gestured him to sit down by his side and ordered a servant to fetch some wine. They were about to start drinking when the children returned. The tallest one, Yong Soo, had a three-legged toad in his hands.
“This is my farewell gift,” he proudly declared, depositing the exotic animal on the visitor's lap as if it were a treasure, “it will bring you prosperity!”
The other boy, Kiku, brought a small, carved wood pendant with a symbol engraved.
“Mitsudomoe,” he said, “will protect you in battle.”
Kiku's twin sister, Sakura, gave him a bracelet made of colorful beads. “I made them, so it isn't as beautiful as a real jewel but, but, I put all my heart into it!” She went beet red as she talked. Rome chuckled and gently patted her head.
“Thank you very much, you are all good, amiable children.”
The three siblings looked at Serica, expectantly. When he nodded his approval and waved them away, their faces lightened up and they ran to the other side of the garden, where they could play without bothering the adults.
Rome watched them running, his mind filled with memories of other child-nations he knew: Gallia, that little smug bastard, Britannia, so wild you could mistake him for an animal. They were so different, and yet...
“You know that one of them will try to destroy you, don't you? They always do, the little ones we take in and try to educate...”, the words escaped from Rome's lips before he could stop them.
Serica shook his head.
“They wouldn't be able to destroy me even if they really wanted to, the same way I can't destroy them even knowing that I should. We are family. They are part of me and I am part of them.”
It was getting dark. The sunset reflected on Serica' eyes as he faced Rome for one last time and kissed him.
“Do not fear, Rome. Even if you are to disappear, your little ones will not forget you.”
“And you?”
“I will always remember.”
And with that, they parted.
Serica still remembers.
Author:
lksugui
Characters/Pairings: Rome, China, Korea, Japan
Rating/Warnings: PG-13. Wiki-based history research (sorry, but that's the only tool I
have at hand now...). English is not my mother tongue so there might be
odd sentence constructions and/or vocabulary usage.
Summary: There was only one place in the vast world that made Rome feel young and uncertain.
Notes: This is part of a project based on Tarot cards. Twenty-two drabbles/shortfics, each one related to
one major arcana (main cards) of a Tarot deck.
04 - The Emperor (Father - Discipline - Tradition - Inflexibility - some things may not be controllable)
Serica, land of the Seres - "a vast and populous country, touching on the east the Ocean and the limits of the habitable world, and extending west nearly to Imaus and the confines of Bactria."
Circa 100 BCE
The world belonged to Rome. His army had marched over it, fought and won many wars in it. And, even though he had met admirable nations on his way to glory, he had never doubted that he was superior and it was his right to conquer and dominate.
It was only there, inside that lush garden in the East border of the world, that Rome felt uncertainty clouding his usually sharp mind.
The peonies had blossomed beautifully and the slight breeze of spring blew handfuls of white-pink petals in the air. The grass was rich and green, colorful fish could be seen swimming in the lake and somebody was playing erhu not very far from there.
“Are you leaving, my friend?”
Serica was smiling but his eyes were wistful, misty. Sensing his sadness, his younger siblings, all of them with the same dark, impenetrable eyes, surrounded him and quietly offered the comfort of their presence. Serica addressed them with kind, but unmistakable authority.
“Rome is leaving. Be polite and bid him farewell properly.”
To Rome's surprise, the young ones ran off without saying a word. Serica gestured him to sit down by his side and ordered a servant to fetch some wine. They were about to start drinking when the children returned. The tallest one, Yong Soo, had a three-legged toad in his hands.
“This is my farewell gift,” he proudly declared, depositing the exotic animal on the visitor's lap as if it were a treasure, “it will bring you prosperity!”
The other boy, Kiku, brought a small, carved wood pendant with a symbol engraved.
“Mitsudomoe,” he said, “will protect you in battle.”
Kiku's twin sister, Sakura, gave him a bracelet made of colorful beads. “I made them, so it isn't as beautiful as a real jewel but, but, I put all my heart into it!” She went beet red as she talked. Rome chuckled and gently patted her head.
“Thank you very much, you are all good, amiable children.”
The three siblings looked at Serica, expectantly. When he nodded his approval and waved them away, their faces lightened up and they ran to the other side of the garden, where they could play without bothering the adults.
Rome watched them running, his mind filled with memories of other child-nations he knew: Gallia, that little smug bastard, Britannia, so wild you could mistake him for an animal. They were so different, and yet...
“You know that one of them will try to destroy you, don't you? They always do, the little ones we take in and try to educate...”, the words escaped from Rome's lips before he could stop them.
Serica shook his head.
“They wouldn't be able to destroy me even if they really wanted to, the same way I can't destroy them even knowing that I should. We are family. They are part of me and I am part of them.”
It was getting dark. The sunset reflected on Serica' eyes as he faced Rome for one last time and kissed him.
“Do not fear, Rome. Even if you are to disappear, your little ones will not forget you.”
“And you?”
“I will always remember.”
And with that, they parted.
Serica still remembers.