Flying in the Wind [Genshin Impact]

Chapter 02. The White Heron Princess

Chapter 02.
The White Heron Princess

Nearly ten years had passed since that first meeting between two little kids from different clans, whose futures were negotiated behind closed doors. Many things had happened after that spring afternoon; as many as could fit in a decade of life. And despite the fervent wishes of the Raiden Shogun to keep everything immovable and eternal, the reality was that nothing and no one was exactly the same as back then. The world was not the same, Inazuma was not the same, and definitely, Kamisato Ayaka wasn't either...

Spring was beginning again. The weather, the sky, and the cherry trees looked quite similar to those of that day, or at least how Ayaka thought she remembered them. Some things had already become a bit fuzzy by then; others were still too clear.

That afternoon was his fifth day in a row at the Komore Teahouse, an essential meeting point for the Kamisato clan in Inazuma City. Ayaka had gone to the capital to take care of the final arrangements for the Spring Festival that would take place in a week. It was one of the most important and biggest of the year. And, of course, the Yashiro Commission was in charge of organizing it. Ayaka took the reins of the organization almost wholly in order to lighten the weight of her brother's obligations.

By that time, almost everything was ready, and what remained to be done, the local representatives of the commission could take care of finishing it themselves. In fact, about an hour ago, Thoma, who had accompanied her on all those errands in the city as her assistant, had left the Teahouse with the latest correspondence with instructions for everything that would have to be done in the following days. Finishing that, they had scheduled their return to the Kamisato Estate, where she would give her full report to her brother, proud to be able to tell him that everything had gone very well.

As a young adult woman of eighteen, Ayaka had practically become her brother's right-hand, devoting most of her time to the work of the Yashiro Commission and mainly to help people to the best of her ability. Her reputation had grown as she herself did, becoming a recognizable and admired figure among the people of Inazuma, even equal to or more than Commissioner Kamisato.

Every time someone saw her walking the streets of Inazuma with her graceful step and her face beaming with kindness and joy, they could not help but marvel at the aura of perpetual perfection that surrounded her. His neat manners, elegance, kindness, affable smile, and unique beauty earned her among the people the nickname of Shirasagi Himegimi. The White Heron Princess; the living representation of the peaceful, perfect, and eternal Inazuma that Archon Electro has dreamed of.

But as usual, most were unaware of what this princess was hiding behind her smile and her "perfection." They were unaware of the fears, the doubts, the desires, and the hurt memories that crossed her mind when she was alone...

While waiting for Thoma to return, Ayaka was in one of Komore's rooms, precisely working on the last additions to the report that she would present to her brother. The window was open, facing the cliff and the sea in the distance, and through which a pleasant breeze came in. And especially had a fantastic view of the beautiful cherry trees that grew just behind the Teahouse.

She sat on the floor next to the window, with a small wooden lectern to support her notebook and write in it the details of what had been done and agreed upon those days. She had to be meticulous because her brother was even more so. The attendants of the Teahouse had left her some sweet rolls, as well as their best matcha tea, of which she had eaten and drunk half, respectively.

The whole place was plunged into a deep silence at that time. Ayaka wasn't exactly alone, but she almost felt like she was. Komore had always had that peculiar quality. It was ideal for work, indeed, but sometimes that solitude and silence could become suffocating.