The Emperor's Heart

Chapter Four

A wintry mix pounded the bamboo roof of Daichi's small house as snow flurries began to make way across the mountain. The wintry mix began to coat fields of grass and hillsides of camellias, causing the snow to climb higher until it was ankle high.

Yua watched from the front door of his home and she dreaded the trip back the next day. Daichi was adamant that they only stay one night. The snow was rising.

"Shut the door or else we will all suffer ailment." Daichi had grumbled from the other side of the room. Yua nodded apologetically and closed the door with a hard push against the strong gusts of wind.

Turning around she noticed the open room had very little furniture. It was simple and the table centering the room looked to be handmade. That was when she noticed everything looked to be handmade. From the two chairs that sat against the far wall to the painting of mountains on the same wall. Candles were lit and the only thing that looked bought were the candle holders.

There was a small fire off to the side with a couple of pots and pans laying nearby. Yua's stomach grumbled loudly then, reverberating across the room. She clenched her belly out of embarrassment and gave a wry smile. Daichi rolled his eyes and approached her, bending down to her level to stare her straight in the eye. His face was so close to her she held her breath, their lips only mere inches apart before he spoke, "Are you hungry?"

Yua nodded slowly, instinctively inching back. Her doe eyes made Daichi softer for a second and he felt the need to satiate her hunger, "I will cook for you." He said, calmly backing away from her and taking one of the pots. He went outside and filled the pot with snow, putting it on the fire to heat it. Yua watched as the snow became boiling water. Daichi then took some rice from a small clay pot that she had not noticed before. He boiled the rice with an herb mixture, then added some vegetables and salted meat that were hanging on a small rack.

When Daichi handed her a small bowl of the stew, Yua was very grateful but too hungry to speak. She gave a nod of appreciation and dug into it. She slowed down her bites after she saw the way he was looking at her at her. Everyone else was watching her too. She internally laughed at chastised herself for forgetting her manners.

Daichi gave her a stern look, "The next time you are hungry do not hesitate to tell me."

"Next time?" Yua asked, raising her head now to speak a bit defiantly, "You have made it clear there will be no next time."

"I," Daichi began but instantly bit his tongue. He turned his gaze away from her, ignoring her short statement.

Yua smirked as the others turned their gazes away too.

___

By the time the sun had set the snow was now knee high and Daichi's small home was becoming colder despite him keeping dry wood on the fire. He only had a small stack of fur blankets to hand out. Sara, Bankan, and Bassui were asleep and it was getting later in the night. Yua was dozing off but her shivering was keeping her up. Daichi once more approached her and whispered, "Follow me."

More alert, she stood up but grasped the blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders. She held it tighter to her body, trying to keep warm. It was then that he took her to an even smaller room of his house. The backroom was a bedroom. The bed was made of compressed hay and grasses, covered in thick furs and blankets. Daichi motioned to the bed and said, "You may sleep there, Princess. I will sleep with the others tonight."

She turned around to say thank you but he had already left the room.

Yua curled up in the furs and hummed in appreciation of the warmth as she began to fall asleep. Little did she notice Daichi standing by the entrance of the room, watching her with a mixed look of disdain and admiration.