Fan Fiction ❯ Treasure ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

Treasure

Chapter One

Nankyokukai sighed, gazing out the window of his bedchamber at the ocean below. It was as flawlessly blue as always, the exact color of his hair except where depth added shades of green and purple to the shifting waters. He hated the color, and anything resembling it. It was a hideous shade, that ocean blue.

Tired of the view, he turned away from the window and rose liquidly from his seat. His emerald and gold robes whispered around him as he strolled across the wide chamber, the rainbow of jeweled beads threaded through his long hair flashing in the sunlight.

Reaching into his robes, the prince withdrew a pair of gold reading glasses and slid them on. He halted in front of a tall bookcase, neatly packed with a variety of reading material. Some of them seemed new, the leather binding still stiff, the gold lettering bright and clear. Others were much more worn; the leather cracked and faded, the lettering barely legible. It was one of these older volumes that he finally selected, after briefly skimming the shelves. Though the front was illegible with age, opening the book revealed pages that somehow still looked new. Idly he thumbed through the volume, murmuring to himself with a thoughtful frown on his face.

A sharp rap on the door broke his train of thought. Annoyed, he snapped at the intruder, "Enter if you must."

The door opened to admit the slender form of his Secretary, pushing restlessly at fine-wired spectacles. "Nankyo, your father requests your presence, and our…merchant will be here shortly as well. I assume you wanted to be present for the full explanation?"

"Of course I want to be there, Takara. I wouldn't miss seeing you change ownership for the world." He snickered at the anger that darkened the Secretary's silver-gray eyes. "Though, you'll still be my secretary really. Let's not forget that while you're…entertaining our new friend, hmm?"

"You're father is waiting, little prince." Takara snarled the hated nickname before slamming the door shut behind him.

Leisurely the prince returned the book he'd been skimming to its place on the shelves, removing his glasses and carefully returning them to his robes. With that same slow, relaxed pace strode across his bedroom and through the outer office to the main hallway. Takara was waiting in the hallway.

"Come off it, Taka. I wouldn't have done it if hadn't been necessary."

"Oh, really? And what if he'd demanded you as his plaything?" Eyes the color of a storm cloud turned to at the beautiful prince.

Nankyokukai only smirked, "He's not so bad looking, really. However, he didn't ask for me, did he? He demanded my pretty Secretary. Walk more slowly or we'll actually get there on time." The prince grasped Takara's arm and forced the secretary to slow. "Now, outline the contract details for me and we'll make sure everything is in order before the signing this afternoon."

The two men talked quietly together as they made their way to the opposite side of the palace, occasionally sniping at each other. Neither man seemed to notice the looks cast their way as they strode down the hallway, looks that were a mix of awe, envy, and fear.

"It certainly took you long enough to get here." King Taiheiyou frowned at his youngest child, displeasure increasing when the Prince failed to look even remotely apologetic. The three figures were in the King's private office, and he had dismissed his advisors so that they could converse in private. A salty breeze drifted through the open window on the eastern wall, and the King breathed it in deeply in an attempt to soothe his rising temper. "I have plenty enough to do without you're holding me up more than necessary. What kept you?"

Nankyokukai brushed back the strands of hair that had spilled over his shoulder, tossing his father a bored look, "I didn't feel like coming."

The king let his anger seep into his expression, "At least you realize what you feel doesn't matter. Now have a seat and report to me on the progress of your preparations."

The prince's face had gone cold as he moved with his effortless grace to the seat positioned in front of the King's enormous desk. "We have contracted a ship as of yesterday, the owner will be here shortly to sign the contract. We will then explain the exact nature of our journey to him. Does that satisfy you, Highness?"

Taiheiyou frowned, "With whom did you arrange the deal?"

"A merchant, Highness. I am afraid that the more…acceptable owners all turned down the offer. And given the nature of the journey, I was reluctant to make it a royal request as you initially suggested I do."

"A merchant? Is that really the best you could do, Nankyo? Just see to it that you don't waste any more of the royal funds when he starts demanding more money," the king reprimanded.

A soft laugh escaped the prince's lips. "I don't think that will be a problem. Our merchant seemed more than content with the bargain we struck. If he tries to alter things at the signing today, I will set him straight."

Beside him, Takara tensed. Barely quelling the desire to smack the royal upside the head, he forced himself to concentrate on the King's words.

"And you are planning to depart shortly, yes? It cannot wait much longer. Your deplorable habit of moving like a turtle on land will not be tolerated in this. Need I press upon you again the vital importance of this mission."

Expression a mixture of hot and cold, the prince rose from his seat and turned to leave, "You needn't. I believe I understood it the first one hundred times it was explained to me, Highness."

"I didn't give you permission to leave." The king rose to his feet and planted his hands on his desk, blue hair spilling over his shoulders and across the desk.

Nankyokukai paused, his right hand resting on an ornate doorknob. "I noticed; that's why I decided to take matters into my own hands."

"Blast it boy, you will show me some respect or you will regret it."

The prince halted halfway out the door and turned slowly around, stepping back inside and shutting the door behind him. Takara stood just behind him and to the right, pushing restlessly at his spectacles and looking out the window to gauge the time.

A bitter laugh escaped the prince's throat, "I'll regret it? How in the name of the great sea will you make me regret it? You'll have to be pretty damned creative to outdo what you've already done by assigning me this voyage. Come Takara, we have better things to do with our time."

The two departed, leaving the silent, fuming king behind them.

Takara waited until they reached the prince's own office before speaking, "Prince, that reminds me-what is to be done with the merchants from yesterday? The ones who were proving incapable of keeping their mouths shut?

"Ah, yes. I took care of the memory spells myself yesterday before my nap-

while you were off swimming and fantasizing." Nankyokukai snickered as he strode over to his desk, taking the seat that Takara has used the other day. He motioned the glaring secretary to his side as he pulled the contract close to look over the contents. "Not bad Takara-did you have a lot of trouble writing your own name here?" he looked up at his secretary, returning his string of curses with a laugh. "Enough Takara, glaring and cursing won't rescind the deal. Resign yourself to a year as a plaything. It will be good for you."

This time Takara did smack him, but before the Nankyokukai could respond in kind a knock sounded. "Enter," snapped Takara before the Prince could.

He was still good looking, was all the annoyed secretary could think when Raiden sauntered through the door. He frowned at the unwelcome thought, allowing himself to be briefly distracted by the man that came in behind the confident merchant.

The first thing one noticed about the man was his hair, a pale, almost silvery ash blonde. Such hair was extremely rare in their country-most had darker shades of hair, rarer individuals had hair in "water tones" like Takara's own sea green locks. The silver-blonde hair was perfectly straight, and cut close to his head. A small, black pearl decorated one ear, the only piece of jewelry he wore besides the silver medallion bearing the mark of a ship captain.

Odder still was the man's skin-the insignia on the medallion around his neck indicated he was a captain, but his skin was fair. It wasn't tanned and lined that of someone who spent extensive amounts of time at sea. His face was smooth, unlined-more like the skin of one of the court nobles, who suffered the sun and heat only when they had to. The rest of him certainly bore no resemblance to nobility however.

His semi-formal tunic was sleeveless, and showed off his strong shoulders and chest. The tunic matched the color of his eyes, a soft gray-blue the color of the morning sky before the sun begins to brighten it. Black breeches were tucked into black leather boots that stopped just above his knees. The boots gleamed like new, thought the way the man moved easily in them showed that he'd owned them long enough to break them in. His sash was flamboyant against his otherwise practical outfit, an elaborate star and cloud design in silver and dark blue, with the faintest touches of deep red.

Raiden and his captain approached the desk, both men folding over in a polite bow, Raiden murmuring politely, "Your Majesty, Lord Takara. Good afternoon."

The prince motioned the men to rise, greeting them in return. "Sir Raiden, good day to you. This is your captain, yes?" His eyes slid to examine the man that was only just taller than even the prince himself. The captain stared back.

"Yes, Majesty. This is Captain Kindan Ningyo, of the merchant ship The Fuujin. He has been in my employ for eleven years now." Raiden turned to grin at the captain, who ignored the merchant to bow a second time to the men behind the desk.

"A pleasure to meet you, Captain. We extend our gratitude for your willingness to assist us on our journey," Nankyokukai said politely.

"It is an honor, Majesty," was Ningyo's quiet response. His voice was deep, and the brief reply carried a hint of some strange accent.

Nankyokukai indicated the men should be seated, sliding the contract across the desk for them to read. Beside him, Takara moved to set pens and ink within easy reach. "If you will read and sign that my Lords, we can explain the mission to you."

The two men in front of the desk looked the prince in surprise at his words. Raiden spoke first, "Lords, your Majesty? We carry no such title" the contract lay neglected on the desk.

"If you will read the contract, Lord Merchant, you will see that the title is a slight bonus-I felt it was fitting, all things considered. I'm sure you will agree once the details are explained to you. If you would sign?"

A few minutes of silence passed as Raiden and Ningyo both read and signed the contract. At last they finished, and Takara moved to take the contract back. Reaching over, he was impeded by the hand resting on top of the piece of paper. He looked up at the hand's owner, only to encounter the gloating smirk of Raiden. Willing his face to remain blank, Takara looked back down and attempted to move the hand off the paper. After a few seconds of struggling, the hand finally lifted, leaving the secretary free to take back the contract.

Beside him the prince was seized by a sudden coughing fit, causing Raiden's smirk to only increase.

Ningyo shot a surreptitious glare at the man beside him, then spoke to the prince, "Are you alright, Majesty?"

"Perfectly all right, Captain. Thank you. If you gentlemen are satisfied I will begin to explain." The two men nodded, "Very well. Every 200 years a member of the royal family is expected to make a journey to a special island-at the exact location I showed to you yesterday, Lord Raiden. All maps indicate nothing there of course, but that is only because the Royal House has made every effort to keep the island a secret. At any rate, the purpose of the journey is to deliver a tribute.

"Tribute, Majesty? To whom?"

"To the Three Dragons, of course."

Raiden and Ningyo looked torn between laughing politely at a bad joke or snorting in complete disbelief. Ningyo spoke, "To the Dragons, Majesty? Surely you are not serious."

The prince's gaze grew cool, "Of course I'm serious. I do not make jokes about such matters-especially as I am the one being ordered to make the journey."

There was a pause, while the two men across the desk attempted to understand what they had just been told. Finally, the merchant spoke up, "Then, what matter of tribute are you offering? Are there special instructions for us concerning the handling and transportation of this tribute?"

Takara spoke up when the prince abruptly grew silent and waved his hand at the secretary, "That I'm afraid is not going to be divulged to you. The nature of the tribute must remain a royal secret."

"…Very well. For what date is our departure planned?" Raiden asked

"Exactly three weeks from today, and preferably quite early in the morning. The fewer who notice our departure, the better it will be. The journey must be as secret as possible. That is why we have hired an outside ship, rather than drawing attention by using a royal vessel."

"That brings up another question, if you will forgive my asking," Ningyo looked to the prince, who only nodded. "Why did you not simply purchase a ship and man it with your own people?"

Nankyokukai responded to the question, "Again, because it would be noticed. No one will notice the extended absence of a simple merchant ship, even if it does disappear for a year or more. All royal employees stay in close waters; to have them disappear for such an extended period of time would draw questions. "

Raiden was unconvinced, "And if we all die, there won't be any loss of valuable men. No one would care if we die."

The prince smirked, "That would be His Majesty's unstated reason, yes."

Raiden returned the prince's smile, "Well, I assumed as much when I agreed to it all. My men are the best on the islands, it would take a great deal of danger for them to even notice it. Isn't that right, Kindan?"

"Yes, it is."

Takara smiled despite himself, glad that whatever tension might have started to brew had so easily been dispersed. He looked down at his boss, please to see the frown on his face had faded back into his usual, neutral expression. Glancing back across the desk, he spoke to the two men, "Anymore questions, gentlemen?"

The merchant started to speak, but Takara anticipated the nature of the question and quickly clarified, "About the mission?"

Raiden only smirked, "None about the mission, but I think we'll speak after this meeting?"

"…Fine."

The prince didn't even bother to cover up his laughter this time, and waved his secretary off, "Get the items, Takara."

"Yes, Majesty." Turning around, he withdrew a heavy ring of keys from inside his sash. Takara unlocked the cabinet situated just behind the desk, withdrawing a small box. Relocking the cabinet and returning the heavy ring, he once again faced the desk, opening the box and presenting it to the two seated men. "A personal thank you gift from Prince Nankyokukai."

Resting on velvet padding inside the black lacquered were two medallions, similar to the ones already around the throats of the merchant and captain. Medallions, ranging in size depending on money and personality, identified the trade and rank of a person. They could be made of any material, the finer the material the higher the ranking of the person who wore it.

The two resting in the box were of moderate size, maybe twice the size of a large coin. They were strung on the triple chain that was the current fashion, and made to be worn as a choker. Both medallion and chain were of white gold. The first was emblazoned with the scale motif of the merchants, the second with the compass motif of the independent ships, an added star signifying a Captain status. Woven into both was the dragon emblem of the Royal Family.

A similar medallion hung around Takara's own throat, though the dragon emblem was woven around the eye that was the mark of the Secretaries.

Raiden laughed as he accepted his own medallion, beside him the captain murmured a polite thanks.

The prince remained impassive, "A trifling thank you, considering you'll only really enjoy it if we manage to return home. But you may wear them now, if you like. We will see you in a week." With that he rose fluidly from his seat, not noticing the lingering glance of the seated Captain. He paused at the door to his bedchamber, "Takara, be back in an hour or so. There is still much work to be done before we leave, and it won't get done if you're off with your new companion. May the Three Storms favor you both, gentlemen."