This story is part of the Wanderer series.
The wind blew vividly. The blazing red sky painted the palace courtyard deep orange. Four young boys in vibrant robes sheltered under the cherry blossom tree that leaned over the gentle hill. Each of them lounged in their own manner under the last rays of the setting sun. Cedryck, the eldest among them, leaned back against the trunk of the tree, arms crossed, face shaded. Hibiki sat slouched forward, chin rested on his knees with his arms hugging his legs. Wan and Hayate laid with their backs in the grass, hands behind their heads, Wan propping a foot in the air with the other knee. The two of them ardently chatted with each other.
“Man…” Hayate sighed with a groan. “Why can’t we just have the palace to ourselves without any of those non-magic henchmen snooping around?”
“Junior, you have it easy,” Wan shot back. “Every time I am punished, I have to clean the Great Hall. Without a dou—”
“You think that’s hard?!” Hayate interrupted. “I have to dig holes and lift stones! Without my magic!”
Wan turned his head in the other direction and made a face, silently moving his mouth up and down to mock Hayate’s rambling.
“And you’re complaining about sweeping up a big room while I have to build palaces! All while being watched by that son of a—”
“You two are too loud,” Cedryck grumbled.
Hayate tilted his head far back, his spine slightly lifting off the ground as he glared at Cedryck upside down.
“Huh?! What did you say?!” he shouted, wide mouthed. “I couldn’t hear you!”
Slouching and dipping his chin further into his knee, Hibiki closed his eyes and slanted his eyebrows. “Ced is right… You’re too loud,” he mumbled.
Hayate turned his glare towards the boy. “Don’t echo him, you junior!”
“Hibiki is older than you,” Wan reminded.
Lowering his chin and flattening his back to the ground, Hayate brought in his elbows while keeping his head clutched and repeatedly kicked the air. “Agh-gah-gah-gah! I’m being attacked by all of you! This is not fair!”
Cedryck raised his head and looked up the hill. The short and stout Juro walked towards the group as Hayate pitched and screamed.
“How unusual for you to join us outside,” Cedryck remarked.
Clasping his hands behind his back, Juro came to a stop. “General Tatsuo has summoned the two of us.”
Cedryck expelled an interjection of annoyance. “What does the man want now?”
“He wants to hear a report of today’s progress.”
“Did not Princess Miyako tell him that beyond sunset hours was outside his authority of this palace?” he sighed. “Do not report back to him. We are resting.”
Juro dipped his head, briefly closing his eyes. “I did not intend to. I figured you would ignore his order.”
“Yes. If he wishes to play games and treat us like children, then we shall do the same. He summoned the two of us because he knew Akasuki would snitch on him to the princess.”
“Shall I file another complaint?”
“Don’t give the man a damn,” said Cedryck. “It is certain he despises all Wanderers alike. I would not disturb the princess over his petty behavior.”
“That man hates all magicians!”
Cedryck and Juro looked up to see Hayate with his head tilted back again, butting into their conversation.
“Why can’t the princess find someone else who could show us an ounce of respect?!”
“Do not call them magicians,” Cedryck reminded. “Call them weavers.”
“Yeah, yeah yeah…!” Hayate grumbled, tilting his head back down and shutting his eyes in annoyance. “Geez, I can’t have a proper conversation with anyone here!”
…
Up in the laboratory, the golden rays of sunlight retreated closer and closer towards the eastern wall of the room, leaving Miu’s portion of the table devoid of sunlight. Glancing up from her writing, she stared at the horizon for several moments, silently watching the flaring clouds pass in front of the sun. Finally, she tapped her quill on a wet cloth and wiped the tip, setting it down and corking shut her ink bottle. As she got up out of her chair, Meru and Aliah looked up from their books, staring at their mentor from the other end of the lab.
“That will be all for today,” Miu chimed. “Thank you for your hard work.”
The two of them silently nodded, sliding their ribbons between their pages and shutting their books. They wiped their quills as well, setting them down on their parchments, scribbled with nothing but barely legible keywords and page numbers.
Miu looked over her shoulder, then the other, before fully turning around and glancing around the room.
“Where is Kaori?” she asked the two girls.
Aliah and Meru glanced at each other, then towards the lab door.
Meru was the first to speak up. “I think I saw her go into the study room,” she peeped.
Exiting the lab and shutting the door behind them, the three of them walked through one of the library aisles into the center of the study. Looking over the mezzanine, Miu saw no one else but Akasuki sitting at his desk, intently reading one of the many scrolls he had stretched open. He looked up when Miu addressed him.
“Akasuki, dear? Have you seen Kaori dear?”
“No,” he replied, leaning back in his chair. “I thought she was with you in the laboratory.”
“Strange. She was absent.”
“Then, she should be around here somewhere. I did not see her leave.”
Miu drew a hand up to her chin and propped her elbow on her other arm. Then, feeling a tug on her sleeve, she turned around to see Aliah, silently beckoning one or two aisles towards the stairs. Walking over and glancing down the columns of books, she saw a small silhouette, sitting on the floor with a pile of books nearby.
Walking towards the girl, she was unresponsive, her head leaning against the shelf and chin tucked in. She had a book open in her lap, propped up by her bent legs and held open with a loose hand. Miu took a closer look at Kaori’s face and saw her lips parted, eyes closed, her chest slowly rising up and down. Smiling, Miu crouched down and gently slipped the book out of her hand, laying it on the floor and closing it shut with another book between the pages she was reading. Then, Miu slipped off her long outer robe and placed it on top of the sleeping girl, tugging up on the corners to make sure it properly wrapped around Kaori, up to her neck.
Standing back up, Miu faced the twin girls, who watched her, and smiled, bringing a finger up to her lips. The two of them silently nodded, and followed her out of the aisle and down the steps.
At the bottom, Miu addressed Akasuki again, who paid her heed as she walked down.
“Kaori dear has fallen asleep in Aisle 10-8,” she winked. “I tucked her in.”
He nodded. “Let her rest, then. She worked hard these past few days.”
Bringing her hands to a clasp in front of her, Miu dipped her chin down. “Then, we shall retire. Good night, Akasuki dear.”
Meru and Aliah did the same. “Good night,” they said simultaneously.
“Good night,” he returned. “Thank you for your work today.”
The three of them turned and left the study, the room falling silent after the large entrance door creaked shut. Akasuki returned to his reading, but only briefly, eventually looking up again towards the windows as the last glimpses of sunlight glimmered behind the distant mountains. He sat still, hands clasped in front of his face, admiring the sunset, until the last bits of light disappeared. Returning his gaze to his desk, he drew towards him the candle tray, lit a match, placed the glass cover on the tray and set the burning candle in the nook of his desk, continuing his reading.