@the-pompous-potato oh, yay, I’m so glad you enjoyed Kiki! I was a little afraid she would come off as too stiff so that’s really nice to hear! This whole review brought a huge smile to my face, made me laugh out loud, thank you so much for reading and enjoying!
@bubblesthemonsterartist what? talking? communication? what is that XD again, so glad you enjoyed what the rest of the cast is up to and how they’re handling this ridiculous situation! I always look forward to your reviews ^_^
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A child puts his hands over his eyes to make a monster disappear.
A princess dances until the stroke of midnight to keep the magic alive.
Shirayuki counts, measures, labels, and weighs, forsaking her bed chamber for the pharmacy.
Maybe the clock will forget itself if she forgets to sleep; maybe dawn will never come.
...
She crumbles dirt between her fingers to test for moisture levels, checks leaves for spotting and blemishes, flicks stalks to judge their springiness.
Her observations form tidy rows on her clipboard, marching in neat boxes across the page.
Who knows how many hours have elapsed by the time she and Ryuu bundle the samples between them, carting the load to the store room for cataloguing and further testing?
...
Kiki has long since gone.
Garrack leaves them when they embark on filing their results. She must have, because when Shirayuki thinks to look around, there is no one there but Ryuu: asleep with his cheek on a scattered pile of index cards.
There is nothing left to do so Shirayuki sits idle, staring at the cards stacked in front of her.
She thinks, I should go. They will be expecting me - to dress - for breakfast - at rehearsal - but still she sits.
The words repeat in her mind like neatly printed text but there is no answering movement in her body.
Dawn has come and turned her to stone.
...
Not long after daybreak, Obi slips in.
He pauses at Ryuu’s chair, looking down at him for a long moment. He takes off his jacket and lets it settle over the boy’s shoulders.
Then he passes on, soundless as a cat.
...
Obi starts to turn in Shirayuki’s direction -- but she drops her gaze.
She doesn’t know what to say to him.
She has failed so completely to keep her promise to him that she is ashamed to look him in the eye.
In her periphery vision, she sees him drift past. She hears him lean back against the wall. She feels him waiting.
She can’t speak.
...
Obi had always wondered what he would do when the time came.
He has fought to the end of his resources, played his final gambit, and now he is going to lose her.
Facing the end of her presence in his life, he finds that nothing matters more than spending every possible moment as close to her as he dares.
He doesn’t ask anything of her, now that he has nothing to offer.
...
He can’t give her a crown or a castle, or even a quiet place in the mountains where she could practice the science and art that makes her happy.
He simply takes up his position where he can see her, but she doesn’t have to notice him.
Then he counts the time remaining before he is divided from her absolutely and irreparably: first measured in days, now hours...and soon it will be no longer than a breath and then a heartbeat before she moves beyond his reach forever.
...
He has no illusions that the first prince’s proposal could mean anything less - not after Izana had deliberately interposed himself and then dismissed any claims Obi might have made as a rival, much less a friend...or even as a retainer.
At noon Prince Izana would address the people of Clarines to present his new bride. Shirayuki will marry into blue blood, as she was always destined to.
Everything past that is a blank.
He can think no further.
...
The bells sound: nine...ten...eleven.
Shirayuki’s eyes are unfocused, her hands limp in her lap.
Obi’s arms are folded across his chest, his chin tucked in.
Neither speaks.
...
As the tolling fades, the door opens.
The chief pharmacist pokes in her head. “Hey, Ryuu -- oh, hello, Obi. And Lady Shirayuki, too? What are you all doing here at this hour?”
Obi and Shirayuki stare back blankly. Ryuu lifts his head, blinking at the sunlight.
“Aren’t you wanted at the ceremony, lady?” Garrack asks, eyebrows raised. “Everyone has gathered in the courtyard.”
...
“Already?” Shirayuki gasps. “But it’s not noon!”
A trumpet sounds in the distance.
Garrack shakes her head. “They’ve already started!”
...
So many people crowd the courtyard that their bodies blot out the flagstones below, like grains of sand scattered across tile.
The changing tides of fortune and destiny have swept them into the city in greater numbers than ever before. They expect to see their royal family in splendid array, their pillars of strength in uncertain times.
They are thirsty for good news, hungry for hope.
...
Every eye fixes on the speaker’s parapet.
There have been rumors, talk of secret engagements, even a royal wedding.
Public opinion is divided: Some decry it as too close on the heels of a funeral; others welcome the rejoicing that must attend such an auspicious occasion.
They are united in their curiosity, however - in the burning question of what questions today’s ceremony will answer.
The people hold their breath in anticipation of their young prince.
A murmur of surprise sweeps the crowd when Lord Haruka appears instead.
...
He approaches the lectern with a stiff, unnatural gait. His eyes are bloodshot, his expression stony.
It is the first time in all his years of service to the crown that he has questioned himself, doubted whether his loyalty stretched far enough to allow him to stoop to these depths.
The struggle has driven him to the brink, but at last this single principle prevailed, eclipsing all other desires and beliefs, as it always has:
--for the good of the kingdom, duty before self.
...
“People of Clarines,” Lord Haruka booms. “In the wake of tragedy, our kingdom must look to the future…”
His voice betrays no hint of the inner strain. He reads his prepared statement with perfectly correct diction, unwavering.
“...find our strength in the generations to come, in those who will follow in our footsteps and build on this great foundation…”
...
As his gaze sweeps the crowd, it catches on a flame of red: the derelict princess, rushing up the stairs with a collection of castle staff.
She was late, as might have been expected.
“No matter how untraditional a person's birth…” Haruka’s lip curled as he read, “...or how manifestly unfit their past actions have rendered them since…”
...
With no way to ford the courtyard, the intended princess and her accompaniment had climbed to a balcony opposite the parapet. They clustered behind the railing: all in white except for a dark smudge that followed at a distance.
“We call on you to trust in the judgement of your leaders, who will chart our path through recovery to resilience, to newfound peace and prosperity…”
At this distance, their faces regarded him like surf-washed pebbles, indistinguishable from the crowd except for that garishly colored hair.
...
“It is after careful deliberation and with unimpeachable resolve that I present to you…”
Haruka swallows. He had believed that he would leave this earth behind him long before he ever entertained the possibility of speaking aloud the words that were to follow.
“...my son by birth, and therefore,” Haruka choked, “rightful heir to my estate…”
...
He looked to the heavens, wishing they might strike him down sooner than allow him to continue - but no one answered.
Closing his eyes, Haruka finished: “...the former messenger to our second prince, that man commonly known as...
did i tell you guys that i had a nightmare a few days ago, where my singular irl who likes danganronpa found my blog and said"wtf you're a kinnie?" and i-
