Shirayukihime and The Lost Fox

Chapter 26: Cutting Words

Akira POV

The pen in my hand moves with familiar ease on the paper in front of me. Once I dot the end of my sentence, I set it down to the side and gaze at my handwriting. It had been a while since I've written anything, I was beginning to wonder if I've rusted.

Mom,

I hope you know that I miss you. And though there's no way for me to get this to you, I want you to know that I'm trying to get back. Don't think that you have gotten rid of this troubling son of yours.

I love you,

Akira

A reminder to myself that I have a mother that cares for me. She must be worried sick, I think bitterly. This was the first letter I decided to write on her behalf. There are others, letters that I have been writing to all of my family. I even have one for Mika, that blonde idiot. I chuckle to myself at the thought of him stumbling over his classwork. I read over what the letter I just completed.

Mina, my beautiful baby sister,

I know that you can't read just yet, but I hope to assure you that your big brother is coming home. Big brother has so much to tell you. On my journey home, I've befriended a prince and a herbalist. This particular prince wants me to join his castle guard. Can you believe it? Your big brother knows royalty.

And although I want to refuse and continue to find my way back to you, there might be something that helps me on my journey. I think about you almost everyday, Mina. Your bright blue eyes and chubby cheeks are something I hope to never forget.

Big brother loves you,

Akira

Unshed tears blur my vision and I bring a hand up to cover my eyes. I hate feeling this way, so weak and powerless in trying to get home. It feels almost wrong to cry.

"Akira? Are you there?" I faintly register Shirayuki's voice on the other side of the door, yet I don't say anything. The creak of the door catches my attention as I hear her mumble, "Huh, the door's open..."

I stand up immediately, turning to see Shirayuki standing the the doorway, surprised. "Akira? Why didn't you answer?" She pauses as her eyes drift to the pile of letters on the desk. I catch on and quickly turn to hastily gather up all the loose pages.

"Sorry, I was busy," I mumble as a stray paper slips out of my grasp and onto the floor. Before I could pick it up Shirayuki beat me to it. She held the paper, looking at the characters on the parchment curiously. I gently take it out of her hand, muttering a quick thank you as I shuffle them into a pile and slip them into the desk drawer.

"You were writing?" she asks."That wasn't any language I've seen before." Her eyes sparkle with a thirst for knowledge. "Tell me, what was it?"

I shuffle on my feet, my tail nervously dusting the floor as I fight the urge to scratch at the tattoo on my arm. What was I supposed to tell her? After a moment, I decide on an answer. "It's a dead language," I say definitively. "Almost no one has ever heard of it or seen it."

I swiftly change the topic, "So, can I help you with something?" She looks at me, confused before realization flashed on her face. "Oh! That's right," she pauses to dig through her bag and pulls out a single sheet of paper. She smiles a little as she shows it to me.

"I received a summoning from the castle this morning."

I raise an eyebrow at her as I sit down, motioning for her to sit down as well. "Oh? Well, if it's a summoning, then you have to go, don't you?" She smiles sheepishly as she waves it towards me. "It's not for me, though," she says. "It's for you." Well then. "For me?" I ask quizzically as I eye the letter warily. This can't be good.

"Can you read it please?" I ask quietly. Shirayuki smiles gently as she nods, taking the seat next to mine at the table. Carefully spreading the paper out on the desk, she began to cite the letter's contents aloud to me.

"Akira, please come to the castle today at noon. You have a charge to supervise, and an exam to prepare for. Yours, Zen."

My lip curls a little in annoyance at the short letter. I could depict the mocking tone of Zen even through the writing. "Really," I sigh, muttering, "Zen sent for me to watch the mercenary and apparently doesn't think I am capable of preparing for the Royal Guard recruitment trials on my own."

I stand and pick my jacket up from on top of the bed, quickly fitting it on with a small frown. Shirayuki watches me as I flit around the room aimlessly, picking up small things I might need like the spare change I made from odd jobs. Once I sit down and start tugging my boots on, Shirayuki speaks up, "Are you going to the castle after all?"

I grunt as I fit the first boot over my foot with a jolt. "Where else would I be going?" I ask rhetorically, fighting to pull my second boot on. "I have to go if it's a summoning; he is a prince, after all. Besides," I sigh as I fix my headband over my ears in the mirror, "there's nothing more I would like to spend my time on than babysitting a full-grown criminal of a man."

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Walking down the street is not as easy as I would have expected, but it comes with being an anomaly to this world's population. I have learned that even with my eyes covered, my appearance still warrants some attention. Some of it is not always good.

Today wasn't a good day for me, it seems as some thugs thought that it would be funny to mess around with a stranger and steal his money. It reminded me of my original world and how they would treat me like I was something to be beaten. It seems nothing changes in the heart of humankind.

But boy, did those thugs get the surprise of their life when the "pretty boy" threw a punch right back.

As I approached the Poet Gate I spotted the now familiar guards. The young blonde guard, who I learned was called Kai, gives a long hiss at the sight of me. "Akira," he starts, wincing at the large welt on my cheek and the cut on my lip, "what the hell happened to you?"

The older brown haired guard, whose name is Shiira, walks up to me with a frown as he assesses the damage. I focus on Kai and shrug. "It's nothing," I said, avoiding their dubious stares. "I swear! I was only jumped by some stupid thugs that thought they could steal my money." Shiira chooses that moment to poke the mark on my cheek, earning a yelp from me.

"It's nothing, you say?" Kai says as both of them stare at me flatly. I sigh, avoiding their gazes. "It's not like I ask for trouble," I pout slightly, frowning as I cross my arms over my chest. "Besides, compared to what I did to them, this is only a scratch."

The brown haired guard raises an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He asks. Shiira sighs as he steps aside. "Well, we'll let you be on your way. We know that the prince is expecting you, but please, at least get checked out by someone." He ruffles my hair lightly, making me worry faintly about my headband slipping, and Kai pats my shoulder with a slightly sad smile. "Make sure it get it checked out, okay?" Kai told me. I nod my head with a smile, trying to assure them both.

As I pass through the gates, I hear Shiira mutter to his younger counterpart, "He's still so young, only seventeen."

"Yeah. And yet, here he is, able to beat almost every guard in the castle. Be proud that he made it this far," I hear Kai scold his senior. I smile despite the pain from the cut on my lip and make my way to Zen's office, where I knew I could find him.