[November 2009] [Free Word Count] [Theme: Thank You]
Title: Running for the greater good
Author: beyondthemoor on LJ

Genre: humour
Word Count: approx 690
Rating: G

Characters: Shuurei, Shouka, Seiran, Ryuuki
AU/Cannon: Cannon
Theme: Thank You

AN: For the November 2009 prompt over on the saiun_challenge LJ comm.

"Kou-san!"
"Kou-dono!"

"Kou-san!"

Shuurei's breathing was getting hoarse as she heard the latest round of admirers close in on her in the palace courtyard. The cries resonated behind the desperate young woman as she scrambled to find a place to hide.

Damn her uncle for announcing her birthday congratulations in the court bulletin that morning! She'd been pursued by suitors ever since!

She was going to give him the lecture of a lifetime the next time she saw him, she decided.

But she paused (mentally – physically she raced around a corner and narrowly leapt over a guardrail, her court attire flaring around her for a moment as she caught air and then landed in a perfect crouch before setting off again like a wild hare) and reflected on her hasty decision a moment. No; confronting Uncle Reishin in person would only encourage him, since it would lead to him trying to get her attention again some other way afterwards. Oh, he was definitely off the birthday dinner guest list that night!

Shuurei grit her teeth and pumped her arms, forcing herself to keep running. This tears it; she would bully Seiran into giving her endurance training that very evening, once everyone had retired. It was obvious she needed to learn how to run in order to survive her day.

Argh! Most of the officials on her tail weren't even trying to impress her, she lamented internally. They were trying to gain the Emperor's favour by doting on one of his favourites. She wanted to scream at the idiocy of the whole situation.

She darted behind one of the tall, wide pillars she passed, moulding herself to its smooth surface, and held her breath as the herd trampled past. Her chest and lungs ached, her mouth was dry, and she could taste something metallic and coppery when she tried to swallow. She needed to find a place to rest…

"Shuurei! Shuurei! Is it true it's your birthday? We didn't know! Can you ever forgive Us? Shuurei!"

Oh no….

Swallowing a moan of frustration, the young woman prepared herself for the inevitable.

If there was one person who was more determined than her uncle to celebrate anything about her, for any ridiculously minute reason he could come up with, it was Ryuuki. She'd managed to talk him out of conjuring up 'Lady Tutor Appreciation Day', 'Beautiful Manjuu Enjoyment Week', and most recently, 'Kou-red As the New National Colour' festivities, but she had a bad feeling it would take a lot more to discourage him from making her birthday a national holiday. (And Shuurei knew he'd do it, too, if only so he could get out of court long enough to spend said day with her).

Shoulders shaking and hands fisted at her sides, Shuurei bowed her head in defeat. There was no outrunning the Emperor.

Taking a deep, slow breath, she took a step forward—

--only to be pulled gently back by a warm hand on her wrist.

The young woman spun around, surprised, and nearly fainted with relief when she saw Seiran with a finger to his mouth, indicating silence. He nodded his head behind him and tugged her arm, closing his hand over hers.

Nodding mutely, she glanced back—saw a swish of purple robes from the corner of her eye, which decided her—and followed her silver-haired rescuer. With a quick squeeze of his hand, she communicated her thank you! to him, which made him smile.

He delivered her promptly to the archives, then set about redirecting his younger brother with a false lead ("I'm sure I saw her heading towards the gardens…"), leaving her safely in her father's care for the afternoon.

Not that it took the rest of the court officials long to find her there, but with Shouka offering them all a steaming cup of tea at the archives' threshold, Shuurei managed to curl up on a bench and nod off for a few minutes amid the terrified screams of her fellow colleagues.

Posted 17-18 January, 2010. END.