The Launching Point (1)

(Ophelia)

***

"Koharu, your hair is a fucking wreck."

With the unfortunate (but really, fortunate) announcement that the kingdoms were being reunified today, I had a limited amount of time to not look like I had just gotten out of bed—with whatever provocation that entailed.

She started to comb her hands through her golden locks so that, at the bare minimum, they didn't appear pulled or mangled. "But you just hit me with a pillow!"

"Because you're about twelve hours ahead of yourself!"

After she dropped the covers, I reached for a dress shirt on the ground and tossed it in order to cover her bare chest. Leo was kind enough to run out while closing the door behind him, which meant I didn't have to worry about her flashing anyone amidst our perpetual fumbling.

She whined, "I'm gonna wear a dress today. Can you get one out of my wardrobe, Lia?"

"If I do," I said in a muffled voice as I slid the lacy fabric of my attire from the night before over my head with my undergarments already on, "you're going to probably ask me to put it on you based on the way you're acting."

She scrunched up her nose. "You took the clothes off me! Of course, you should!"

It was then I decided to ignore her as I swung the wooden cabinet doors open. I took out a bright yellow dress that matched the ends of her hair and laid it gently on the bed, stopping it from wrinkling.

"There you go. Get dressed."

Before standing from the bed to pick the clothing up, she smoothed out the fabric. "You do know the ceremony is in the late afternoon, right? It isn't even lunchtime yet, and you're already running like it's for sport."

"Your father probably expects us early."

"Dad thinks five minutes late is early."

I looked back at her as she began to lace the front of the dress to cinch it at the waist, suppressing any dirty thoughts about her figure from the night before. "I think we should still arrive far in advance. King Inei is probably overworking your brother again."

The soft ribbon brushed against the thicker cotton and silk as she pulled it tightly, and it made a noise as if it was stretched in a game of tug-of-war while she held it in position to tie it. "You've got a point there. I'm pretty sure Leo and Sinclair are helping him, though. It shouldn't be too bad."

"Right, right," I replied, cleaning my face of the light cosmetics from the night before in front of the vanity. I flicked my finger one last time to get a few specks of mascara off.

Arms wrapping around my waist from behind, I saw part of Koharu's face in the mirror, only her chin obscured by a slight difference in height.

"I bet they're wondering where we've been all night."

It was much harder to be discreet without any powder to conceal the hotness of my face.

"Maybe," I said as coolly as possible. That was at least another good reason to get going.

"What do you want to tell them?" she asked. "Do you want to say we were doing a little dance of our own?" She pressed up against my back as if we were ballroom dancing intimately, and I had to usher her to move so that I could grab my shoes.

*You absolute tease! I can't believe that was your first time!*

"We already came up with an excuse last night, baby."

"About being sick?" With a snicker, she sneered, "That one's boring."

"Has anyone ever told you that you have no shame?" I inquired while sliding my feet into a pair of formal shoes with slight, cursed heels.

"You tell me all the time. I don't know if I ever listen."

From across the room, I pushed a similar pair over to her, letting the rubbery soles skid across a patch of carpet until they toppled over.

"Just put on your damn shoes!" I yelled, feeling flustered.

*Frankly, I just want to get this ceremony bullshit over so that I can spend the night with you again!*

***

"You mean to tell me Leo's not helping you? What good is he then?" Koharu complained almost as soon as we made it to the Moon Kingdom.

We hadn't necessarily been told to go there, but such an instruction was implied by the fact the entire Sun Castle was an echo chamber full of cobwebs when we had exited Koharu's bedroom.

"He has to save up his magic for the ceremony," Akiyoshi replied, measuring some curtains for a stage outside in the town square. The heat was hardly a problem when there was no sun to warm the air, but the lack of a breeze made the place stuffy. "He's inside and resting. Sinclair is spreading the word, so they aren't here either."

"What?" Koharu shouted, her eyes bulging slightly. "I swear, those fairies—"

"It's fine," Akiyoshi mumbled after he shouted some numbers to Zhi, who was acting as a scribe. "There should be enough magic for the small things with you and our parents here." He turned to look at Koharu, holding a lingering glance that never quite resolved itself. "You can do that for me, right?"

Shrugging, she yawned a bit as her brother stood over her. "I guess I can. This seems tedious, though. How long's it gonna take?"

"However long it takes Sinclair to get back and maybe ten minutes more. Have you seen Uncle Asahi?" Although he was as flat and emotionless as usual, there seemed to be a forced indifference lining his voice. He sounded like he wanted to be sweeter, but he was too preoccupied with *something*—something that was bubbling inside him rather than trickling from his surroundings into his very being.

"I didn't see anyone on my way here."

Akiyoshi directed some instructions to a soldier beside him, who then commanded the kingdom's troops to march so that they could acquire some foodstuffs. "Well, can you find him for me, Haru? I need more people to procure items for the ceremony, and he can get the army of the Sun Kingdom to come to our aid. As you can maybe see, I already got Jisoo to get hers to help me."

Most of the area around us was closed off by red ropes under which we had to duck to get into the square, and it was sparse as far as people went. The liveliness of the plaza was diminished when only castle officials were allowed to roam freely with only a sad attempt by Gaeul to add some humor. He was attempting to spin some of the dishes on a skeletal contraption made of sticks.

"Jester Gaeul, stop that. We need those for later," Akiyoshi admonished him.

"This is my job!" he yelled from across the square and brandished his empty fist. "Would it be funnier if I gave someone a red nose so that they can be the clown instead, sir?"

"I said: Stop it."

Gaeul howled in mocking laughter before he brought the dishes to a halt like a tower of tops. He stacked them in his hands as they plopped down with a clear noise, and while some of the other advisors—particularly Zhi—applauded him, he brought the platters to the table that he presumably stole them from. Akiyoshi exhaled while shaking his head, acting as if he was sick of listening to the same joke repetitiously (though, that had been the first time I had heard such a threat from Gaeul's mouth).

"I'll be on it then…?" Koharu lifted her tone at the end of her sentence.

"Thank you, Haru," Akiyoshi said lovingly to her with a grin. "Make sure you come back soon so that I don't miss you." With that, he seemed to allude to the past week.

"Fine, Akirobo!" She made a gesture with her hands to tease him as she giggled and walked away.

Smiling, Akiyoshi then shook his head. "Of course that was what you stole from Leo."

He shifted his vaguely saccharine gaze to me. In shock, almost as if he was entranced for a few moments, his expression snapped back into place. "Lia, can you go find Father? Ah," he corrected himself while sighing, "I mean King Hikaru to you."

"One day," I tried joking as he glared before softening his features.

"Very well. You might make a nice sister-in-law if you lost some of the attitude."

Despite the backhanded compliment, I couldn't restrain a burst of giddy laughter. That was a fantastical thought for sure.

On the path leading to the castle, I could see a mop of blond hair being ruffled by a sudden gust that must have come through. The facial features beneath the tufts were hard to make out from a distance, but the bright style of the man's outfit was a dead giveaway as to who he was.

When Hikaru got closer, he spoke, "I just checked on your dad, Yoshi. He's tending to Leo inside." He pouted some, rubbing an arm. "I hope he's feeling well enough for this evening."

*Well, that's one task completed.*

"I'm sure Dad can take a nap sometime. He'll do it if he wants; he always does what he wants." Akiyoshi raised a hand to start placing chairs in front of a space that had been marked for the construction of a large stage.

Hikaru glared at him, but he held his tongue to prevent himself from speaking whatever vicious words he had conjured up. "I do wish that he'll take care of himself. I'll make him something calming to drink later so that he can rest. He was up all night getting notices together for Sinclair to distribute."

A few rows of chairs were already placed, woven together like honeycombs in a hive. Each was aligned at the junction of the bricks below. Akiyoshi would accept no less than perfection, even when he didn't want to be working.

"Why don't you ask a servant to do it for you, Father? No need to trouble yourself."

"You know I care about your dad," he continued saying as Akiyoshi acted coldly. "We never said you had to accept our apology, but we're a family here. Yoshi, can't you just—"

"Whatever you're going to say: No. You both can have fun without your kids. I don't care anymore. Just go fuck and do whatever adults do. You'll both feel better and won't make me feel any worse."

In total surprise, I retreated a few steps backwards.

*Akiyoshi can speak like this? And to his father? I thought he had a calmer temperament than this, but this dynamic feels so odd…*

Hikaru stood in front of his son, who was slightly taller than him, and looking barely upwards, he commanded, "That's enough. You shouldn't talk about your parents like that."

"Right, right," Akiyoshi said in a high tone while nodding. His eyes were wide, and his voice became threatening. "Why don't I tell your precious daughter that—"

"Akiyoshi."

I had never heard Hikaru use the prince's full first name and in such a stern tone to boot.

He shook his head and said, "Let me just get these for you, dear." Hikaru's tone turned lighter as he tried to dissipate the tension in the area, letting it blow away across the trench under the gentle movement of the air that was no longer stifling.

Without so much as a peep, Hikaru used his magic to take the chairs from Akiyoshi's grasp, using his stronger powers to place rows and sections at once according to a blueprint that Akiyoshi gripped in his hands.

"You claim to love your kids, but you can't even tell her everything." He chuckled. "I see how it is."

I joined the conversation before it curved into a circle of insults and vague, defamatory remarks.

"Prince Akiyoshi, if I may interject, I think you should stop for now. I'm not taking sides, but there's no way we can have this ceremony tonight for your dad if things keep going like this."

Akiyoshi huffed before going about his business, directing another group of soldiers to get some metal from local blacksmiths for structures and decorations.

One could have said things went back to normal, but they didn't exactly revert to their previous states as I was left in a space with a million questions floating like grains of pollen and answers dormant in hibernation.