The Twelve Kingdoms Fan Fiction ❯ A Legend Forgotten ❯ Traditional Bow ( Chapter 3 )

(Disclaimer: The Twelve Kingdom Characters belong solely to Fuyumi Ono, but Mariette and the other unknown characters I am writing about belong to me. If this disclaimer is wrong, then please do not sue me.)

 

Chapter 3: Traditional Bow

 

Yoko shut her eyes when a flash of light appeared preventing her from seeing Mariette with her two new friends. Yoko looked around confusingly and asked, “What happened?”

 

 

“That light that just appeared means that it has moved forward in Mariette's time frame.”

 

 

“So how much time has passed and when will I get to see it?” asked Yoko curiously.

 

 

“Two months has passed since Mariette found her two companions and the image should appear soon.”

 

 

The moment the words were spoken, the image of Kei appeared around her. Yoko stared at it in amazement, but then grew confused. She looked up and said, “Why does Kei look so worn out?”

 

 

“This is Kei after the death of Tatsu-Ou.”

 

 

Yoko clenched her hand wondering why Keiki didn't chose a ruler sooner to prevent it from getting this bad. Yoko suddenly heard Mariette's cheerful laugh and looked up. Before her was Mariette playing with Wuya and Toshi.

 

 

Mariette ran around with her two companions laughing. Mariette suddenly stopped in her tracks and sniffed the air. Wuya and Toshi stopped behind her.

 

 

“You smell something Mariette?” asked Wuya, who knew that Mariette's nose was very sensitive thanks to her half-beast blood. Mariette nodded and said, “It smells like sweet buns with red bean filling. There's also white rice wine and I think there is fried duck. It smells really yummy.”

 

 

“It sounds yummy,” said Toshi as his mouth began to water. Wuya told her brother to wipe his mouth and then looked at Mariette confusingly.

 

 

“I think your nose might be broken because there's no way that smell would be here unless some aristocrat decided to waltz down here,” reasoned Wuya.

 

 

“Or it could be one the rulers,” added Toshi. Wuya gave out a laugh and said, “Like that would happen.” Toshi shook his head.

 

 

“I wasn't joking. Look,” said Toshi with his finger pointing toward the right. Wuya and Mariette looked at the direction Toshi was pointing to and saw a palanquin shrouded in gold with soldiers walking in front of it. Wuya and Mariette gasped in surprise. Mariette's cat features popped out causing Toshi and Wuya to give out another gasp.

 

 

“Mariette, your ears,” said Toshi nervously. Mariette touched her ears and cringed. She tucked her ears away, while Wuya tucked in her tail. Mariette gave out a sigh of relief.

 

 

“I hate it when that happens,” said Mariette sadly.

 

 

As the palanquin passed the people, the people began to bow down until their faces where no longer seen.

 

 

“Definitely a royal,” said Wuya nervously. Toshi nodded in agreement. Mariette looked at her two friends and asked, “What's a royal?”

 

 

Wuya looked at Mariette and said, “Remember when we told you that there are twelve kingdoms? Well there are twelve different rulers as well and they are called Royals or you could just call them rulers.” Mariette nodded in understanding, but then realized something.

 

 

“Then who rules Kei?” asked Mariette.

 

 

“No one as of now because the king died a year ago and the Kirin still hasn't chosen a ruler,” said Toshi. Wuya nodded and added, “It's the reason why Kei looks so beat up.”

 

 

Mariette blinked in confusion and asked, “What's a Kirin and why do they need to choose?”

 

 

Wuya gave out a sigh and said, “A Kirin is a holy creature, who chooses the ruler of a kingdom. There are twelve Kirins and they must choose the rulers because that is their duty. It would be against the Gods if someone just took the throne without a Kirin by their side.” Toshi nodded in agreement.

 

 

Mariette looked at them with a wide smile and said, “You two are geniuses.” Wuya and Toshi blushed and laughed a little at Mariette's praise.

 

 

Mariette looked back at the palanquin and asked, “So who is that royal?” Wuya and Toshi shrugged indicating that they didn't know.

 

 

The palanquin began to approach them. Wuya and Toshi bent down low on their knees and placed their foreheads against the ground making Mariette confused.

 

 

“What are you doing?” asked Mariette. Wuya peeked up at Mariette and said, “It is a custom to bow down like this in front of a royal.” Mariette nodded and went on her knees. She placed her palms against the ground and tried to lower her head to the ground, but then became stiff. Mariette gasped in surprise causing her cat features to pop out.

 

 

Toshi and Wuya stared at Mariette in surprise as they bowed.

 

 

“Why did you cat features show up?” asked Toshi in shock. Mariette tucked away her cat features and looked at them nervously.

 

 

“I can't bow,” said Mariette with a shaky voice.

 

 

“That can't be right. Just try harder, Mariette,” said Wuya in a low voice. Mariette nodded and tried her best to bow, but her body remained stiff refusing to lower itself.

 

 

This can't be good.

 

 

The palanquin began to pass them, but one of the soldiers saw that Mariette wasn't bowing fully. He ordered the palanquin and the other soldiers to stop moving and looked down at Mariette. Mariette saw a shadow over her and looked up only to see the soldier over her with crossed arms. Mariette was surprised, but she immediately covered her ears and tail before the soldier could see them.

 

 

“Why do you not bow to the King of En's carriage?” demanded the soldier. Mariette began to sweat nervously as she looked up at the soldier. Her voice wouldn't come out as well. The soldier was about to repeat his question, but Wuya and Toshi sprung up and stood firm in front of Mariette.

 

 

The soldier stared at Wuya and Toshi confusingly and asked, “What are you doing?” Wuya glared at the soldier and said, “She's still new here and this is her first time seeing a royal so close, so she didn't want to miss him passing by bowing her head down.” Toshi nodded in agreement and added, “She really meant no harm, so don't hurt her.”

 

 

The soldier stared at them and then at Mariette, who still looked nervous, and burst out laughing. Mariette, Wuya, and Toshi stared at him confusingly. The soldier stifled his laugh and said, “You kids are something.” He patted Toshi and Wuya's head causing them to groan.

 

 

“Look after your little princess,” said the soldier. The soldier looked toward Mariette and winked at her making Mariette confused.

 

 

The soldier ordered the other soldiers and the palanquin to move forward. The palanquin and the soldiers were soon out of sight. Wuya and Toshi gave out a sigh of relief.

 

 

“That nearly gave me a heart attack,” said Toshi. Wuya nodded in agreement.

 

 

Mariette stood up from the ground and hugged Wuya and Toshi from behind making them confused.

 

 

“Mariette?”

 

 

“Thank you,” said Mariette as she hugged them. Wuya and Toshi both smiled. They suddenly pushed themselves away from Mariette and poked her forehead extra hard causing Mariette to give out a yelp. Mariette cradled her forehead and glared at her two friends.

 

 

“What was that for?” demanded Mariette. Wuya stuck her tongue at her and said, “That was for nearly getting us into trouble.” Toshi nodded with crossed arms and added, “And if you get us into trouble again, then we will double poke your forehead.” Mariette gave out a groan, while covering her forehead, and said, “Well sorry, but I just couldn't bow for some reason.”

 

 

Toshi and Wuya both smirked and said, in unison, “Then we better train you.” Mariette gave out another groan wondering what they meant by training.

 

 

Yoko stared at Mariette and her friends and asked, “So Mariette had a problem with bowing?”

 

 

“That is correct.”

 

 

Yoko remembered the soldier that talked down at Mariette and said, “So the palanquin was for the ruler of En and that soldier sounded kind of familiar.” Yoko shook her head and asked, “Will she meet the soldier again?”

 

 

“Just watch.”

 

 

Yoko gave out a sigh wondering what she would see next.

 

(Sorry for the very, very late update. I just couldn't find the time to write this until now and I couldn't find the draft for this thing. It has been a year since I updated this thing and I apologize greatly for that. I also want to thank the “one” person who reviewed this story. I need reviews, so I know what people think of this. Well anyway, here's the update and another will be coming up. Another reason for the lack of updates was because I had to search for my password. That's about it.)