I am just saying, Iris throwing Ding-Dongs at the monsters is a lot more fun for those of us who are not familiar with American snacks and have a terrible sense of humor.
(Yana took a day off to cool down.
While walking through the streets of downtown,
she found out that the street art she worked on with Mots
has been vandalized.)
Author’s Note: This is an excerpt from a longer role-swap AU where Shirayuki is the Lions of the Mountain’s princess and Zen is a runaway.
The Lions’ chief lounged in his chair, glancing at the map where Zen’s finger indicated. As soon as Zen started talking, his gaze wandered. Zen gritted his teeth. He’d convince Mukaze of this plan. He just had to figure out what was holding the chief back.
“In this region, there’s a group of bandits that harass the towns on the border regularly, but every time the knights at the nearby base pursue them, they flee across the border to Tanburun. Where the knights can’t follow, of course.” Zen waited for Mukaze to respond, but Mukaze just watched him.
“If the Lions track the bandits’ movements,” Zen persisted, “we can move against them the next time they flee from the border guard. It’s a good place to start. The border lines are very clear, so there’s no chance of clashing with the Clarinese military. And we’ll be taking care of a nuisance that’s been plaguing the people of Clarines for years.”
Zen warmed to his theme, seeing the Lions swooping to the people’s rescue in his mind’s eye. “If that succeeds, then we can look to other problems with the Clarinese and Tanburunian borders. Soon the queen won’t be able to deny the value of annexing this mountain for keeping Clarines safe.”
“Hrrmm.” Mukaze stretched.
Zen couldn’t stand the silence for long. “Well? Do you think we can do it?”
“Maybe.” Mukaze lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Seems like a lotta risk to take, though.”
Zen bristled. “Isn’t the risk worth it to save your daughter from the prince of Tanburun?” he demanded. Mukaze was no coward. He was playing some kind of game; Zen just didn’t know what it was yet.
Mukaze laced his fingers together and propped his chin on his hands. “The queen of Clarines did say that she was open to annexation. But only if my daughter married her second prince.” His gaze sharpened. “Either way, annexing Tanburunian territory is going to rile up the Schenazades. If the queen said she would only be willing to do it for a political marriage, it seems like a long shot that she’d go for it when all she’s getting is some extra border enforcers.”
Mukaze paused, and Zen knew Mukaze was waiting for him to break. No one had questioned his story when he’d first come here; this was the first anyone had mentioned the second prince. He’d let his guard down.
“Maybe it would be best for everyone if we didn’t gamble.” Mukaze leaned back. “Shirayuki’s willing enough to marry that prince.” He put his hands on his seat to push himself to his feet.
Don’t panic. You can handle this, Zen. “No! She can’t. Not like this!” That was not handling it.
Mukaze raised one eyebrow, settling back into his chair. He folded his hands again. Zen scrambled to recover himself.
“I mean—it won’t work! The second prince is gone.” He hadn’t prepared for this conversation to include Shirayuki when he’d planned his cover stories. This was going all wrong.
“So I heard. A little bird told me he’d disappeared, but I thought they were still looking for him. On the other side of the border. Can’t be long before they find him.” Mukaze’s expression was completely neutral except for the sharpness in his eyes. Zen swallowed. He hadn’t fooled this man at all.
He could feel it closing in on him again: the castle walls, the guards at every doorway…and Shirayuki would be forced to follow him into that world. His fists clenched. No.
He met Mukaze’s gaze squarely. “They can’t find him. It’s impossible.”
The man blinked. “Oh, really? How do you know?”
Zen took a deep breath. “Because the second prince is dead,” he announced.
Silence reigned in the room. Mukaze’s expression was completely blank now. “Dead, huh,” he said.
Zen nodded emphatically.
“So the elite forces of Clarines are searching their whole kingdom for a dead person?”
Gritting his teeth, Zen forged ahead. “Clarines hasn’t admitted it yet, but I give you my word of honor: The second prince of Clarines is dead. He’s gone, and he’s not coming back to marry anyone!”
“Is that so?” The piercing gaze had returned. “Huh. Guess I’ll never know how that second prince would have felt about marrying Shirayuki.” Mukaze crossed his arms. “The rumor is that he ran in the first place because of the arrangement. Maybe he didn’t want to get shackled to some girl that another prince thought was only good enough to be a mistress.”
Zen felt heat rise in his face. “No one could be as much of an idiot as that Prince Raj! Especially to think that!” He sucked in another breath, choosing his words carefully. “If the second prince had ever met Shirayuki, he would have admired her, for the person that she is. She should never be forced into a loveless marriage to save her people. Any decent prince should do everything in his power to spare her from that!” Zen startled himself by hitting the table with his fist. Reining himself in, he looked Mukaze in the eye.
“But it doesn’t matter anymore what he would have thought about anything.” Zen spread his arms, his voice rising. “So Shirayuki should feel herself free to marry whoever she chooses. She could even choose some runaway seeking shelter with the Lions, if she wanted to. But only if she truly feels that way! That’s what I think.” He let his arms fall to his sides, out of breath.
Mukaze sat back, regarding Zen. “So that’s how it is.” He cupped his chin in one hand, tapping his cheek. Finally, he sighed and leaned over the map with attention. “I suppose we’ll have to try this plan, then. Since the second prince is dead.”
