Miyuki sat on the benches set out for spectators during the festival with her head in her hands and her heart in her stomach. The woman in her dreams said to be careful and she wasn’t. She was kicking herself for scaring away her brother and she didn’t know what to do. I can’t think straight to be able to watch the festival, I’m not hungry enough to go back to the bakery, she thought. Then she saw Riki, or chaser on the field. He probably thought that was the best place for him to calm down. He was doing great, he was besting everyone at archery, at wood sword fights, and at fist fighting. That wasn’t a surprise for Miyuki, she already knew he had absolute strength. They were in the fist-fighting portion now and she was watching Albie now, she wanted to support them first. When Albie's name got called Miyuki cheered for him not knowing who he was fighting. However, as fate would have it, he was fighting Riki. They both looked at Miyuki, Albie smiled and waved. Riki stared at her then at him and you could tell he was thinking. When Albie charged him all Riki was doing was dodging, and pretty gracefully. Albie’s punches weren’t even getting close to Riki, and it didn’t look like he wanted to hit Albie. Miyuki noticed Riki’s friend from the bakery in the crowd of soldiers on the other side. He was screaming “Take him down” and “Show the pipsqueak who the chaser really is.” Right as his friend said that Riki stopped, and he stared. Not at Albie, not at his friend, but at Miyuki. He seemed to whisper something which startled himself. He focused back in on what was going on around him and continued dodging Albie’s punches. Albie got tired quickly and stopped for one second to take a breather. In that second Riki hit him square in the jaw, leaned down and whispered something into Albie’s ears and walked away. Miyuki lost him in the crowd again and tried to find Albie next. She found him sitting down next to a wall with his head laid back looking up. “Are you alright, Albie?” Miyuki asked softly, “I couldn’t be better. I know why you were so tense now.” he said coldly. “What?” she replied, “I don’t know what you mean.” “The man I fought, when everyone called him the chaser, he whispered to himself ‘My names Riki’” Miyuki listened eagerly, maybe she could still convince her brother to join her afterall. “That’s not all, my Princess.” He grunted, “When he knocked me down he whispered in my ear too he said, ‘If I’m not there to protect her you must do it.’” Miyuki laughed at what she thought Albie was getting at. Albie looked up confused, “You were scared because you knew your Ex would be here.” He said it so confidently, it was hard for Miyuki to stop laughing. “I swear on my kingdom, he’s nothing of the sorts.” she leaned down to whisper in his ear “Besides, you’ve already protected me much more than he has.” She stood back up and saw Albie turned away and covering his face. “Who was he then?” Albie asked, Miyuki sighed and looked at the sky. “That was one of my brothers.” she said as calmly as she could without crying, “I think he knows I know something and is avoiding me so I can't talk to him about it.” She turned away from Albie so he wouldn’t see her cry. Suddenly, she feels someone embrace her, it was Albie. “You can convince him to go with us and you will be closer to fixing your family, Miyuki.” he said which made her cry more. She wanted to believe that, but it was so much harder when the one she needed to talk to was avoiding her. “I’ll help you find him.” Albie said, “You don’t have to worry about it all on your own.” They started searching for Riki, looking around where the soldiers were socializing, even back at the bakery. However, they couldn’t find him. So, they went back to the carriage
They walked back to the carriage in silence, neither of them sure what to say. Albie tried to talk to her, “Mi-” “Hey!” Someone yelled from the direction of their carriage. Miyuki looked up to see Riki leaning up against the carriage door next to the soldiers traveling with her. “Apologies, for the rude welcoming. You never told me your name.” “You mean I never got the choice to tell you.” She shot back after getting closer to him. He looked down and put his hand on the back of his head, “I’m sorry about that, the only time someone's called me Riki was the lady in my dreams and-” “We have things to discuss that we probably shouldn’t with an audience.” “Family secrets” Albie said as he rolled his eyes. Miyuki elbowed him in the gut and gestured for Riki to follow her. When they got to a secluded spot Riki asked, “Why did we have to walk away from your friends?” Miyuki thought about how she wanted to say this to him. “They are actually soldiers that were sent to travel with me. The one you fought with is my personal bodyguard. They aren’t allowed to hear what I'm about to tell you.” Miyuki paused to make sure he was paying attention; he was staring, and the curiosity of his eyes controlled him. “Have you ever had that lady in your dreams tell you anything weird?” Riki thought for a moment, “She told me not to be clouded by what I assumed should be.” “That’s good because what I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to believe and understand.” She brushed her hair behind her ear to focus on her words, “I’m your younger sister. You have two other brothers who you shared birth with. I know you probably thought you had to hide this from everyone, but I already know about your incredible strength.” She let out a big gust of air glad she finally got that out of the way but scared of how Riki would act. He started laughing, like Miyuki had just told the funniest joke of all time. “Are you okay?” “No, I think I've gone mad.” he replied, “I told you it would be hard to believe but-” “It’s not that. I think I’m mad because I do believe you.” Miyuki sat there for a second, “You believe me?” she finally said, “Yes.” Riki said while laughing, “Because I already knew I had brothers and that someone would take me to them. I just didn’t think that person would be my little sister.” Riki pulled her in for a hug and Miyuki couldn’t believe it, she’d found one of her brothers. She’d done it, now she had to ask if he’d go with her. She looked up at his smiling face and cheerful eyes and asked, “Will you come with me, then? To find your other brothers” Riki looked down at her serious face and said, “My bags already packed. I just don’t know how you can afford four soldiers and that carriage. Here comes the hard part, Miyuki thought. “Thats because our parents... are the king a queen.” Riki’s face dropped, and his mouth wasn’t smiling anymore. “You mean, you’re a princess and I'm supposed to be a prince?” “Yes.” Miyuki said bluntly, waiting for his reaction. He threw his hands up and said, “I'll think about that while we travel.” and pulled her in and dragged her back to the carriage. On the way, Miyuki made sure to remind him that what they discussed cannot be talked about with anyone else. When they got back, Miyuki looked at her friends and said “Everyone, I’d like you to meet. My brother Riki Inoya.” The guards looked at her and then at themselves. “My princess, do you mind if we speak to you for a moment?” Miyuki sighed and looked at Riki, “This will only take a moment.” They walked around to the other side of the carriage that faces the forest. “Your Highness, we don’t think this is wise. There’s no way to tell if he’s one of the long-lost princes.” Miyuki glared at them, “I was the only one told of my brothers characteristics, I was the only one told how to find them. So, if you’re going against my judgment, it must mean you know things about my brothers you are not meant to know.” The men started to back away, “That is not how we meant it, your Highness.” Suddenly, Albie yelled from a few yards away, “My Princess, watch out!” At that moment, Miyuki heard the growling of something behind her. She turned around and saw a black bear standing up with its paws growling at her. Miyuki was frozen with fear, the bear had her cornered with her back against the carriage. “Albie, what do I do?!” She yelled with her eyes closed as the bear got closer. In a split second, Riki ran in front of her and pushed his hands into the bear’s claws. Riki easily pushed the bear back until it fell on its back. When the bear looked up at her brother, Miyuki could see the fear in the bear's eyes. Riki had marked his territory and showed the bear there was no chance of beating him. While he stood watching the bear run away, everyone saw a blue strain of dust surround him that seemed to make him shine. He turned around with tears in his eyes, “Are you okay, Yuki?” Miyuki's eyes widened, “What did you call me?” “Yuki? I hope that’s okay I just thought it was a cute nickname.” She smiled and tears filled in her eyes at the thought of finding her brother, “Thank you, Riki. You saved my life.” Riki pulled her in for a hug which took Miyuki by surprise. She had dreamed about finding her brothers and having moments like this with them. Now, her dreams were her reality. She turned to her guards and put a hand out gesturing to her brother. “I think my decision stands, boys.”
They’ve been traveling together for three days now, and Miyuki thinks the soldiers are starting to trust Riki. Everyone except for Albie, she thought, he must still be hurt over his loss against Riki. When they eat, Albie would sit two men in between them. When they had to camp, he would make sure to have as little conversation with him as possible and he would put someone else's tent in between them. Miyuki was starting to worry that they would be like this the whole trip. Until one day, Albie walked up to him and asked Riki to train him. “You saved, her Highness, and if you are her brother then you are my prince. Therefore, it would be an honor if you train me.” Miyuki giggled at the thought of Albie finally opening to her brother. Riki smiled, “Of course, I know you four still think I’m not Riki Inoya, but I hope you all learn to trust me and Yuki.” Miyuki walked up to Albie and put her hand on his shoulder, “I think they’ve all become really fond of you, brother.” She looks up at Albie, who seems to be in awe. Miyuki just smiles at Albie and says, “Train your hearts out boys.” She walks away to leave both Albie and Riki in amazement. “Has she always been like this?” Riki asked, “Ever since I was assigned to guard her. You should have seen her before we found you. She was carrying the burden of not being able to tell any of us what you or your brothers looked like. That and I heard how people reacted when she said she missed you. They thought she was lying, but I see the way she is with you.” Albie reaches out his hand towards Riki, who takes his hand for a handshake. “I’ll do my best to make that easier for her. In the meantime, you make it your mission to get stronger, for her sake.” They both laughed as they started sparring until the sun came down. Miyuki was back in the trees, she found it peaceful. The sight of all the treetops being visible, or the sight of all the fireflies flying through the branches and all the nocturnal animals out and about. She sat there staring at the sky. Trying to find the different shapes in the skies, when one of the fireflies landed on her hand. She lifted her hand to lift it back up into the sky, but she saw something strange about this. When she looked closer, she saw a tiny body, a fairy?! The fairy-like creature lifted its tiny hand to wave at Miyuki. She lifted her hand to wave back when Riki called for her, “Yuki, it's time to eat.” She looked down to nod her head at her brother, but when she looked back the fairy was gone. She climbed down the tree wondering if what she saw was real but given what she’d seen and been through, it was hard for her not to believe it. When everyone was eating it was loud and joyous, everyone had something to talk about. Miyuki sat there eating her food and smiling at everyone who was having a good time. “Why are you smiling like you found treasure up in that tree?” Aske Albie which made everyone look at her. Miyuki’s face went red, and she frantically tried to explain, “I was just thinking how eating with everyone now makes me very happy cause everyone seems so lively and happy. It just makes me want to smile.” She looked up to see Riki and Albie smiling back at her, “I think we’re all pretty happy to see you smile to, your Highness.” one of the guards said. Everyone went back to their conversations and Miyuki quietly and quickly finished her meal and walked around the camp to look around. She was leaning up against the carriage when Albie tapped her on the shoulder. “You know, when I first met you, I thought you were a self-righteous soldier who thought of this job as babysitting. I didn’t really trust you much, but I’m very glad my parents chose you” she said when she turned around to see him. “If I may, your Highness. When I first met you, I thought you were a selfish Princess who was in over her head.” Miyuki let out a surprised laugh, “I’m honored for your honesty, Albie.” “You said you could trust me; I was showing you that I trusted you too.” She smiled as she lifted her head to the sky and closed her eyes. “You seem to find much comfort out here.” Albie said gently, “It’s quite charming.” Miyuki’s heart started pounding as he said that, but she kept her eyes closed and she kept her head up. “I’ve always liked nature; I'd sleep in the garden sometimes when I’d have a hard time sleeping.” Albie chuckled, “Strange Princess.” “Insolent soldier.” she fired back. He threw his hands up laughing as if to surrender. After they stopped laughing and went quiet for a few Albie asked, “How do you intend to find your other two brothers?” Miyuki looked at him and said, “You know I can’t tell you that. However, I’ll let you know I'm planning on having Riki help me.” “Very well, your Highness.” Riki walked up very seriously. “Why are you two talking over here alone?” “Calm down, Riki.” Miyuki said, “He’s been with me for a while before we found you. If he wanted to do anything he would have tried before we found, you.” It was logical but Riki still wanted them to be separated so he stood in the middle of them while they talked until they went to their tents. Miyuki giggled at her brother standing next to her, “What are you laughing at, Yuki?” She was still giggling as she said, “I’m just happy, and you’re acting funny. I mean you’re acting like a brother, but I find it so very funny.” She continued to giggle until they all joined in. “I’m not acting like your brother, Yuki, because I am your brother.” Riki said as he pulled her in for a hug.
Happy Holidays!
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