Road to Ruisea

❆ ❆ III. CHIRO ❆ ❆

Chiro tried not to voice his opinions too often, but it didn't mean he didn't have any.

In his opinion?

This was a stupid idea.

The Princess wasn't dumb. He knew that much, seeing as she spent her entire day in the library. She couldn't just be in there sleeping.

He knows she's not sleeping, or there'd be no point in him being there.

He puts on a show for her every night, and he'd honestly be offended if she slept through them. Magic isn't easy to come by, magicians even more so.

Chiro sighs as he stands in front of the tower.

This was a stupid idea.

But he's done it almost every night since coming here, so on with the show.

He walks up the hill to the castle as the sun is setting, chest heaving, legs aching. He's skinny and not very built, so it's hard for him to do things that require so much physical strain. It'd be nice if after so many times he's gone up and down the hill in the past year, he'd be better at it, but alas, no such luck.

Chiro reaches the top of the hill in a few minutes, puts his hands on his knees, completely out of breath and gasping for whatever oxygen he can. He keeps urging himself to hurry up and get to the tower, he's late today as it is, but he needs this moment.

"Alright alright," he wheezes. "Get it together."

Hopefully the King and Queen are too distracted with the returning sailors tonight to notice Chiro's late... And Chiro hopes, more importantly, the Princess isn't too disappointed.

He quickly sprints towards the base of the tower, looking up and getting dizzy as he does so. Would the Princess be in there, right now? Or would she be sleeping, or be with her parents and the sailors in the throne room?

It didn't matter.

Chiro has a job to do.

He sighs.

He spreads his legs, firmly planting his feet on the ground.

He puts his arms out in front of his body. He takes a deep breath, more controlled than the raspy, desperate ones he'd been taking after running up the hill.

He closes his eyes.

He opens his lips.

"Sa... Me... Yu... Ki..."

And he feels the burning sensation crawl up his arms, underneath his sleeves. They twist and make markings, colorful designs and creeping letters. It hurts so much, but Chiro's very used to it. It's the price of magic.

"Ma... Ki... Oh... Ka...!"

He opens his eyes, now definitely glowing a bright bronze, the same shade as the symbols burning into his skin. He looks up at the sky...

And he smiles.

It's snowing.

Beautiful flecks of gold light descend from the top of the tower, and disappear as they hit the ground. Beautiful six sided shapes, none of them alike.

Chiro has never seen snow.

Until he met the King and Queen, he hadn't even heard of it.

A simple illustration, a simple explanation... He was ordered to create it.

And so he did so tonight, as he has for every night, for many moons.

He never had an answer to his question of why beyond "It's for the Princess."