Heart of Silver, Soul of Glass
By Stormlight
Chapter One
"Serenity Aurelia Blackthorn!"
Ikuko’s sharp reprimand froze the eight-year-old girl in her tracks, trickles
of muddy water trailing down her body and from her clothes to form a puddle
on the floor around her bare, muddy feet. Her long, flowing hair was more
brown now than gold, due to the mud caked in the thick braid, and her
normally-fair skin was streaked with dirt. When her mother used that tone on
her, it usually meant she was in trouble, and when her mother called her by
all three of her names…she was really in for it then!
"Yes, Mama?" Serena asked innocently, looking up at the woman through wide,
summer blue eyes, just as though it was perfectly normal for her to be
traipsing around in head-to-toe mud.
Ikuko smirked; she knew all-too-well the wiles of her adopted daughter.
"Where’s that sister of yours?" she questioned sternly. "Into trouble, too,
I’ll bet."
"Miaka’s always into trouble, Mama. You know that," Serena replied with a
sweet smile.
"Not much more than another little sprite I know," Ikuko snorted. "Dare I ask
how you came to be in such a state?"
Serena looked down at herself, seeming to notice for the first time the dirt
and the water and the fact that her dress was tucked up into her bodice, so
that her gangly legs were sticking out beneath the hem up to her knees; not
the most ladylike way to be seen in public. She looked back up at her mother,
her eyes big and shiny, just ready to burst into tears. "It isn’t my fault,
Mama! Honest!" she explained earnestly. "Me and Miaka…"
"Miaka and I," Ikuko corrected automatically.
Serena rolled her eyes; her mother was always correcting her like that, and
quite frankly, she found it annoying. "Miaka and I were playing by the river,
and we were minding our own business when that dumb Endymion and his mean
friends came out of nowhere and pushed us into the river! Just like that!"
She allowed her lower lip to quiver…just a little…to show her mother how hurt
she was by such rude treatment, and Ikuko held back a smile and a sigh all at
once.
"Dear Heart, what do you suppose would happen if anyone of importance heard
you speaking that way about the prince?" the woman asked sternly. "He is your
liege, and he’s to be treated with the respect one of his station deserves."
When Serena merely wrinkled her nose, she sighed and shook her head. "Are you
sure you weren’t doing or saying anything to cause His Highness to want to
push you into the river in the first place?" she asked suspiciously. The
imminent dislike her daughter and the crown prince seemed to hold for each
other since the moment they’d met was well-known by everyone in the castle,
and possibly beyond. Endymion was thirteen, the eldest of three royal
children, and he had never taken a liking to the baby Ikuko had adopted,
although he seemed to get on with Miaka well enough. His younger brother,
however, was much sweeter in nature. Hotohori, at twelve, was somewhat quiet
and reserved, just like his mother. He often scolded Endymion for teasing
Serena so much—not that the elder prince ever listened to him—and she had
come to look upon Hotohori as a protector of sorts.
The youngest of the three siblings was Princess Rei, who was nearly the same
age as Serena, having been born only two months apart from her. Rei looked
very much like her eldest brother, with black hair and dark eyes, whereas
Hotohori’s silvery-brown hair and soft, golden-brown eyes were completely
opposite, as was his calm personality from Rei’s fiery one. It was hard to
believe that Hotohori was related in any way to the other two siblings,
having inherited most of his mother’s elegant beauty as well as her serene
mannerisms, whereas Endymion and Rei definitely took after their father.
Maybe one would think it odd for a friendship to spring up between a somewhat
spoiled princess and an orphaned peasant girl, and yet that’s exactly what
happened between Rei and Serena. Granted, it was somewhat of a love/hate
relationship—the two girls fought almost as much as they played—but from the
moment they were old enough to leave their cradles, they were inseparable.
Ikuko’s job at the castle was the role of Rei’s nursemaid, so it was only
natural that her two daughters and the princess play and study their lessons
together, no matter how much certain courtiers protested the impropriety of
such an arrangement.
In the meantime, several moments had passed, and Serena had yet to answer
Ikuko’s question, standing there quietly and not looking at her, which caused
some worry on the older woman’s part. Just as she opened her mouth to ask
again, a commotion coming from the courtyard just outside their small
apartment caught their attention, and Ikuko’s worst fears were confirmed when
a soaking wet, dirty, and very angry Endymion unceremoniously threw open the
door with a bang. His two closest friends, Mitsukake and Tamahome, were right
on his heels, attempting to placate the prince, and behind them Miaka skipped
along, a big grin plastered across her face and her green eyes sparkling with
merriment.
"Y-your Highness," Ikuko stammered, glancing at her elder daughter sternly
before she dropped a quick curtsey, motioning for her younger daughter to do
the same. Serena merely crossed her arms and scowled, glaring at the prince
balefully. "Serenity!" Ikuko hissed, incensed at her daughter’s lack of
manners. Serena sulkily dropped a curtsey, refusing to meet Endymion’s
furious gaze. "May I ask what the problem is, Your Highness?" Ikuko asked
nervously.
"The problem," Endymion spit out, "is that your daughter does not appear to
know how to treat a prince with proper respect." He paused for a dramatic
moment, and then exploded, "She pushed me into the river!"
"I did not!" Serena’s blue eyes filled with tears as she turned her gaze to
her mother. "He pushed me! And I grabbed his arm to keep from falling in, but
we both fell in!"
"Is this true, Your Highness?" Prince or no prince, Ikuko wasn’t inclined to
disbelieve her daughter against Endymion’s word. Serena might have been a
little imp, but she wasn’t a liar, and Ikuko knew that Endymion was prone to
embellishing the truth a little on occasion to get himself out of scrapes.
Being the crown prince, and therefore basically untouchable to anyone but his
parents, had spoiled him enough to know that he could get away with almost
anything. He wasn’t malicious—well, except maybe when it came to Serena—but
he was only a boy, and a teenage boy, at that.
Endymion was frowning darkly at Ikuko’s blatant questioning of his story. He
wasn’t used to opposition, especially from a servant. Although Ikuko
qualified as a bit more than a mere servant, being Rei’s nursemaid and all.
Still, it was embarrassing to have her stand there and question
him…especially in front of his friends! As it was, he didn’t have a chance to
either admit nor deny the truth, because Mitsukake chose that moment to step
forward, grinning as he shot Endymion a mischievous glance. "Actually, the
real truth is that nobody pushed anybody into the river," the fourteen-year-
old stated. "It was purely accidental. We were coming along the path beside
it in one direction, and Serena and Miaka were coming along it from the other
direction, and before we knew it, Serena and Endy crashed head-first into
each other, and slipped on a wet stone, and down they went…ker-splash!" He
started to snicker. "That was about the funniest thing I’d ever seen, too!"
"You can shut up any time now," Endymion grumbled, wringing out his dripping
cape onto the stone pathway that ran all around the castle courtyard.
"Just trying to help," Mitsukake replied cheerfully, and ten-year-old
Tamahome giggled.
"Well, now that we know it was only a misunderstanding, perhaps you two would
like to forget the incident?" Ikuko suggested hopefully, glancing back and
forth between Serena and Endymion. "There’s no use crying over something
that’s already been done, after all, and I’m sure in the future the both of
you will learn to watch where you’re going."
Endymion held himself proudly for another moment, before he sighed and
allowed his shoulders to slump. "Just be sure to keep that walking disaster
away from me, and we’ll get along fine," he muttered, turning to stalk away
as Serena gave an outraged gasp. His friends exchanged wide-eyed glances,
hurriedly bowed to Ikuko and her daughters, and scurried after him.
"It’s not fair!" Serena burst out as soon as they were out of hearing. "How
come he can say those kinds of things and not get yelled at?" She stamped her
foot. "If I said something like that, you’d wash my mouth out with soap!"
"You aren’t a member of the royal family," Ikuko replied ironically. "I admit
that the lad does need a good spanking at times. However, as I am merely in
charge of Her Highness’s well-being, it’s not my duty to put Endymion in his
place. That should be up to his own servants."
"Not that he listens to them, either," Serena sulked. "Ever since he turned
thirteen, he thinks he can do whatever he wants! I hate princes! I’m glad I’m
not a princess, or I’d have to marry one of them, and they’re all so yucky!"
Miaka, who had been sitting quietly on a stool near the table, now chose that
moment to speak up. "Not all of them are yucky," she pointed out, a faint
blush coming to her face as she twisted a lock of red-brown hair around her
finger. "Prince Hotohori isn’t yucky at all." Two curious gazes were abruptly
fixed on her, and she stared back through wide, innocent eyes. "Well, it’s
true!" she added, pouting a little. "He’s always been really nice to Serena
when Endymion is mean to her. I think he’s nice."
Serena’s face lit up, and she began to giggle. "Miaka loves Hotohori! Miaka
loves Hotohori!" she squealed in a singsong voice, pointing at her sister
gleefully.
Miaka, in reply, gave a screech of outrage and leapt at the younger girl, who
shrieked and ducked away while still taunting her. Miaka may have been old
enough to start showing that kind of interest in boys, but she was still
young enough to not want to admit it.
"Don’t run too far, girls! Supper will be ready shortly!" Ikuko called after
her daughters as they bolted out the door, Miaka brandishing a broom while
Serena squealed with laughter. Sighing, she shook her head and turned back to
the fireplace, stirring the stew and smiling to herself. How long ago it had
been since she had first met her dear husband, now long since dead. He’d been
the king’s advisor, and a wonderful strategist, but he’d died of an illness
that not even Luna could cure with all her healing knowledge. Luckily, the
arrival of Serenity only a few months later had helped to ease her grief over
losing him, although the pain never fully went away. She had grown up with
him, and had for the longest time treated him much the same way her daughters
treated boys in general now, as a playmate at the best of times; a rival and
enemy at the worst. Until, in the space of a heartbeat, Ikuko had suddenly
gone from thinking of him as an annoying boy to thinking of him as a
potential husband. She had loved him long before he’d ever loved her in
return, but her patience had finally paid off.
Ikuko’s expression saddened as she gazed out at her daughters, watching as
they vanished around a corner, still yelling playfully at each other. "Guard
your heart from hopeless dreams," she whispered sadly. "His Highness is meant
for the hand of royalty, not the hand of mere peasantry…"
As she turned away from the window to set the table, she realized that she
was unsure as to which of her daughters she was speaking to.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
"I hate studying!" Serena whined as she and Miaka trudged down the hall
toward the castle library the next morning. "It’s so nice out, and we could
go swimming instead, but noooo! Master Artemis insists on having our lessons
today." She sighed heavily to herself, wallowing in self-pity for a moment,
until she realized that Miaka was too absorbed in wolfing down what was left
of her breakfast to actually pay any attention to what she was saying. She
glared at the back of her sister’s head. "And today was going to be a perfect
day to study the mating habits of river fairies, too," she added snidely,
earning a scandalized glance from a passing scullery maid.
"Uh-huh," Miaka mumbled, taking a huge bite of her apple.
Serena smirked. "But maybe Master Artemis will let us go out to catch one of
the pink elephants that’ve been stealing the hair off your head every night
to make their nests in the trees!"
"Maybe," Miaka replied casually, licking some apple juice from her fingers.
"Aaarrrgh!" Serena shrieked, yanking on her long, blond braids. "You’re
impossible!"
Miaka turned to face her with a wide grin and a mischievous twinkle in her
eyes. "Not really. I just wanted to see how crazy a story you could come up
with, is all." She took a bite out of her bread and licked the butter off her
lip while her sister pouted. "Yoo showd fee wucky," she continued around her
mouthful of bread. She swallowed and added, "Most girls don’t get to have
real lessons like we do, ‘cause they’re too busy learning how to become wives
for when they grow up and take care of their homes. We get to have them
‘cause we’re friends with Princess Rei."
"We get to have them ‘cause Mama is Rei’s nursemaid," Serena grumbled as they
reached the library. "Why should we be punished for her job?"
Miaka giggled and pushed her sister through the door, where several people
were already waiting. The three royal children were seated at small tables;
Hotohori was involved with a thick book, Rei was watching the door anxiously,
her face showing relief when the sisters appeared, and Endymion was sprawled
out in a very un-princely slouch in his chair, looking more than a little
bored as he stared out a window. Serena stuck out her tongue at the back of
his head, causing Rei and Miaka to giggle. Hotohori caught Serena’s eye and
gave her a stern look, and she smiled sweetly at him and flopped down into
her own chair. In all honestly, she was for once in complete agreement with
the crown prince. It was much too nice outside to be cooped up in some dusty
library.
"Master Artemis is late," Rei whispered to Serena and Miaka, leaning over to
make her voice heard. Her dark eyes sparkled impishly. "I heard that he took
Luna to town last night, and they were gone for a very long time," she added,
as though revealing a great secret, and the sisters looked at each other with
wide eyes, then leaned closer to her eagerly. Rei grinned and prepared to
give them the details she’d picked up from the servants. Even princesses were
not above sharing juicy gossip, after all.
"Rei!" Endymion’s sharp voice cut through their whispers and giggles. "You
are not a scullery maid, so quit acting like one!" he snapped, glaring at his
sister.
Rei glared right back and stuck out her tongue at him as Serena had done
either. "Just ignore him," she sniffed, turning back to her friends. "He’s in
a tizzy today."
"What spider wriggled up his trousers?" Serena asked behind her hand, casting
a sideways glance at the sulking prince.
Rei tittered. "He’s just mad ‘cause the Duchess of Hedgewood’s daughter
didn’t notice him at dinner last night," she explained. "He spent the whole
night trying to get her attention, and she spent the whole night trying to
get his!" And she pointed in Hotohori’s direction, shooting him an
exasperated glance. "But of course he was completely ignorant of that fact,
like always!"
Hotohori looked up at his sister, smiled a little at her expression, and went
right back to reading his book. He obviously couldn’t care less about being
the subject of their gossip, which incensed Rei to no end. He wasn’t half as
much fun to pick on as Endymion was, because no matter what you said to him,
he didn’t get riled up about anything.
Serena giggled and leaned closer to her friend. "It only goes to show that
she has excellent taste and knows how to choose the good apples from the bad
ones," she stated in an exaggerated whisper, in the hopes that Endymion would
overhear the insulting remark. He did, and turned a furious blue glare on
her, which she pretended not to notice.
"Little girls should be seen and not heard!" he hissed at her.
"Little boys shouldn’t even be seen!" she hissed back, making a face at him.
She ignored Miaka, who was frantically motioning for her to behave herself.
"Quit getting him mad! You’ll get in trouble," Miaka hissed, yanking on one
of her sister’s braids. "He’s the crown prince, dummy!"
"So? Your point being…what exactly?"
Miaka nearly growled, but the conversation was abruptly cut short when the
library door burst open to admit a tall, slender man with a gentle face and
long white hair. He seemed somewhat flustered, his arms overflowing with
books and papers, a red tint of color in his fair cheeks. "So sorry I’m
late," he gasped, plopping his load down on a desk and dropping down into the
chair behind it. "I was…otherwise occupied and forgot the time." Master
Artemis smoothed back his somewhat tangled hair and smiled at his students,
his expression turning to one of annoyance when the three girls tittered.
"Have I missed a funny story, Miss Serenity?" he asked sternly, turning his
blue-eyed gaze to the youngest of the three.
Serena gulped and shrank down into the chair. "No, Master Artemis," she
mumbled, trying to ignore the smirk that she just knew Endymion was throwing
her way. Why did the Master always have to pick on her? Just ‘cause she was
always daydreaming in class and never did her assignments…
Her eyes suddenly went wide. Her assignment! She had forgotten, yet again, to
do her assignment! She nearly groaned and turned a pleading gaze to Miaka.
"Did you do the reading we were assigned?" she whispered.
"Didn’t you?" she whispered back.
"No…" Serena whimpered. Then, hopefully, "Can you tell me…"
"Serena! You have to learn to remember to do your own work! Mama’ll get mad
if I keep helping you. How’re you supposed to learn anything that way?" Miaka
scolded.
Serena pouted. "Now you sound like Master Artemis," she grumbled, slouching
in her chair.
"Miss Serenity, young ladies do not slouch," Artemis scolded, throwing a
disapproving look in her direction. "Now…might I inquire as to where Master
Tamahome and Master Mitsukake are?" He looked at Endymion, who shrugged.
"Mits is with Luna, learning healing stuff, and Tamahome went with his father
to the next town to barter for more shields and weapons," he replied
carelessly, sounding as though he quite envied them.
Serena looked at Rei and Miaka worriedly. More weapons? Why would the king’s
army need more weapons?
Rei shrugged, looking as lost as Serena felt. Being the youngest, she wasn’t
yet allowed to sit in on things like meetings with her father’s council,
unlike her two brothers, who needed to know what went on in the country so
that they could become competent rulers. Her mother often went to sit in on
the meetings, as well, and when she came out again she always looked stressed
and grim, and it made Rei sort of glad that she wasn’t allowed to know what
went on behind those gilded doors. She knew, though, that if she wanted to
find out, she could always talk Hotohori into telling all about it. She’d get
Miaka to help her, too, since Hotohori seemed to hold a special liking for
the girl. He wouldn’t refuse her anything, she’d bet her crown on it!
"Perhaps Her Highness would like to bring her head down out of the clouds and
back onto her shoulders where it belongs?"
Master Artemis’s gently chiding voice cut through Rei’s musings, making her
start in surprise. She blushed and mumbled a reply, glaring at Serena when
the girl tittered, obviously pleased to see someone else get into trouble for
a change. Only the Master would dare address the princess like that, which
was probably why her parents had kept him around for so long. No matter how
many royal tantrums the three children threw, he was not frightened off by
any of them. Not even when Endymion had once threatened to have him strung up
by his toes to a metal rod atop the highest tower of the castle in the middle
of a lightning storm. Courage like that was rare in the kingdom of
Davinshire, and King Reagan had taken the Master aside and had given him two
choices. He could either become a Knight of the House of Rosewood—the royal
family’s official designation—or he could remain in the castle as a teacher
for the children. Being the scholar that he was—not to mention rather
abhorred by violence—Artemis had gladly accepted the second option and had
never looked back.
The lessons continued on for the next two hours, and when they were finally
over—ending with yet another horrid assignment given by the Master—all five
children leaped to their feet, anxious to escape for the remainder of the
day.
"I’m starved!" Miaka announced cheerfully, picking up her books. "It must be
nearly brunch! I’m so hungry I could eat an entire turkey!"
"Yeah? Well, I’m so hungry I could eat a whole horse!" Serena replied
enthusiastically while Rei giggled. The two sisters were well-known for their
voracious appetites, and it was always entertaining watching them inhale
their food. Serena and Miaka seemed to enjoy trying to outdo each other in
the eating department, but despite all that, both girls were as skinny and
gangly as colts, and just as energetic. Rei rather envied them. She always
ate with her brothers and parents in the small dining hall used specifically
for midday meals, and as a lady, she wasn’t allowed to indulge her appetite
like her friends were. She always had to mind her manners and make sure she
was holding her fork correctly, and it simply takes all the fun out of eating
when your mother’s critical eye is on you for the entire meal to make sure
you didn’t slurp your soup or drop your napkin on the floor. Rei sighed and
pushed back a lock of dark hair, wishing—not for the first time—that she
could switch places with Serena and Miaka, and just be normal.
In the meantime, Serena, who had been skipping ahead of them, suddenly gave a
loud screech and whirled around, clutching at her posterior as she glared
around at the group. "Who did that?!" she squealed furiously, an angry flush
covering her face. "That wasn’t funny! Who did that?!"
Miaka and Rei exchanged confused glances and shrugged, and Hotohori merely
tilted his head to one side, like a curious puppy. Endymion, however, looked
suspiciously innocent, and Serena narrowed her eyes at him, pursing her lips
angrily. Still, as she could see no evidence that proved he was the culprit,
and as even she was not brave or stupid enough to accuse the crown prince of
something he may not have done (no matter how certain she was of it
otherwise), she stamped her foot, turned on her heel, and flounced down the
hall. Rei, looking a little alarmed, hastily followed her, and Hotohori shook
his head and sighed as he turned to head in the other direction, toward the
dining hall.
As she started after her sister and the princess, Miaka chanced to look back,
right in time to see Endymion nonchalantly slip a small, wooden pea-shooter
into his leather boot. She met the prince’s gaze, frowning a little, but he
simply winked at her and put a finger to his lips before heading off to
brunch, whistling merrily. Pursing her lips, Miaka watched him go, pondering.
Finally, with a sigh and a small shake of her head, she turned and ran after
her sister and the princess, deciding, wisely, to keep her mouth shut about
the whole affair.
(
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