"How Long Until The Crown Breaks?" 

 20. To Takashi...

I know that you have wanted to see me again ever since the get together, and I am here writing this letter to you to let you know that your particular wish is coming true.

I will be arriving at Naminek City in a few days to speak with you in person about this marriage deal.

I also want to hear of all your plans now that you are Emperor of Naminek and the taken nation of Doulishii.

Tell me so once I'm there and I'll let you know my answer right before your curious face.

From Dawn...

Putting her golden ink back in it's holder, Dawn leans back while grabbing the piece of paper. Looking well at her writings and thinking on the fact that this is her first time writing such a letter to somebody. The letters she has received have always been given to her, but it felt great for her to make her own for once, one that she truly wants to write.

Dawn looks up at the mirror and starts changing into her silkly pink night gown. Looking back at herself, Dawn manages to bring up a smile, which she hasn't been able to do since Nebin's death.

She sighs and then grabs her paper, giving it to the head handmaiden, Keyshia. 

"Take this to the flyers please."

Keyshia proceeds to say after grabbing it, "it is late? Should we wait until morning?"

"No, I want this letter to be read by morning; take it please, I don't want to waste anymore time on this, I had enough of wasting time." She crosses her arms and walks back into her room, with Keyshia bowing down saying "Yes, your highness." Before leaving.

Dawn walks out unto the balcony again and proceeds to stare out into the glowing city below. Honestly, it's one of her favorite past times to do, just to stare out into the city and watch everyone go about their business below, for some reason, it relaxed her, especially in the morning.

But since it's late at night, Dawn decided to only stay out for about ten minutes before deciding to walk back inside her room, but before she does, she smells a familar smell, then sound, then footsteps along with it.

"Your highness, someone is here to see you." By the maidens voice, Dawn could tell it was something good. Dawn started to slowly smile, saying "Who is it?"

Just behind the curtain, the maiden opens it up and Dawn smiles the brightest she ever had. She runs up to a beautiful lioness that runs her way towards Dawn.

Dawn hugs the lioness with tears coming out of her eyes. She then backs up to see the lionesses face, holding onto the lioness while speaking in her native tongue of Nokinian. 

The lionesses golden fur sheds only a bit as Dawn hugs the lion she hasn't seen in a while due to the lionesses health reasons. But bringing an old friend back like this made Dawn fall asleep happily this night, with the lioness by her side.

...

"Dawn hasn't left the lions side since we let her come back." Surrounding by four lions themselves, Marlo and Suna sit on their dining room thrones, eating along with everyone else and their children in the room for this bright and sunny morning.

Marlo replies to Suna's words by saying "Honestly Suna, this is what she needed, it's like I forgot how happy Eden made Dawn." Marlo smiles at seeing Dawn feeding Eden along with her maidens surrounding her, even Dae, Dusk and Jema are right with her as Dusk's lion, Lionel, is also amongst them.

Suna leans into Marlo again and says, "she hasn't eaten herself though."

Suna sits up and says to Dawn, "please eat honey, I shouldn't have to tell you this."

Dawn looks over to her mother and bows before her saying "Good morning, mother."

"Have some food Dawn, our chefs have worked hard." Marlo adds.

Dawn nods and walks over to her seat, she then proceeds to eat with everyone else, still with a smile on her face and some laughs to accompany the beautiful smile.

Suna shakes her head and says softly while looking towards her, "for once, her smile matches that of Dusks and Dae's, bright just like the sun." She turns towards Marlo, "my sovereign, have you realized?"

"I have, I take notice of my children and their emotions, but only as of lately has Dawn seemed depressed to me."

"Oh well, you must not have been paying that much attention." Marlo chuckles, "I'm serious, she is going to get some help, we'll both make sure, and starting out with bringing Eden back from the pridelands will be good."

"I sure hope so, my sovereign."

He places his hand on Suna's, "it will, my sovereigness."

Then once sometime goes by and everyone finishes eating, the servants put their plates away, but Dawn gets up and walks over to her parents, bowing before them again and saying "I have something to tell you both."

Marlo and Suna both keep their attention on Dawn, with Marlo saying "Go ahead and speak darling."

"I have made my decision to see Takashi."

They stop what they are doing, with Marlo leaning forward and saying "Are you sure you are ready to deal with marriage again?"

Then Suna places her hand on his and says "If she is telling us so, then she is."

Then Marlo proceeds to say, "darling, there is no rush."

Dawn says to them, "this isn't about Nokinian marriage law that a woman unmarried by twenty five should be discarded completely, I am not making this to rush anything, it is simply my call to do so, I want to speak with him."

Marlo sits back and takes a breather, he looks over to Suna and starts whispering to her about something while Dawn stands before them, with Eden by her side.

Marlo looks back to her and says, "when do you plan on leaving?"

"Tonight, I want to get this over with."

"When will you be coming back?"

"It depends what our talk will be like, but I'll send you back a letter once I'm sure." Being upfront with them, Dawn bows her head before her parents again and says, "I will get back to you both, I will, don't worry. I will get this done so that Takashi will not have to be brought in a bad light before any of us. I am the one he wants to see, so, I'll handle it."

"Then do so, I'm not stopping you." Marlo agrees with her, but seeing Suna looking overwhelming concerned, he asks her, "are you alright? After all, she is an adult, let her make her choices."

"I don't want this decison to overwhelm her." 

Dawn walks up to her mother and holds her mother's hand saying, "I will be alright, I am a warrior remember, I'm not going let anything hurt me."

"Have you heard of the past Empress? The daughter of the Empress was the one overthrown, and I hear of Sovereigness Maldu that she is very malevolent in nature, beware of her, okay?"

Dawn nods and smiles, "I will mother."

Then she looks to her father and then her mother again, hugging the both of them before backing up and walking back over to Eden. 

"I will have my maidens come with me, so I won't even be alone."

"Well that's great Dawn, we also will make sure you are well protected regardless." Marlo says with a smile.

"I appreciate both your support." With this she nods to them and they do so to her. 

With this interaction, Dawn makes her leave and walks back to her room with Eden following her.

It's safe to say this was the first time she was able to sleep like a baby at night since Nebin's death. Dawn made sure to calm herself, she kept praying this day in asking whether her choice is right, and by the way she slept from a nap, it answered her prayers.

Dawn knew she had to do this, it was only right to confront her feelings for Takashi once and for all.

Dawn arose in the night after spending sometime with the family before leaving, even talking with Dusk privately as he gives her some comforting words, "I'll be there if anything unwelcoming occurs, just know that I will be your help."

"You, Jema, and Niah?" 

He puts his hand on her shoulder and says "Of course." He laughs with her then proceeds to give her a hug.

From this, Dawn backs up and bows before him, with everyone bowing before her as well as they all make their way over to the flyers, along with Dawn's maidens getting her stuff for her and them coming with her as well.

Marlo and Suna make their way out and nod to her as well, already understanding her leave. 

Then, smiling to them, she runs over to them and gives them another hug, then she gives Dae a hug as Dae says to her, "may our Creator be on your side."

Dawn nods and says, "always."

From this she makes her leave, hopping onto the flyer along with her maidens and guards. She waves to them once flying off, reminding her of when she left for Southern Island with Dusk.

......

Takashi stood in his room, just returning from practicing as he put down his sword, spike, and bow and arrow when one his guards bowed in the doorway, kneeling down and then holding out a letter that is gripped in his hand.

"Your Power, this is for you."

Takashi walks over to the guard, taking the paper out of his hand saying, "thank you, you may go."

The guard stands up, bowing his head then making his leave. 

Takashi, now standing before grand window of his room, opens it up and starts reading it. Reading through the words, Takashi starts smirking knowing that Dawn herself wrote it, then seeing her name on it on the bottom of the letter, written in perfect cursive, one that Takashi will always remember from their training days and that being his first time being taught cursive by someone.

Just from reading this simple and sweet letter, Takashi places the letter in draw and then proceeds to look out towards the city.

"I'll be glad to see you Dawn." He says, sneaking another look towards the letter once saying so.

.......

It was the next night when Takashi and ten of his men walked with him towards the port of flyers for Naminek City. All dressed up, masked with their dark suits of black, gold, and orange, and then their striking gold eyes to accompany it all.

Watching the recognizable Nokinian flyer come down, Takashi already knew that Dawn could see him from here, and at this point, he was just waiting for her to be right in his presence.

Luckily, especially in Naminek, all the areas that surround the port are litted up with flaming gold along the paths, even patches on the grass and hard terrain have flaming gold stones laying there that bring up light in the towns and cities of Naminek.

Takashi steps forward, right at the line of the port and the golden path, making a way to where he could watch Dawn make his way to him.

Dawn gets off of the flyer along with her maidens. With her maidens holding her stuff behind her, Dawn, making sure that they are well, says to them "Naminek is very different than Nokinia in so many ways, I'll help you all out with conversation and the cutural standards here, don't worry."

Nodding to them, the maidens nod back, including head maiden Keyshia. 

From this, Dawn makes her way towards Takashi, coming up to him like a animal studying a sophisticated object. 

As if admiring his armor, his mask, his physique, Dawn lastly looks up to his face, crossing her arms and leaning back a little with a smirk on her face, "so...Are you going to show me your face? Or should I put a mask on too?"

Takashi keeps his postion before her, slowly, he raises his hand, then in a normal matter manner, Takashi takes off his black, gold, and red porcelain mask. 

Looking directly at each other now, Takashi replies to her words while putting his mask back in it's clip that is sealed to Takashi's trousers, "I decided to admire you in my own way."

"By barely seeing me?"

"I see well in this mask." He taps the mask, "have you made your decision?"

Dawn looks over to all the guards and maidens surrounding them, she uncrosses her arms and bes upfront with him. "I want to talk about this alone."

"I know a place, I'll have everyone surround us to where we won't see, but most definitely...We'll be alone."

"Then let's go..." 

Making their way through the litted forest of Naminek City, away from all the bustling noise of the people, the excessive lights, and thousands of guards it feels like, Takashi, remembering how he would come to this forest as a child says to Dawn, "you see this stuff floating in the air? It's healing...You stay in this forest long enough, you'll forget about all your troubles."

Dawn lets one drop in her hand, in shape of a flower, as they are known as flying flower lights, and says back to Takashi, "they're beautiful."

Takashi sits down on one of the log chairs that sit around the beautiful pond that reflects the lights and the lights from the trees. "They remind me of you..." Takashi smiles while letting one fall in the palm of his hand.

Dawn looks over to him as he says, "they come to you when you need them, and then, to return the favor, you plant them right back into the ground, so that they grow and sprout even more in the air, bring good riddance wherever they land."

Dawn smiles and sits down beside him, "I remind of that because of our training days right?"

"Yeah, always will." He looks to her, watching her let more fall into her hand.

He grabs her hand suddenly, causing her to look back at him in a slightly shocked manner. 

He says to her, "if you grab too many at once, they'll die, only one at a time." 

"Oh..." Dawn puts the other two she grabbed down and then looks back towards Takashi, "I apologize about that."

"It's not your fault, you wouldn't know, plus I find it interesting how in your hand, all three of them didn't die immediately." 

He looks over to the flowers, laying beside the pond waters now. "They are still very much alive."

"You must come out here everyday."

"I haven't been recently, but now I will."

"Tell me Takashi, all that is going on with you that lead you to want to marry me."

"Dawn...It will take days to tell...I want to spend time with you here..."

"And tell me overtime?" Dawn cuts him off, "I came this fast to hear everything that happened as well, not just to bond again."

She looks away from him after saying this realizing how much Takashi must love her to just relax her during the late night.

"Dawn, the past Empress wanted me to be her lover, and do to rejection, she set me up as if I hurt her, then her own Great Speaker had her posioned to frame me, with her own daughters help I believe. From there, I was thrown in prison, before and after her death, then she passed on and her daugther took control. That is until I made things right again, and took over as I should have...That's the base of it all."

"Where is she now? Aren't you to marry her once she is of age?" Dawn looks curiously at Takashi.

Takashi smirks seeing this look of her, "I will not marry her, especially since I ousted her out to Doulishii."

"And you want me ruling beside you after all that..."

Takashi looks back at her, Dawn can see in his eyes, a rare glimpse from him, somewhat loving instead of cold hearted and arrogant.

"Takashi...This isn't easy because Nebin...Who I did marry, was murdered in front of me by his own parents."

"I'm sorry about that Dawn."

"Just give me another-"

Suddenly, Takashi and Dawn hear the sound of fighting between the guards from outside the forest, then with that ending quickly, Takashi and Dawn both stand up and see coming out of the light, Marishi, the past Emperess.