Saiunkoku: The Age of Silver: Dragon's Whisker

[branchandroot]

Fic post from my archive.

Dragon's Whisker

Civil war erupts, and Seien returns. Drama with Angst, I-4

There were screams in the roar of voices, now, and Shuurei flinched from the sound, drawing closer against Seiran, looking up at them both with wide eyes. "Is it..." she had to stop and swallow, "is it really going to be all right?"

Comments

[majochan.livejournal.com]

I'M SO GLAD I CAME HOME FOR LUNCH!

*squees incoherently*

I hope I got first comment...but anyhow. Much love and glee, and such.^^ The conversation with the emperor gave me chills *shivers*.

Majo

[branchandroot]

*extremely pleased* Wonderful! I was hoping Senka would come over kind of alarming. *beams* I think this is probably my favorite, so far; I'm a sucker for putting characters through dramtic angst.

[majochan.livejournal.com]

OMG, I read it too fast and missed the 'cup of poison' reference. OMG. That is SO SEIEN.

.....I think I started thinking about the whole Emperor Seien AU things because I wanted Ryuuki to be free *hugs shiny OTP of Shuurei and Ryuuki*. But that way of putting it.....ouch. I want to cry for Seien. ;_;

Majo

[branchandroot]

*hearts* Poison is shaping up to be Seien's main concept of the courts. Poor guy. Though I am still laughing at the way he eventually comes to think of ruling (kind of like playing babysitter).

There will be shiny Ryuuki-Shuurei in the next story, to make us all feel better!

[written-in-blue.livejournal.com]

Oh, ow. God, poor Seiran. *pets him* Senka and Shou are ice cold, aren't they?

[branchandroot]

They really are. *pets Seiran* Poor guy; it doesn't take /all/ that long for him to realize how like his father he is, and that just winds him up in knots. *wry* Not that I'm writing that story as we speak, or anything.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

Well, more angst is always good, right? ::pleased:: It's okay, Seien, you have adorable Ryuuki and Shuurei to overload you with cute when you get too cold. If either of them alone was enough for you in-series, think of what both together could do!

[branchandroot]

*chuckles* Yeah, and when the Power of Cute fails, we have the Power of Bloodyminded Stubbornness, in the form of Seiein's advisors-to-be. Because sometimes Ryuuki is just a wee bit too uncritical of his beloved aniue.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

Incidently, I thought it was a nice segue on your part to Seien's future advisors, in the last installment. Forgot to mention it back then . . .

[branchandroot]

*beams* Thank you! I wanted Shoukun to get a promise from him, something that would help balance him, but something different than she gets him to promise in the novel. Because she's coolness incarnate, and sees all, and knows what her boy needs.

[visenya.livejournal.com]

While the conversation between Seiran and the emperor was very well done, I think it was the last scene that touched me most. To see him break down like that...poor Seiran. Also, poison cup imagery works wonderfully.

[branchandroot]

Thank you, I hoped that last bit would show the extent of how wrought up by it all Seiran is. *pleased*

[sparrow-wings.livejournal.com]

Dammit, you made me cry. This line in particular cuts deep: It wasn't politics he recognized, here and now. Also this one: better for him to take this cup of poison than leave it for Ryuuki. *sniffle*

[branchandroot]

*punches air triumphantly* Yes!

Ahem. I mean, sorry about that.

^_^

[falling-heaven.livejournal.com]

Nice story! =)
By the way, Senka is Seien's father (the Emperor), right?

[branchandroot]

Thank you!

Yep, Senka is Emperor-dad. *wry* I keep having to look up names of characters, as I write these.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

So things are well and truly on their way . . . very much happiness on my part to see this installment, with so much going on. You dealt sparingly with Senka, which I think was a very good choice, although I'm somewhat surprised that Shou wasn't aware of Seien's return (but then, I have some sort of bizarre idea that Shou knows most everything when it comes to the royal family, one that is certainly not proven. I may well give him too much credit).

I see, too, that you've changed the timeline a bit . . . I'm guessing one year with the Satsujinzoku, does that mean that Seien's spent four years living with the Kou Family of Cuteness, then? So Seien is currently . . . 17, 18? And Ryuuki's 10 or 11, and Shuurei's 7 or 8?

At least Shou is taking care of putting things back together again. I really like the silent communication between him and Senka. Senka, it seems, trusts Shou a great deal more than his sons end up trusting Shou. ;-) Long familiarity, perhaps, but one has to wonder how Shou's going to manage to re-establish himself at court when all's said and done . . . well, I'll leave that to him, anyway.

Seien's return, how exciting! I can't wait to see the reunion between him and Ryuuki. More time has passed than I originally thought while reading your stories (I thought in the beginning that you were starting right after Seien's return with the Kou family from Sa Province. Or was this in fact true and that stories since then have spanned a number of years?); I imagine it must have been very disorienting for Seien to see Ryuuki grown older. That's actually something I wonder about from the series: Seiran's first look at a mostly-grown-up Ryuuki, and his feelings at that moment . . . looks like I'll never find out, though, more's the pity.

Once again have rambled on far too much, my apologies. Looking forward to the next installment!

[branchandroot]

Oh no, feel free to ramble! It's great to have ideas to bounce off.

Yeah, Senka shows up twice, so far; short but sharp seems to be the hallmark of his stories. He's more than a little unnerving, even to me! *snickers* Shou, by contrast, gets frequent apperances, riling up the princes as he likes to do. I think Seien will accept him eventually, but he'll probably never /like/ the old fox.

*chews lip* Mm, I /think/ I'm sticking pretty close to canon timeline. One year with the Satsujinzoku, yes, and then four with the Kou, and the civil war eight years before Canon Start. So yeah, those ages. Shadow's timeline is what I'm going off of.

The first couple stories do span a few years, and I'm still working on when, exactly, I think each one happened. ^_^; The first one is probably within the first year Seien is with the family, the next three... I'm not quite sure, really. *wry* That's why I was cagey about giving any time markers much earlier than this. I think I'm going to have to figure that out by the time I do final revisions on those.

I would pay money to get inside Seiran's head the first time he sees Ryuuki as Emperor! I mean, he must have come to intellectual terms with the fact that his baby brother is the Emperor, but to actually /see/ him...

*bunny pops up and waggles its ears*

Not until this arc is done! *shoos it back into the corral*

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I hope you will allow this bunny out in due time. It's one I'd very much like to see, since that subject is one I think about often . . . another one of those poignant moments that makes my chest hurt in a most delicious way, so I've been hoping someone will attempt it. I don't feel equal to the task, myself.

[branchandroot]

Well, the bunny hasn't vanished overnight, so it may be a keeper. *considers* I think it would have to start with the moment Shou suggests that both Seiran and Shuurei come to the palace, because it seems like that would bring a whole lot of things he's done his best to more or less ignore and forget roaring back to the surface.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

Yes indeed. Ryuuki comments on how every corner of the palace just brings up bad memories for him; as soon as he walks onto the grounds Seiran's not going to be able to avoid remembering things. The good (Ryuuki), and a whole lot of the bad . . .

[penguin-sensei.livejournal.com]

Much, much love for this story, once again!

That's something I've always been wondering about, actually. After Shouka had the "conversation" with Shou in the "canon" story, what was he really thinking, knowing that he had Prince Seien at home and he could be a "worthy emperor"? I guess he didn't do anything because, just like the Ran clan, he thought that bringing back Seien would only make the civil war worse. I suppose it's the case. But hmm... still, I wonder. Also, what was Seiran thinking, when he saw the consequences of the civil war on people? I guess that's what I love most about your story; it addresses these questions, and the "what might have happened".

It makes me a happy penguin! <3

[branchandroot]

*hearts* Thank you!

Me too! The only thing I can think is that it really all turns on Seiran, and whether /he/ thinks he's worthy or suited to return; if he didn't, then I could see Shouka grimly determined to shelter him, no matter what. *sudden thought* And Shouka had, in canon, been teaching Ryuuki; maybe he also thought that Ryuuki's quality would shine through and Shou would see it soon.

Anyway, glad you liked it!

[hidden-gems.livejournal.com]

I completely second what Penguin said. I've always wondered what it must have been like for Seiran to see all that happening before his eyes, and you're bringing us possible answers with this wonderful AU series. Besides, angry!Seiran is a sort of a drug for me...

OMG can't wait for the next part!! Are they going to be reunited?? *bounces*

[branchandroot]

*sparkles* Oo, for you too? I love angry!Seiran.

And thank you! I'm having a great time with this arc. *chuckles* And my Ryuuki-muse is darn near ecstatic. They will indeed be reunited, in a whole lot of squishy cuteness!

[hidden-gems.livejournal.com]

Then I'll probably have to make sure I place a basin under my chair for when I melt from the cuteness ^^