Completed: 6/30/01
Last modified: 7/2/01
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MUSINGS AFTER TWILIGHT: a SORA WA AKAI KAWA NO HOTORI vignette
By Corbeau Noir
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Disclaimer:
All rights and privileges to Sora Wa Akai Kawa no Hotori and
its characters belong to Shinohara Chie, and the distributors of her
work. The characters of this series are used without permission for
the purpose of entertainment only, and is not meant for sale or
profit.
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Author's notes:
This is a scene that takes place in volume 3, during the party
being hosted at the palace. I've taken a few liberties with the
dialogue between Saiyasha and Yuri, so don't expect this to be
exactly like the manga. But then again, this is a fanfic. :p
Anyone interested in hosting this particular fanfic on their
website, feel free to do so. Just please send an e-mail to me at
doppelganger03@hotmail.com before you do. This is more to let me know
where my work has gone than anything else, and I haven't turned down
anyone yet.
And as always, critiques and comments are always welcome. ^_^
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The night had gotten uncomfortably dark and the full moon
rising over the horizon failed to fully penetrate the darkness that
had been cast upon the palace revelers. Yet not one of the courtiers
paid the growing darkness more than a passing thought before
returning to their previous festivities.
Yuri, who was still unaccustomed to the quickness with which
night had fallen without the aid of modern lighting, glanced
anxiously about her until she finally noticed the furtive movements
of the servants, almost shadows themselves, as they began to bring
out lamps in an effort to lighten the darkness. Yet the light of the
lamps failed to reach all places, and many parts of the palace
remained enveloped in shadows.
It was then that she noticed him, standing out at the balcony
like a statue carved out of marble and moonlight.
As if feeling her eyes upon him, he shifted slightly and the
light thrown from the torches behind him caught at his hair, casting
a golden halo around him. His face remained indiscernible in the
shadows. Yuri wondered at the despondent air surrounding him.
A hand at her elbow abruptly brought her out of her thoughts,
and it was then that Yuri noticed with something akin to horror the
number of courtiers and courtesans who had somehow surrounded her and
separated her from Kail. Glancing wildly about her, she spotted Kail
several feet away from her. Just as she turned with the intention of
going to him, she suddenly noticed that he was engrossed in a
conversation with an important but stuffy looking man.
The feeling of being out of her element had been with her ever
since the beginning of the evening, but now the feeling came back in
full force as she realized she had no idea what she was doing. She
was a high school student, for crying out loud! And the only parties
she'd gone to involved singing karaoke and blowing out birthday
candles. Nothing like this!
The air was suddenly too stuffy, and the lamps, which she'd
previously thought too weak, now seemed too bright. She didn't know
when she began to get claustrophobic, but when the walls of the
palace began looming in over her, she realized she had to get out
quick. Breaking away from the crowd, she went to the closest exit
possible, which just happened to be the palace balcony.
For a couple of minutes, Yuri simply stood under the open sky
until the feeling of vertigo passed and the late evening breeze
brushed away the flush of discomfiture from her cheeks. A sigh came
from a dark corner of the balcony, and all of a sudden Yuri realized
that she was not alone. She blushed at the thought of having intruded
so blatantly upon what was obviously a personal space, and hurriedly
turned to leave.
"No, please. Stay awhile."
Yuri paused in mid-step. "Prince Saiyasha?" she called out,
recognizing the voice even though its owner remained hidden in the
shadows. She made her way toward him, her steps overly cautious in
order to prevent tripping over her unfamiliar gown.
He was quiet, his face kept averted from hers, his attention
seemingly fixed on the beautiful full moon that now hung in the
diamond-studded sky. Yuri didn't mind the silence. She came to rest
at his side and leaned on the balustrade to appreciate the beauty of
the night sky with him. It still came as a shock to her at times to
be able to see so many stars at night, since back home the light from
the city drowned out all but the brightest stars.
"Beautiful..."
"Yes it is," she acknowledged. But then she turned and saw him
looking not at the sky...but at her.
For a moment there was an awkward silence, as the two of them
stared at each other, faces just inches away from the other. Yuri
eyed him nervously, wondering what he meant by that comment,
uncomfortably aware of the flush that must be spreading over her
face, while Saiyasha's face remained uncharacteristically immobile
under the moonlight.
Yet Saiyasha was the first to lower his eyes, sighing as he did
so. Yuri unconsciously echoed him in relief, when he flashed a
characteristic roguish smile at her and the moment of awkwardness was
broken.
Her spirit back, she grinned wryly at him and said, "You won't
be saying that in the morning when the dress is gone, and my hair is
back in it's usual mess."
He didn't refute or confirm that statement, and instead simply
gave her another dazzling smile. In a conversational tone, he
flippantly tossed out, "You reminded me of my mother tonight."
Yuri started and looked over at him curiously.
He caught her eye and, smiling gently, continued, "You are
everything I've always imagined her to be."
She blinked and, before she could stop herself, asked,
"Imagined...?"
He sighed and turned away from her, his expression once more
turning melancholy. "Yes, she died while I was still a child."
Downing the last remains of the wine in his goblet, he turned toward
the light of the palace and was able to immediately spot Kail in the
crowd. His charismatic brother was working his way through a throng
of bureaucrats and drawing an increasingly greater crowd to him in
the process.
Yuri followed Saiyasha's gaze, and watched Kail until the crowd
engulfed him, a wistful smile on her face. So lost in thought was she
that she started in surprise when Saiyasha spoke up again.
"My mother was the late Queen's handmaiden. Her father had
other plans for her and never truly meant for my mother to join the
hundreds already in the royal harem. But she was beautiful and," here
Saiyasha laughed a little bitterly, "What the king wants, the king
gets. It was only a matter of time."
Yuri looked at him, unsure as to how to respond to this sudden
divulge of personal information. Saiyasha did not process her
discomfort, the wine he'd consumed loosening his normally reticent
tongue.
"After my mother fell ill and passed away, Queen Sidia adopted me
and raised me alongside her own son, Kail. We grew up together, Kail
and I." He paused, catching a glimpse of Kail's golden hair before it
vanished again beneath the wave of well-wishers. "But as kind as
Queen Sidia was to me, I've always known she was not truly my mother.
"I've always imagined my mother being full of light and
innocence, fragile in appearance but strong within." All of a sudden
Yuri found him staring at her again. "Like you."
Before there could be another moment of awkward silence between
the two of them (inwardly Yuri was beginning to wonder at these
moments), someone called out her name from within the palace.
Yuri glanced toward where the majority of the revelry was
taking place, and saw Kail motioning for her to join him. She cast an
apologetic smile at Saiyasha and, saying, "Please excuse me, your
highness," quickly exited from the balcony to disappear into the
crowd.
Yuri did not see as Saiyasha watched her go with a tiny
indefinable expression on his face.
But someone else did, and immediately began planning on how
best to use this interesting bit of development to her own advantage.
End Vignette.
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E-mail the author at doppelganger03@hotmail.com
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