Chapter Four
Hazard
Rio felt her stomach flatten against her spine as Yuina lead her to the Grand Hall. She held her breath, keeping her back as straight as she could stand it, refusing to show fear, she was the Megami no Shimo Be, the Vessel of the Goddess, she could withstand anything. Once again, the assembly was there, and Rio's place was set, the big blue cushion in the centre of the table, behind the lacquered box. Rio moved quickly, not pausing to look around, or hesitating like she normally did. She ascended to the platform, her sandals clacking on the polished platform, and took her place between her parents, folding her hands in her lap as was customary for a young lady.
Beside her, her father sat rigid as a board, his hands wringing furiously on the table, his brow creased in an expression of pure anxiety. Worried, Rio scanned the faces of the people assembled. Every face in that room looked worried. Rio found Suzu, clutching Naoki's sleeve, confused and afraid. Naoki sat with his hand over hers, his expression unreadable, his eyes as dark as thunder clouds.
"I fear that I bring you bad news this morning," Shichiro said, and the tremble in his voice sent a chill down Rio's spine. "The Emperor, Noboyuki Kami No Ko fears that the Tsukishiro family has too much power." He cleared his throat. Without fully understanding why Rio reached out and gently placed her hand on his, his hands were cold and clammy, but the touch of her hand seemed to calm Shichiro down some, and he continued.
"His Esteemed Highness is worried about the influence our family over his subjects, he fears that, should we see fit, we could dethrone him and pick a new ruler, perhaps from our own Shrine." he cast a glance at Rio, "He also questions the divinity of our Megami no Shimo Be and wonders if it's not all a ploy to gain power." Murmurs erupted throughout the hall and Shichiro took a sharp breath "He has put our Shrine on watch, but I am confident that our loyalty to our Emperor will be apparent." he raised one hand in a quasi salute, and the men in the hall did the same. Rio looked up at him to find his eyes on hers, as if begging her to perform some miracle. For the sake of their lives.
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Rio fidgeted with the beads around her wrists, they itched and burned and felt for all the world like a rash, her mind was racing, The Emperor? Suspicious of them? Such a thing was unheard of. The Emperor and the Tsukishiro Shrine had always been respectfully separate. The Imperial family and the Tsukishiro Family knew and interacted with one another, but never told one another what to do, never interfered with one another's politics. They acted a bit like distant family members, friendly but not close. For Emperor Noboyuki this was a huge divergence from the attitudes of the Emperors before him. One that could possibly cost them their lives, and him his country.
If what her father said was true, this Emperor Noboyuki was a very unstable individual. And a very Dangerous one at that, crazy people were always scary because you couldn't predict them, they could leave a kiss on your cheek one day and a knife in your back the next.
The sound of sandals startled her, and she turned to face a very worried looking Suzu, hand in hand with Naoki.
"Rio-hime!" Suzu called, dropping her brother's hand and running to the older girl. Rio looked at Naoki, expecting him to be angry, but he was staring off in the distance, his arms crossed.
"Rio-hime, I don't understand, how can the Emperor be mad at us if we haven't done anything wrong?" the little girl's big purple eyes sparkled with unshed tears, that was the question on everyone's mind, and no one had any answers.
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Providence: Book One
FantasyRio is a timid, antisocial 14 year old girl, she has normal wants, normal likes, and normal hobbies, but there is one thing about her that is definitely not normal. Rio is the Megami no Shimo Be, the human proxy of the Goddess of Pestilence. Her tou...