Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Checkmate: Royal Aquisition ❯ Avoiding Manipulation ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12: Avoiding Manipulation

 

“You are supposed to follow Her around, not me,” Saitou said, looking down at the wolf pup. It merely wagged its tail happily at him as its head cocked sideways. The creature's attention was soon diverted, glancing at the doorway. `Useful,' Saitou thought as a knock followed.

“Enter.”

The guard opened the door and in walked a full court attired princess, looking none too amused. He could see the beginnings of dark circles under her eyes. Too much strain and not enough sleep. It was a common result of royal responsibility. One he knew all too well. Bowing, the guard closed the door behind her.

“The council says since you are conscious, they demand you hold the session.”

“The council be damned,” Saitou growled as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. The wolf pup was wagging its tail wildly, looking back and forth between them.

“I don't think you want to do that,” she warned.

“And why the hell not? I'm exhausted, cold and in no shape to put up with their stupidity,” he snapped.

“Because they are voting on your future wife today. I can't refute them all…I tried. There are five women on that list you have no legal ability to reject. They won't accept my motion to postpone. Lady Yura has more than the majority on her side and there's nothing I can do about it because to them I'm still the enemy!” Tokio threw up her hands, dropping to the floor in a flood of silken skirts. She once again looked like the uncertain girl, alone and afraid. “I'm sorry,” she said softly. “I failed you.”

Saitou was angry. Hell, anger wasn't strong enough for the emotion building under his carefully constructed mask. His fist clenched the blankets around him, joints popping in the effort. The wolf pup gave a whimper and crawled toward its mistress, head bowed in confusion.

“GUARD!” he bellowed. The doors flew open, weapons ready for anything…only to find their king perfectly fine. Fine, that is, except for the deadly look in his eyes and the crumpled princess on the floor. What the hell was going on?

“Tell the council the session for today will be held here, in my chambers. The member who disobeys is to be thrown into the dungeon until further notice. Have I made myself clear?” he asked. Nodding quickly, the two men nearly fell over themselves to get out of the room and relay the orders.

“Tokio, have Saori bring in chairs…uncomfortable ones. And change into something you can sit on the floor in.”

“But shouldn't I-”

“No, the council needs to stop treating you like a glorified messenger. And hand me my sword before you go.”

Tokio did as she was instructed, giving him a full court curtsy before closing the bed chamber doors behind her. The king obviously had a plan….what the hell was it? He had to be a genius to get himself out of the mess she hadn't been able to stop.

“Why the hell is the court so concerned over such petty matters? Aren't their people more important than seeing the king attached to some useless nobleman's daughter?” As she walked down the hall she realized something was missing. Stopping just outside the head maid's rooms, Tokio's face turned into a scowl.

Saori was quite shocked and amused as she opened the door to a rather annoyed looking princess.

“That damn man has stolen my dog!”

 

***************************************************************** *******

 

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,” Lady Yura soothed as the council arranged themselves in the royal bedroom. Saitou was propped up on pillows, a page at one side of the bed with several scrolls, and guards at the foot. He looked up from documents he was reading, his impassive face regarding the silver tongued woman with disdain.

“If you were truly sorry you wouldn't be creating such an annoying disturbance.” Lady Yura held her tongue, smiling awkwardly as she looked around. Council members shifted uncomfortably, the small wooden chairs not to their liking. They would have preferred the plush cushions of their council chairs in the court room, but this certainly was better than anything the dungeon had to offer.

“If we are all here, let's begin-” Lady Yura began, only to be cut off.

“We are not all here, so hold your tongue woman,” Saitou ordered.

“I don't under-” the woman sputtered as the doors behind her opened. In walked a rather refreshed looking princess…dressed in simple breeches, shirt and vest. Her hair was still bound in the coronet, but much of it had been let loose, tumbling down her back in waves of deep brown. She had to be the most amusing walking contradiction as she stopped before the bed and bowed, not curtsied, before the king. Saitou looked down at the wolf cub occupying the space he'd meant for the princess.

“Up,” he said to the wolf and patted the bed beside him. The wolf needed no more prompting and hurled itself onto the bed, circling three times before plopping down next to the king with a satisfied grunt. He watched with satisfaction as council members' jaws dropped. “Cushion,” Saitou ordered, pointing where the dog had been. The page boy quickly took a large, plush pillow and placed it on the floor by the bed. Saitou's eyes flickered to Tokio's, then the cushion. Without a word she obeyed, sitting upon it and leaning back against the large bed.

This is even better than those plushy council chairs!

“Hurry up,” Saitou said gruffly. “If you dare make this more than an hour I'll find other less annoying nobles to give your lands to.”

“Then we shall move straight to the matter which requires your utmost attention,” Lord Hironi said quickly before Lady Yura could object. “The council has reviewed and revised the list of eligible bride candidates.”

“I can personally vouch for the Lady Natsuki,” Lord Furokawa interjected. “She is a gentle woman with only the good of the country in mind.”

“And she just happens to be closely related to you,” Lady Yura said venomously.

“At least I did not have the audacity to put myself on the list,” Furokawa retorted.

“I can safely say I would have rejected you, Furokawa,” Saitou said dryly as a few other council members chuckled. “Stop squabbling, all of you. Not a damn thing you say is going to make any difference in the woman I pick. Tokio, have you anything to add to this annoying monstrosity?” he asked.

Council members gasped. Not only was he allowing her to attend in improper attire, he was seeking her advice before the entire council AND referred to her by only her name, no title before it.

“Lady Natsuki is only 12…which technically means you'd only be betrothed. And of course she'd gentle and sweet….she hasn't even hit the rebellious years of her life and she's only lived in a nunnery. The poor girl would probably die of fright sitting before this council. The third candidate is rumored to be secretly engaged to a lesser noble. Her father seems to be using the man as a backup in case you reject her. Should you marry her, the lesser noble may protest. He's one of the leaders of a rather questionable group of young lords who seem to always be around during riots, but are strangely never charged. Those that were charged end up mysteriously acquitted and the law enforcers in question disappear or meet with rather unfortunate events.”

“Lord Nakagoma?” Saitou asked, seeing this lord had suggested the woman. The lord was fairly pale at this point.

“I…had…not heard…such reports,” the lord said quietly. “Perhaps it would be best to remove the lady in question.”

“I think that's the wisest idea I've heard from you in a while,” Saitou said none too kindly. “You may continue, Tokio.”

“Lastly, Lady Yura. You are related to the King's mother three generations back. According to law, you can't be eligible.”

“I am NOT related,” the lady said indignantly. “My family has never been connected directly the royal family.”

“Oh yes it is,” Tokio said, shuffling through some documents. “According to the report of a Lord General Saisou, your grandmother was, for two years, a concubine under a Lord Nobuna. During that time she had a son, which is your father.”

“My grandfather accepted my father as his son and heir. It is no secret my grandmother was forced to stay with Lord Nobuna, but that does not make her offspring his! My grandfather was a knight in his castle before the man was overthrown.”

“Ah, but you see, according to Article 56, section 5, paragraph 3, line 4, any plausible doubt that you may be related to the royal family is cause enough to reject you. Also, in case you didn't know, a female council member who holds a seat for more than 3 years is also ineligible. So you are doubly rejected,” Tokio finished with a smile. “Sorry.”

Lady Yura could say nothing as she sat there, glaring at the presumptuous princess before her. Murder was plainly written in her eyes. The wolf cub gave a low growl from the bed at the woman, causing several people to jump in alarm.

“Careful,” Saitou warned. “Wolves aren't predictable creatures.”

Saitou almost cracked a smile as he crossed the woman off the list before him, two lines running through her name.

“Then there are still two ladies,” Lord Venron, a normally quiet lord, pointed out.

Saitou looked at the women in question with a frown. He knew little of them, but knowing the political powers behind them he was likely to face a great deal of family pressure trying to manipulate things from under him with their own pawn Queen. Did they really think him that foolish? He could see it as plain as day even with the fever his body was running.

“I will announce my decision next week,” he said, breaking the long silence as the entire council looked to him for the answer. Many looked as though they were going to complain. “Have the two women in question presented to me at court two days from now,” he said, hiding the victorious smile. In order to bring the women here they'd have to be gated in, which cost a pretty penny. “Half an hour is gone. You have half an hour to bring any other `important' business to my attention.”

 

************************

Saori came in with four other maids to clear the chairs from the king's bedchamber. The king was reading documents while absently petting the wolf cub's head. The pup looked all too happy about being utterly spoiled laying there on the royal bed. How such a creature was so trusting of humans so fast was beyond her.

The sight that shocked her more was the sleeping princess. Tucked at the side of the king's bed, sitting upon a silken pillow, she was propped up against the side of the raised bed, eyes closed and lips barely parted in silent sleep.

“Just leave her there,” Saitou said softly. “The damn council has been hounding her like the vultures they are. If she's in her rooms, they'll only find some excuse to bother her.”

“She takes too much on herself, sire,” Saori said as the maids left with the chairs. No one knew how the king let her talk to him in private. Then again, Saori had changed his diapers many years ago. Hard to intimidate a woman who cleaned up after you when you still wet the bed.

“Welcome to royalty,” he answered dryly. “I sure she prefers it to the dungeon.”

“She's still very young,” Saori argued. “And wasn't schooled from birth to rule. She was schooled to be a political tool, not a political manipulator.”

“With the war on my hands, she's the only one who can run this country without throwing it into complete chaos. If Okita were still here I would not place such a burden on her shoulders.”

“But sire-,” Saori began, only to be cut off as the doors to the bedchamber opened and a page boy came in, important message in hand. He quickly deposited it in the king's hands and all but bolted out of the room, door slamming behind him. Tokio groaned at the noise, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she tried to orient herself.

“Damn fool,” the king muttered as he opened the parchment. “I have yet to punish a messenger.”

“You expect a boy of eleven years to know that? He probably hears stories of how you behead men before breakfast,” Saori commented dryly.

“That was only once,” Saitou replied, his eyes flicking down the parchment.

“Saori? Good morning,” Tokio said sleepily.

“Actually, it's about mid-evening, my lady.”

“Oh…sorry.” Saori's eyes widened, focused on the bed above her. Curious, Tokio looked up; blinking the sleep from her eyes to see what had the head maid so startled. She suddenly wished she hadn't.

Rage was evident on Saitou's face, murder in his eyes and the parchment within his grasp was crumpled and smoke rose from his hand. Amber eyes were flashing brightly and the glass beside the bed exploded. The wolf cub whimpered and hurled itself off the bed, ducking under the nearest table in sheer terror. The entire room seemed to be filled with a dangerous invisible wind, power swirling through the chambers.

“Saori?” Tokio asked, slightly afraid.

“Just get up and slowly walk to the door. There's no reasoning with him when he's in this state.”

 

***********

She was married.

Saitou felt the power within him surge again as his anger fueled it. Taking a deep breath he calmed himself.

Married. To the enemy. Tomoe had gone and married the very man who killed her fiancée, Akira. Prince Kenshin. The very man he was trying to kill. The very man who haunted small children's dreams with his golden eyes and red hair.

“What the hell where you thinking?” Saitou growled to himself. “Dammit woman, Akira loved you! And this is how you repay him?”

The crumpled parchment bore Tomoe's seal, written in her hand. She was informing him, her king, that she had married Prince Kenshin of Kyoto. Married him and was now happily expecting a child. There was no mention of Akira or of her desire to come home. He could feel the magic within the document, proof that she had not been forced to write such a thing. No, she had written this willingly…and happily. Probably of her own free will.

What the hell was the fucking woman thinking!?

`Okita would have understood,' he thought with a sigh. `He would have understood why women did such stupid things.' Now he was fighting his half-brother in law. He wanted to kill his in-laws. Well, all except their princess. She seemed to be the only worthless one of the lot of them.

Tokio.

For a woman of such few years she possessed an amazing amount of strength considering she lacked the magic to back it. Although a political prisoner, she never once tried to manipulate her way back home or give aid to her home country. Her loyalty was only to those who in turn gave her trust and loyalty. Fujita.

“This war is becoming too costly,” he said to himself, drawing his attention away from the princess. She occupied his time too much of late.

Reports of the countryside lay strewed all over his bed, the older ones piled above the newer ones and he strived to catch up with what had been happening in his lands. Tokio had kept it from crumbling, but the war was taking its toll on the land. Men who had gone off to war for him were sorely missed during the harvest. The exceptionally bad rainy season was leaving many towns damaged by mudslides, floods and washed away crops. The council had done little to help them, although there wasn't really much that could be done until the rains stopped.

And trying to manipulate weather with magic was asking for trouble.

Saitou gave a sigh and looked out the window. Pity the wolf cub had left with the women. It was actually quite…nice…to have the creature around. Sitting in bed certainly was damn boring. `Clean sword,' he thought. `That'll keep me sane.'

The sleek weapon easily slid out of the well worn sheath, it's dull steel shining back at him. Small chips were along the blade where it had taken the life of others or saved his own. It needed to be smoothed, sharpened and polished. Saitou trusted no one to do as good a job as him.

The man who let another care for his weapon should not be surprised when it fails.

The cleaning equipment was in the drawer by his bed, always within reach. Carefully opening it, he pulled out the cleaning cloths and various sharpening stones and oils. Laying them carefully around the bed, he pushed scrolls out of the way. Sitting up, the sword lay unmoving in his lap. Picking up the edge of the blade, he ran it along the oiled stone, sharp side sliding along it in a slow, relaxing manner. Already the tension was leaving his shoulders.

A violent sneeze disrupted his routine, sending the sword scrapping off the stone and into his thumb. Biting back a curse, he stuck the injured finger in his mouth and glared down at the sword. Dammit if sword polish didn't taste horrid.

The door opened carefully and Tokio came in behind a guard with a tray of what looked like dinner.

“The cook made roast duck and-” she began, stopping when she saw the sight before her. Setting the tray down she gave a sigh. “Did you cut the whole appendage off or just slice it open?” she asked sarcastically. “You could have someone else do that you know.”

“And have them do a poor job on something my life may depend on? I think not,” he said. “Take the tray away, I'm not hungry.”

“Too bad, cause you are going to eat,” she replied happily. “And I'll take care of the sword.”

“Woman, I-”

“You eat or I tell Lady Yura you'd prefer her company for the evening. She'd probably convince herself you would change the laws so she could be Queen.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you are a manipulative brat?” he snapped, picking up the platter of roast duck. It was actually quite good and his stomach gave him away with a deep growl.

“If it gets you to eat,” she said with a smile and picked up the sword.

“Just leave it.”

“Honestly, you obviously want it clean enough to risk the safety of your hands,” she said, sitting down on the floor beside the bed. “If Kenshin and Aoshi trusted me enough to clean their blades, I think you can safely say I know what I'm doing.”

“They trusted you with their swords?” he asked, incredulously.

“Well, truth be told, the first time Aoshi had both hands broken and couldn't pick anything up…so he really had no choice in the matter, but after that if he was too busy he'd let me clean his kodachi. Damn tricky things too cause they have to be perfectly balanced with each other in order to be most effective. Kenshin's katana was much easier.”

Her hands moved over the blade, careful of its dangerous edge. She had no experience using a sword, he could tell that, but her fingers were not unused to handling one. Smoothing the cleaning cloth down it, she then held it across her knee, pulling the sharp edge across the oiled stone with gentle ease. The sound of metal scrapping oiled stone resonated through the chamber, the familiar noise soothing the tension from his body. Neither spoke a word as he ate, watching her clean the old family sword, hand crafted from a master swords smith who no longer lived.

Saitou's mind drifted as he watched her. It was a strange thing, to see a woman polish his sword. Why he even let her touch it was beyond him. How did she instill such trust within him? He honestly didn't thing she'd ever defy him…even though she now had a weapon she could easily threaten him with.

Small hands gently grasped the hilt as her other hand closed the cleaning cloth around the blade, carefully wiping every last bit of excess oil from the now sharpened sword. It glistened in the candle light, reflecting her determined face up at him. Testing the point with a single sheet of paper, Tokio happily looked at the sword, running delicate fingers across the engravings.

It had to be the most erotic thing he'd ever seen in his life.

If he could have, Saitou would have beat himself right there. Here he was, bedridden, and getting turned on by a woman nearly half his age cleaning his sword. And not just any woman. His prisoner and the close relative of his enemy.

“There, all done,” she said happily and looked up, only to have her breath catch in her throat.

Those amber eyes were focused on her, but not in anger or amusement. It was…something she'd never seen before. It was almost as if he'd never seen her before…but not quite. She had no idea what the emotion meant…but it made her heart beat faster and her whole body tingle. There eyes remained locked like that for some time…just staring at one another.

“So…what was the…bad news,” Tokio stammered as she tried to pull her gaze from his, finding it rather difficult to breath all of a sudden.

The amber eyes released her, flickering to the documents on his bed and snapping the tension that had been there. Tokio released a breath she had not realized she'd been holding.

“My sister married your brother,” he said calmly. “and I grow weary of this war.”

“So stop fighting,” she said. “It'd be nice to have everyone home again.”

“I cannot just stop a war on my whim. Lords still seek vengeance and your brother has wreaked havoc on parts of my lands that I cannot simply give up.”

“What about a treaty?” Tokio asked, handing the now clean sword back to him. He carefully slid the weapon back in its sheath until it clicked in place.

“There is no reason for your brother to sign it. Right now I have little to offer him.”

“Does my father know you and Tomoe are related?” Amber eyes met hers, narrowing only a fraction.

“What would that matter?”

“My father hates family fighting. That's why Aoshi and Kenshin haven't killed each other. As a relative, no matter how much my father may dislike you, if you wish to cease fighting he will see that it stops.”

“My fight is with your brother, not your father.”

“Yes, but my father rules my brother. He controls everything in Kyoto, especially Kenshin.”

The solution before him seemed all too simple.

 

***************************************************************** *******

So, what will Saitou do for political advantage? Hmmm. I apologize for not updating before. I got caught up in another story and my busy busy job. Teaching English in Japan leaves few hours to ones self unfortunately, so I don't get much time to type up stories.

Royal facts: King George IV had several royal problems. One, he'd married a Roman catholic (while prince regent) and technically could not inherit the throne that way…so he conveniently “forgot” about her and married Caroline…who turned out even worse. He, unfortunately, did not have the luck of Henry VIII and was not able to divorce her, but did keep her from becoming Queen. Funnily enough, it was his father and mistress (yeah…go figure) who had urged him to marry her. They actually did consummate the relationship…at least once, and had a daughter who later died. Not surprisingly, he drank himself through life.

The daughter of the Duke of Kent, little Victoria was among the next in line for the throne. Her father died when she was only 8 months old and her mother was so paranoid about possible political assassinations that Victoria wasn't even allowed to walk up or down stairs without someone holding her hand. Talk about over protective! When George IV died, his brother William held the throne for a whopping 7 years…I guess the job proved to be too stressful for the old man. As a result, Queen Victoria assumed the throne at the tender age of 18…having already experienced many people's attempts to manipulate her.

Now Victoria married her first cousin, Albert, when she was 19…wow was that close. She was one lucky woman, cause unlike many past royal couples, they not only tolerated one another, they actually liked each other! As a result, they had nine kids. Now, nine kids is at least 81 months of pregnancy (that's a little under 7 years) and then you take into account that obviously there is a bit of time in between each kid….Yeah, Albert pretty much ran the country in all but name (England didn't let him be king). He must have been a nice chap cause he didn't seem to mind. Unfortunately he died, leaving Victoria to reign alone for many years afterwards.

Now, for the amusing fact. Victoria was already related to the German royal family through her mother, and obviously the English royal family through her dad. Her oldest daughter married Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and one offspring from that pair married into the Greek royal family. Her first son married a princess of Denmark and her second daughter was the mother of Alix, last Tsarina of Russia. Her second son's daughter married the crown prince of Romania, another son married a princess of Prussia, another daughter married some other prince…Austrian I think, and her last daughter married Prince Henry of Battenburg; they had a daughter who later became Queen of Spain. Man, the only royal families I don't see are the ones from France or Monaco….but since some of the princes/princesses they married into don't necessarily have their country name attached….and some of those European names are pretty confusing, I think it's safe to say at some point Victoria was related to just about EVERYONE in power.

Except the little ol' U.S., China and Japan (I think Meiji was still underway). Yes, I know there were other royal families of smaller countries, but they didn't really count as world powers. Technically China and Japan don't count as world powers at this time either. So WWI was kind of one big family fight, ne? Scary thought.