If you search up the meaning of death online, one of the definitions you get is "the end of life." I always wondered about life after death; would it be an endless abyss? A journey to the light? Heaven? Hell?
It's not the same for everyone, and it definitely wasn't like any of that to me.
-
Dear mom, dad,
When you read this, I probably have passed away. Don't worry about me, I knew this was coming for a long time. An unknown chronic disease isn't something that can easily be cured anyways haha. Please, be happy. I'm in a better place now, I'm probably happier here than when I was in pain every single day in that hospital bed.
I love you guys.
Sincerely, Hope.
-
"Haruto-sama, please be careful!"
"I'll be fine, Zakura! I need to get out of the office, I feel like I'm getting sick."
"Mother, I know how much you want to walk around, but please be careful. You're going to give birth any day now."
"Not you too, Izana!"
Queen Haruto Wistaria pushed her way out of her office and into the refreshing outdoors where she can get away from all the paperwork lying on her desk. Her retainer, Zakura, and her oldest son, Izana, were watching over her as she walked around the garden.
"Mother!"
She turned and saw her youngest son, Zen, run towards her. He had a big smile on his face as he spotted her big stomach.
"How is she doing?" He asked, carefully placing a hand on her belly.
"She's been really restless this week," sighed Haruto, rubbing her belly in attempt to soothe the baby inside. "I think she'll be coming out soon, ready to become my first little princess."
Zen grinned. "I can't wait!"
-
"Just a little more, Haruto-sama! Push!"
Haruto gave one final push, screaming at the force and felt the pressure ease. She collapsed and breathed heavily as the nurses attended to the crying, little baby girl. After a couple of minutes, they handed her the baby wrapped in a white blanket. Haruto smiled, pressing her lips to the small head.
"Aki."
-
"Garack-dono."
The Head Pharmacist looked down to see Princess Aki holding a book in her hands. At a closer look, she realized it was a book on medicine.
"Yes, your highness?"
The six year old opened the book to a specific page and pointed at a plant. "What plant is this? And why does it have healing abilities when it can cause paralysis if burned?"
"Oh? Are you interested in medicine, Aki-sama?"
Aki looked down and her face went red for a short moment as she nodded. Her silver hair cascaded past her face; she pushed it back as she looked back up at Garack.
"Please teach me."
-
"Kiki-dono."
The heir of Seiran turned and smiled as she spotted the young Princess. A night ball was currently happening at the castle and Kiki had escaped the bustle for some silence on the balcony.
"Princess Aki."
"I'm guessing you don't like these things that much?" The nine year old asked as she leaned on the wall.
"I'm just a little worn out from greeting everybody," she smiled, looking up at the sky. "What about you, your highness?"
"Me too," Aki sighed, "meeting new people is part of my duties as Princess and all but... I like silence the best."
Her head perked up a bit, hearing a familiar voice make its way in their direction. She took a step closer to Kiki, but changed her mind and quickly moved to stand at Kiki's right side, sliding a bit into the darkness. Kiki looked down in confusion before another young man came onto the balcony, sighing.
"No matter what, I'm always bad at night balls. I want to go to bed, too."
He looked to the side and noticed Kiki there. "Please excuse me! I didn't realize that someone was already here..."
"I don't mind, Prince Zen's personal aide, Mitsuhide Rouen."
"So you know of me! You are?"
Kiki took a moment to decide whether or not to introduce herself. "There will be an occasion where I will properly introduce myself."
"Eh?"
"Evening parties are also my weak point..."
"Ah...! As I thought... you heard what I said."
Aki heard the familiar steps and a smile stretched onto her face when her brother came storming in.
"Mitsuhide!" The fourteen year old yelled. "You're away in a corner again!"
"Zen-sama!"
Zen noticed Kiki and Aki standing there. "So you decided to hide here too, Aki?"
"Eh?" Mitsuhide turned and finally spotted the young Princess. "Aki-sama!"
"And you, Mitsuhide, you met someone in a place like this?"
Before Mitsuhide can explain, Kiki bowed and excused herself. Zen and Aki shared a look before Mitsuhide wondered why the young lady refused to tell him her name.
A few days after, Aki watched as Zen and Kiki had a quick duel. She frowned when she saw scratches forming on Zen's face and suspected that he scraped his knees as well.
"Zen-niisama," Aki sighed as she went to take care of her older brother after he finished the match, "please be careful next time."
Zen laughed and thanked his little sister as she patched him up. "She's just too skilled."
"I'm honored, your highness."
He stood up, patting Aki's hair. "I'll yield this match to you. Now that I think about it, you didn't tell Mitsuhide your name."
"It's because I wanted to meet him as a swordsman."
Zen smiled. "I see."
"Zen-sama! Aki-sama!"
"Speak of the devil."
"Zen-sama, you told me I was on break today at noon." Mitsuhide sighed.
"I changed my mind," Zen simply stated, "I found a sparring partner."
Mitsuhide took a moment to give Kiki a once over before asking. "Have I met you before?"
Zen froze and Aki snickered, turning away and muffling her laughter, her shoulders shaking.
"HAH?" Zen said, dumbfounded.
"Somehow... I feel like we've met before. Ah, I was not aware there was another young noble around the same age as you around, Prince Zen. I would have liked to see your match. Uh... Aki-sama, why are you laughing so much?"
She turned, clearing her throat and said at the same time as Zen. "You... are an indisputable moron."
-
Aki watched Kiki and Mitsuhide spar, wooden swords clacking. Her medicinal book was laying beside her, closed. All of her attention was on the aides' movements.
Zen looked down at his little sister, seeing the emotion in her eyes. It was the same expression she had when she read her textbooks; it was a hunger to learn new things.
"Do you want to learn how to wield a sword, Aki?" He asked the ten year old, a smile on his face.
Aki smiled a bit and nodded. "Seeing Kiki do it got me interested. I want to build up some muscle too; exercise and gain strength and stamina. If you're doing it, then I want to do it too!"
Zen's smile grew and he ruffled his little sister's hair. She frowned but didn't swat his hand away, smoothing it down after he finished, staying back when he pushed off the wall and walked to his aides.
"Kiki! Mitsuhide! I want you two to teach Aki to use a sword."
-
"Ryuu!" The fourteen year old waved as she walked into her friend's office. "I'll be heading out with Zen-niisama, Mitsuhide, and Kiki today. Sorry, I won't be able to help you."
"It's okay, most of the work is done, anyways."
Aki grinned and tied her hair up into a pony tail. "I'll see you later then!"
She ran through the castle. Her sword bumping on her hip and she relished the feel of the air once she arrived at the outer hallways. Aki jumped onto one of the ledges of the open hall and jumped onto a tree. A maid walking past voiced her concerns, warning the Princess to be careful before continuing her duties.
It was an every day thing to see the only Princess jump through trees and down ledges. It's not exactly befitting behavior for a princess, but she has shown how capable enough she is to handle her duties as a princess as well, so all the servants have no complaints. At fourteen, Aki Wistaria was caught up in the political affairs surrounding the castle and close family friends. She was skilled in swordsmanship, having been trained by the Second Prince, Zen, his aides, Kiki Seiran, Mitsuhide Rouen, as well as the First Prince, Izana.
Aki was also knowledgeable of the world of medicine, having studied and read books containing the difficult medical terms and descriptions, as well as having extended knowledge of herbs and plants. Before she became interested in wielding a sword, she would always be found in the royal library, a pile of books surrounding her. Even now, servants claim that they see her in the library surrounded by books, her sword laying beside her.
Aki jumped down from the tree and continued her run to meet up with Kiki, Mitsuhide and Zen.
"Well..." She thought, loving the feeling of running, free of any burdens. "I was once restricted to a bed with nothing except tubes and needles... Back when I was Hope."
What the servants and even her own family see were only a small part of Aki. The other part she hid were memories and knowledge of a world completely different from the one she is currently living in. All the thirst for knowledge was simply because Hope didn't have the freedom to read books or go to school; all her love for acrobatics and running were because Hope lived most of her life confined to a hospital bed.
Aki's memories about Hope's life were fuzzy, simply because of the life she grew up in. At a young age, Aki had memories she couldn't quite place because of the setting and language. She read in a book that this was most likely reincarnation and placed the memories in a safe-box in her mind. As she grew older, those memories faded and now at the age of fourteen, she only remembers bits and pieces.
Most of Aki's curiosity towards new things was because of Hope's influence. But she wouldn't have the motivation to continue learning if Aki didn't have her family and friends surrounding her. She was born a Princess of the Wistaria family through and through, and she wanted to continue that life and live how Hope couldn't... Even if she did have slight knowledge of this place and it's future events because of Hope's influence and the frail girl's knowledge of this world from a book - specifically, a manga - she had once read.
-
Kiki, Mitsuhide, Zen, and Aki walked deep through the forest to their usual hideout. Aki carried a stick with her and swung it around, hitting some of the bushes that they passed by. They got closer to the house and Aki suddenly had a thought.
"It would be nice if this house had a stable, huh?"
Her older brother, Zen, nodded. "I had the same thought. If something happens, we can run immediately if we have horses."
"Why don't you make one as you like?" Kiki recommended. "No one would enter this forest beside the highway, though."
"You are so cold, jeez." Zen frowned before taking a small jog and jumping over the high wall in front of them.
"Ah," Aki simply said as she heard the smacking of two heads and Zen yell in pain.
Mitsuhide jumped and ran to his master's side. "Zen!"
Kiki and Aki looked at each other before following the two of them at a slower pace. They saw Zen squatting down and clutching his arm. They also spotted a figure bunched up against the wall Zen jumped over. Aki tilted her head at the familiar scene, her memories fuzzy.
"What's one plus one?!" Mitsuhide asked, his face pale.
"Two." Zen turned to Mitsuhide and stared at him for a couple of seconds. "Oh... who are you again?"
Mitsuhide paled even more. "I'm Mitsuhide!"
"Ahh, so that's your name," Kiki and Aki said at the same time, smiling at each other when Mitsuhide panicked even more.
"So," Zen stood up and turned to the girl still sitting on the ground, "who are you? And just what are you doing this deep in the forest?"
"Ah, no, I... uh just left home," she explained, the hood shadowing her face. "I wanted to go through the path that people wouldn't go through..."
Zen reached out with his sheathed sword and removed the hood of the girl with one swipe. Her red hair drifted down and blew with the wind. The four of them gasped at the sight and the girl reached up, realizing what had happened.
Zen stared at her for a second. "... You have a strange hair color, huh?"
"I'm often told that," she smiled a little forcefully. "A-anyway... I saw you hurt your arm when you fell just now." She reached into her bag, revealing a few plants and bottles stored inside.
"What is that?"
"I'm a pharmacist," she explained, "so I have compress medicine and stuff like that, if you want some."
"Medicine?" Zen tilted his head. "Hmmm... I don't need those... As if I can use something that is suddenly offered to me when I'm not even certain if it's poison or not! I'm not some stupid kid in the forest, and I cannot trust strangers so easily."
The girl looked up at him with a small frown.
Zen smirked. "In other words, we have no need for you here... If you understand that, go away."
"Trying to look cool," Aki mumbled, looking to the side. She heard the clank of Zen's sword and turned to see the girl smack her own arm with the hilt.
They all stared at her in shock as the area she hit turned red. She pulled out some sort of substance in a bottle from her bag and slathered it on some gauze before placing it on the wound she inflicted on herself.
"I'm sorry but it's not my hobby to carry poisons around with me, " she said defiantly, holding her injured arm up slightly.
Zen's eyes widened in surprise and awe as he dropped his sword and crouched down, laughing and clutching his stomach. Mitsuhide laughed as well and Kiki just looked at him while Aki sighed and squatted next to her brother. She glanced at the contents of the girl's bag, curious.
Zen huffed, his laughs ceasing. "Sorry about that," he raised his arm and grinned, "I'm counting on you. It was half your fault that I screwed up when I landed, anyways. Take responsibility; you'll take care of me until my pain goes away, right?"
"This is a vacant house where we usually hang around," Aki explained, smiling when the red haired girl's eyes slid to her, "you can stay here as long as you want. Right, Kiki? Mitsuhide?"
"That's right but... don't decide things on your own." Mitsuhide sighed.
"For now, let's go inside."
-
Currently, Aki was listening to the red haired girl, Shirayuki, and Zen argue. Zen wanted to know what Shirayuki was doing deep in the forest of Clarines.
"Like I said!" Shirayuki said, her voice rising. "Even if I tell you the reason I left home, you wouldn't find it interesting, Zen."
"And like I said," Zen shot back, "it's not interesting if you don't tell me, Shirayuki. Don't be so cold like that. See, our bandages are also friends."
He raised his arm to show off his wrapped arm. Shirayuki just stared at him with a straight face and disapproving eyes. Aki sat on the side with Mitsuhide and Kiki, amused at the interaction between them.
"Kiki-san! Mitsuhide-san! Aki!" Shirayuki turned to them. "I'm going for a small walk."
"You only like those three..." Zen frowned.
"Can I go with her, Zen-niisama?" Aki stood up. Shirayuki looked at her, finally seeing the resemblance.
"You're siblings?"
"Took you long enough to notice." Zen stared.
"I thought that the hair would give it away..." Aki said, lifting up a small set of strands and looking at it. "It's the same silver color."
"And your name..." Shirayuki continued, tilting her head.
Aki smiled softly. "I have been told by my mother that it means hope."
-
Aki followed the two of them outside, her stick back in her hand. Her sword clanked on her hip as they walked and she found it mildly comforting as she watched the two of them talk. She picked a flower and twisted the stem to tie it onto the branch.
"I study medicinal plants, so I'm already used to mountains and forests," explained Shirayuki, reaching over to tighten Zen's wraps. "The forest is different from the town. Time and space have their own flow... It's also very comfortable here."
"Yeah..." Zen looked up at the sky, "I know how you feel."
Shirayuki looked at his expression and her mouth opened to a grin. "You were honest just now, weren't you?"
Zen got embarrassed but jumped when Shirayuki cried out in pain. Aki walked up to see what happened and saw her hair caught on some bark.
"Your hair got stuck on the tree... somehow there's a small bundle of long hair?" Zen wondered.
"Eh? Ah... I cut my hair when I left home, so that must be it..." Shirayuki mused. "Sorry, Zen, Aki, but can you cut it for me?"
"What?" Zen paused and then smirked when he got an idea. Aki shook her head at his look and grabbed her dagger from her boot to cut the strand off. "Wait, Aki."
"What?" She stared. "If you don't want to cut it, then I will."
"I'm curious... What does cutting off your long hair have to do with leaving home?" Zen asked, his hand rubbing his chin in curiosity. "If you don't tell me the reason, I cannot allow Aki to help you..."
"You really..." Shirayuki sighed and gave in. She explained her situation in a rather short sentence as Aki sliced off the strands.
"A rich guy told you to be his concubine?!" The siblings shouted at the same time.
"He's a famous guy who knows the ins and outs of the Red Light District by heart. Poeple say that he grew up eating gold coins."
Aki tilted her head, absorbing the description. She had heard those same rumors before when she had travelled to Tanbarun for a short visit to the castle. "Are you talking about Ra-mmph?!"
Shirayuki lunged forward and covered Aki's mouth, her eyes begging her to not say anything. Aki nodded and Shirayuki sighed in relief, standing up.
"He said that he thinks red hair is rare, so he wants to have me." Aki frowned at Shirayuki's statement. "If I let him do that, I would be like an apple that he buys from a fruit store. That's why I think he'd get tired of looking at a piece of it, so I cut my hair and left it behind."
She turned and looked at them. Zen's eyes widened and he laughed.
Shirayuki laughed as well, a little more monotone than Zen's outburst. "It's not a laughing matter though."
"No, no," Zen waved a hand, "you made the right decision. Let him experience being cut off by a low ranked girl."
Aki smiled. "Some people say that the color red is the color of fate, right?"
Zen nodded. "For now, you may think of your red hair as something troublesome, but it might connect you with something unexpectedly good."
"T-that's an amazing way of thinking."
Aki looked to the trees and walked away from the two that suddenly got into their own world. She climbed one of the big trees and spotted Kiki and Mitsuhide watching the two of them.
"Looks like you found us," Kiki smiled.
Aki grinned back at her and looked down. They hadn't even noticed that she was gone.
"Looks like Shirayuki isn't such a bad person after all, huh?" Mitsuhide commented.
"On the contrary," Kiki opposed, "it seems like Zen is quite taken with her."
Aki nodded. "It would be a disaster for Shirayuki if she gets caught."
-
After a few minutes of the three of them watching and making small conversation, they noticed that Zen and Shirayuki were turning their heads, looking for something.
"It seems that they finally noticed your absence." Kiki observed.
Aki grinned and jumped down from the tree, startling the two standing down below. Zen sighed, shaking his head and Shirayuki placed a hand on top of her heart.
"Are you ready to head back?" She asked, leaning on the trunk of the tree.
-
Back at the house, there was a knock on the door and a messenger shouted.
"A present from Tanbarun!"
Zen walked out to see what the 'present' was. "Tanbarun? What's with this.. something from the neighboring country bringing this deep into the forest..."
Shirayuki dropped her book and ran up to them. She spotted the red ribbon tied to the basket and her face paled a bit. "That's... that's the ribbon that I used to tie the hair that I cut."
"What?!"
Aki came downstairs at the commotion and saw Zen and Shirayuki sitting at the table, staring at a basket of apples.
"So..." Zen muttered, looking at a small piece of paper in his hands. "The sender of this was worried about you having to leave home to travel so far away... so he will come to pick you up at your town at the border of Tanbarun... a pretty spiteful gentleman, huh?"
"That sounds a little creepy," Aki commented, looking over Zen's shoulder at the letter.
"He's good with words." Shirayuki laughed dully.
"What are you laughing about?!" Zen shouted, annoyed. "Is he so high-ranked that you had to cross the country border to run away?!"
Shirayuki and Aki made eye contact and Aki smiled grimly.
"The person who wants me as his concubine..." Shirayuki started, glancing at Zen. "Is... Tanbarun's... First Prince."
Zen stood and slammed his hands on the table. "That stupid Prince Raji?!"
Aki put a hand to her forehead and shook her head and Zen grabbed his wounded arm in pain.
"Wow..." Shirayuki said, blankly staring at Zen in pain. "Even people from the neighboring country know about him..."
"You have no idea." Aki thought, reaching over to look at Zen's arm.
"Well... that's who I'm dealing with... I might have been followed after I crossed the country border."
Zen looked to the side warily, a small, wry smile on his face. "He thinks that anything he wants belongs to him."
"He wouldn't think that he can put me in a basket, would he...?" Shirayuki reached over and grabbed an apple, staring at it with a dull look in her eyes. She smiled, masking her despair.
Zen stood up and walked over to Shirayuki, grabbing her arm. Aki's eyes widened as she remembered this scene and moved to stop it, but Zen took a bite from the apple. She sighed and turned to see Mitsuhide and Kiki at the stairs, watching them.
"What bad manners... you shouldn't do that, Zen." Mitsuhide blankly said, the corner of his lips lifting up when he saw Zen swallow and cough in surprise.
"W...what are you two looking at?!" He coughed. "I didn't call you; mind your own business!"
"Wha- don't hurt my feelings!"
Aki glanced at Shirayuki who was looking down at the bitten apple. "Zen."
"What?!"
She looked at him. "I said something stupid... sorry."
Zen's face went a little red in embarrassment and Aki sighed.
"You're not the only one that did something stupid..." she muttered, moving as she saw Zen stumble.
"Shirayuki..." he muttered, lifting a hand to his mouth. "Don't... don't eat that apple. Kiki, Mitsuhide, Aki, sorry... Don't get mad..." He fainted and fell into Aki's arms.
"Nii-sama!"
"Zen!" Kiki and Mitsuhide were at his side right away. "What's wrong, Zen? Zen!"
The door suddenly opened and the three of them reached for their swords at the threat. "Who's there?!"
"I'm a messenger..." A man with disheveled hair appeared at the doorstep. "Good grief... so it wasn't Shirayuki-dono who ended up eating the apples? Oh well... this works too."
"You... came to my house before," said Shirayuki, remembering the man. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Shirayuki-dono, those are poisoned apples. But please do not worry, there is someone who has the antidote. You will come with me... won't you?"
Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Aki could only watch as Shirayuki followed the messenger out of the house. Shirayuki gave them a back glance before smiling softly and nodding as she closed the door. They looked at Zen who was breathing heavily and sweating.
"Do you think you can come up with something that can lessen the effects?" Mitsuhide asked Aki.
She nodded. "The Head Pharmacist, Garack-dono has told me a few things about poisons, especially since they have experimented on Zen-niisama before. His poison tolerance should be pretty high, but I guess you never know. It won't do much, but it'll be enough until we get the antidote."
She looked around the room and spotted Shirayuki's bag, grabbing it and looking at its contents. She pulled a few ginko leaves out of the bag as well as some ginger. Aki worked quickly, with precision and confidence she slowly built over the years of learning from the Head Pharmacist and Ryuu. She crushed the ingredients into a liquid and made Zen drink it.
He coughed after swallowing. It took a few minutes, but he opened his eyes and gave them a tired smile.
"Thank you, Aki," he said, holding her hand.
She smiled back at him and squeezed his hand. Mitsuhide and Kiki took over and helped him sit up. After few more minutes, Zen looked up, determined.
"We have to get her back."
Aki nodded. "Of course."
"You must really like her, huh, Zen?" Kiki asked, putting a hand on the hilt of her sword. Mitsuhide chuckled and checked his own sword.
"Let's go rescue the princess."
-
They stormed into the closest large house after seeing Raji's carriage outside. The messenger from earlier jumped and ran to them but Zen and Aki held up their swords, showing him the Wistaria family crest.
"We thought we'd introduce ourselves, since you didn't give us the chance to before." Aki smirked as the messenger went pale.
Mitsuhide and Kiki took and hold of him and ordered him to tell us where Prince Raji and Shirayuki were. They followed his directions to a double-doored room and made it in time to hear Shirayuki say:
"Prince Raji... take me as you please."
Zen glared and kicked open the doors, shouting. "I oppose!! Will you please stop spewing nonsense that will dirty her ears?"
Raji and Shirayuki looked at Zen wide-eyed.
"Who are you?!" Prince Raji demanded. "What are the guards doing?"
Kiki and Mitsuhide showed themselves at the door, holding onto the messenger who was shaking. Aki stayed to the side out of sight, waiting until the big moment to show herself. Shirayuki ran to Zen, worried.
"Hey, Shirayuki," Zen smiled, holding his injured arm out, "could you tie this for me?"
"Ah!" Raji turned in realization. "You're the one that ate the poisoned apple, right? Oh my, I originally planned for Shirayuki-dono to eat that so I could bring her here with no fuss."
Zen stared at the stupid prince. "So you're the one who sent the apples."
Raji smirked, basking in his authority. "Show more respect to me. Our social statuses are different, if you didn't know the rules here."
"That is also impolite, Raji-dono. I guess I forgot to introduce myself." Zen once again held up his sword and brandished the family crest. "This is pretty troublesome but I will have to introduce myself. This is the first time you've met me, of course. I'm Zen Wistaria, Second Prince to the Clarines Kingdom."
Raji's eyes widened and Shirayuki looked surprised as well.
"Second Prince?! Z-Zen! Get a hold of yourself!"
"I'm perfectly sane, Shirayuki," he stated, propping his sword on his shoulder, "Aki helped me out but just in case, I let myself become accustomed to poisons. But I never thought that I would be poisoned by the prince of the neighboring kingdom, Raji-dono."
The prince jumped and turned to look at the messenger still being held by Kiki and Mitsuhide.
"He's the real thing, right buddy?" Kiki asked, a dagger at his throat.
The messenger nodded, face pale. "He's telling the truth! The siblings both have the crest on their belongings."
Raji paled even more. "Siblings?"
Aki took that as a sign to reveal herself, walking into the room. "Yo, Raji-dono."
"Aki-dono!" Raji pathetically squealed. "Ah, uh, you're Zen...dono's little sister?"
"Of course," Aki smiled, lifting up her own sword to show off the family crest. "I came to visit recently, didn't I?"
Raji's eyes flicked between the Second Prince and First Princess. "Is there any evidence that... I poisoned the apples?"
"There should be some evidence around here, right?" Zen smiled, walking up to Raji. "You wouldn't mind a search... right? Stupid Prince."
Aki let her brother take the reigns in swearing Raji's silence as she watched him swear on the sword he was holding. She smiled, closing her eyes. At times like these, she admired her brother and his way of dealing with things like this. He always carried himself as the Prince of Clarines.
She watched as Shirayuki thrust one of the apples in front of Raji's face and demanded for the antidote to the poison. They were in a room a few minutes later and Zen was given the antidote. He drank it in one gulp and handed the empty bottle to Mitsuhide. Aki was standing right behind where he was seated, next to Kiki when she saw Shirayuki kneel down on the floor, apologizing.
"I'm sorry."
"What?" Zen asked, confused.
"You helped me," she had her head bowed down and her expression unreadable, "but I was only poison to you."
Zen stared at her for a moment before holding up the handkerchief he was given to wipe his face. "What that a joke? Was I supposed to laugh there? Because of the poisoned apple I ate?"
Shirayuki didn't laugh. "It's different."
Kiki spoke up. "It's okay Shirayuki, it's not something you need to apologize about. Zen was the one that ate the apple anyways. But you really had us worried, Zen!"
"Mitsuhide even said that if you died, he got all teary eyed saying that he would follow you, even in death." Aki agreed.
"Aki!" Mitsuhide's face went red. "Don't say that!"
"Agh, okay, okay," Zen looked at the ground with dead but playful eyes, "next time, I'll have Mitsuhide peel my fruits before giving them to me... Shirayuki, do you still remember what Aki and I said back at the forest? To me, meeting you was fate and I'm happy about that, okay?"
Aki nodded. "We met in that forest, got involved in this stupid squabble and protected each other."
"Will it all end now?" Zen asked, kneeling in front of Shirayuki. "Or will it continue? That is something for you to decide."
"Something that I can decide...?"
"Yes. I decide my own fate myself, you know... Decide and whether or not you want to walk down that road depends entirely on you."
Shirayuki stared at him before grinning. "That's a really great way of thinking."
"It's not really a way of thinking, it's more like a way of living." Zen stood up and held his hand out. "What's your answer, Shirayuki?"
She smiled and took his hand and he helped her stand up.
Mitsuhide chuckled at Zen's statement. "He's just showing off though. His immediate fate would be returning to the castle with the Princess at getting people mad at the both of them. They both snuck out of the castle again."
Zen and Aki flinched, dread showing on their faces at the scolding they're going to receive.
"We will suffer the same fate as his aides," Kiki added, shrugging, "wonderful as always."
——
And done! I thought it would be nice to do another reincarnation fic. I've had this thought about how a lot of oc's in reincarnation fics usually have the memories of their past life from birth but still retain the memories. If you're born with those memories, then shouldn't they be replaced with the new ones? Memories are a fragile thing. Like, I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast three days ago; what's more, ones memories from a past life? So I made it that the memories Aki had as Hope slowly faded away, so that's why she doesn't remember the storyline of Snow White With The Red Hair (aka Akagami no Shirayuki-hime).
As for the readers that came looking for an update of From Another World, I do plan on working on both simultaneously, but updates will be a little scattered for both. Updates will possibly be slow, so I apologize in advance.
But thank you all for reading!
-arcane