Kouen AU Oneshot

She had been on the most exciting adventures, experienced the worst of conditions, assisted in violent wars, seen most of this unexplored world, but never had she taken a job as absurd as this one.

Were it not for the favors, love, and close life-saving moments she owed General Sinbad, she would've slapped him, spat in his face, stepped on him and screamed, "You are not the boss of me!" But unfortunately, Sinbad was the boss of her, as much as he was her leader, idol, and foster father.

So that was how the revered magician of this small kingdom of Magnostadt, honorable assistant to the nation's great general, and a (debatably) lovable maiden ended up being the replacement for the currently missing young princess in her coming of age ceremony. Sinbad corrected her by calling it 'placeholder' but he was obviously being nice.

"Are you sure she was this small?" She was skeptical about her disguise. Having only seen the princess from afar or in paintings, imagining her appearance from the word of mouth did not particularly help her case.

"She's always been a recluse; no one pays much attention to this child. A few differences won't matter." Her father, Sinbad, stood behind the changing blinds. He held her magician robes, the kind offered to only the highest and most acknowledged. Being without them made her feel uncomfortable, but being in a dress made it worse. 'Girly' was not in her —or her father's— vocabulary, and Sinbad was never married despite his huge line of suitors. A woman's touch was something this two-person household lacked.

She was old enough to be considered a woman — already at the age of nineteen, but Sinbad never pressured her to marry unlike the girls that were sent off at ages as young as fourteen. Perhaps being widely considered as the most powerful woman in the kingdom helped lessen her share of men asking her hand. Or was it her father that drove them off before any wooing occurred in the boy's thoughts. He calls it training but the soldiers that even attempted to look at her always received a few extra laps and a couple more chores. Either way, she was glad. Romance sounded too fictional for her anyways, and seeing her father;s success without a partner reassured her determination to remain alone.

Sadly, such lucky and rare paths did not open up to everyone, especially for this missing young princess. Only the age of fourteen and she'll be exposed to the greedy eyes of royalty and nobles as a tool for alliance, power, and peace. For her, she has no say over her peopler because one word from her about love would be considered treason towards herself, or the law of her blood. For this young princess, romance was something she could never consider because she was taught to never have dreams in the first place. It was not the princess that rejected the thought of love from her heart; it was her people, her family, her blood.

Maybe that was why she ran away. The mage couldn't blame the princess because, as Sinbad taught her, blame goes nowhere and gets the blamer nowhere but to their own fault. And yet, this mage is looking at 'her' reflection — an image of this sweet, child-like princess, and cannot fathom why she would ever run away for love. It was simply not something she would give her position, her family, friends, and life for; nor would she abandon her responsibilities and expectations from others for this thing called love.

And now, look what she's done. Gone and thrown the entire kingdom upside down. The king is worried about the suspicions of nobles , and the general is up to the neck in paperwork just from secretly moving troops to hunt for her, in the name of 'training.' Part of the mage wished she could personally track down the young royal gal and slap some sense into her, but that was not in the job description. Her job was to sing the princess' tune until the real birdie herself decides to fly home, The mage doubted it. No bird would ever come back to its cage once it knew freedom — unless it was a pigeon. But the royal child was no carrier pigeon. Either that or the domesticated bird dies from being overwhelmed by the wilderness of freedom. Those that weren't born for something ought to approach cautiously.

A bird…she thought. This hideous dress makes me seem more like a peacock. Her father knocked on the cover twice, "You ready?" He inquired from the other side with anticipation. The magician could hear the smirk in his tone, knowing his daughter's dislike for fragile and girly things.

She sighed, dreading, "I guess." Coming from behind the blinds, she takes her gather's arm and he leads her to the main event.

It was time for her second coming of age ceremony.

Her father may be influential now, but a strong general meant that the kingdom was in war. This probably created pressure for the young princess that ultimately ran away. The was was at its climax and they really ought to maintain its image to uphold public morale. Another reason why the magician dislikes the irrationality of the princess. No matter how young she was, this was what she was born and raised for — diplomatic trading cards.

It was not supposed to be her walking down this aisle, but the princess. It was not her whose head that tiara was placed on, but the princess. It was not her position that these men gaped at, but the princess. Lying to her people felt worse than not completing her job at this point, but she had promised Sinbad. She rose from her kneel in front of the king — her 'father' — and turned to face the applauding audience. She wondered, how much longer would I have t stay like this before the 'job' is over.

The king rambled on about neighboring alliances when suddenly, a crash entered her ears, followed by the turning of heads. It seemed that they all wondered where the accident had taken place. Merely a moment later, a second — but deafening — crash came from the high roof. A gaping hole had been dug out where the decorated dome should have been, and what replaced it were the claws of a terrifying creature — a dragon.

A dragon was rare in the world, but nonetheless was also the most successfully feared and worshipped creature under the skies. The ancients saw them as a godly presence while some ran from its terrifying size and strength.

General Sinbad knew better. Battle-hardened and experienced with wild creatures, he protectively shielded his daughter in disguise, along with the king beside her. Panic quickly spread across the hall and many of the attendants scrambled to the exit. The dragon's body was halfway through the roof and his attention focused on the small struggling crowd. Sinbad read the revered reptile quickly and ran to distract the dragon.

Such an action proved to be the general's greatest mistake when suddenly, the dragon directs his attention to the 'princess.' In an instant, she fell into his tightened grasp and in another, it flew away with the girl.

This was proved over and over again — that this was the most absurd job she had ever taken.

Married. She was now married; that was the job request from Life itself! But to this very moment, she was still not sure what had happened to her. She had been brought to — what she has determined as — an empire of her kingdom's enemy. This land was one of the major supporters of the other side. She often heard stories from Sinbad about how they used to be strong supporters of this empire, but changed when the war was launched.

The dragon had dropped her off at a grand castle and was received by servants. Constantly confused and shocked, she was dragged, cleaned, and dressed even more than she was before. After, she was brought to a church and back to her room, then left alone. But she wasn't dumb; she had ears and her attendants had no reason not to gossip about it.

"The emperor is marrying this girl? She's so young!"

"Well, his own dragon brought her in, so she must be fitting."

"But we don't even know her identity. This is bound to start rumors and bring hatred. Our emperor has a long line of admirers.

Marriage. And to the emperor. She would have escaped, were it not for the guarding reptile outside. No flight magic could ever come close to a dragon. Besides, the emperor would know who she was and her small kingdom would be over.

She couldn't help but swear; what else could she do now but wait?

By nightfall, an attendant came to her with food and information on the current it was from pity, but she was warned by the maid of her situation. From the rumors, the marriage was because the emperor's advisors had pressured him to take a bride.

"Why, he's only twenty nine! A new emperor couldn't do much to retaliate those old men, but geez. It's like they're the rulers. That big dragon outside may look like the baddest, but that thing may actually be the most loyal to his majesty."

She continued on about the man as the magician racked her brain for a plan. What would Sinbad do? She remembered his words, "Know the land and you'll know your enemy's hand." She never had a use for her old man's ramblings, but now, she was quite grateful. Soon, a plan formulated in her mind and her maid friend left her to rest.

And she did rest, because she needed it. Today was the day when she had her second coming of age celebration, rode a dragon, and got married. One hell of a job it was; she was tired.

The sun had not yet risen Good. Last night's sleep had done wonders for her mental health.

Now, she crept the dark halls while she casted spells to assist her coordination. After getting out of her disguise to alleviate the suspicion of any guards, her clothing formed from her magic. When she came outside, she stuck close to the walls. One reason was to avoid the guards atop the wall; the other was to find gaps to crawl out of. Her first justification was successful, the second: not so much.

She was beginning to lose hope when she came across a large pedestal. It had an entrance, but before she could approach it, a voice pulled her to a halt.

"You."

She froze.

"Who are you?"

She didn't know what to do, but had no choice that to turn and face the owner of the voice.

The imposing man repeated, "Who are you?" He looked stern, but handsome. His posture proved him to be someone of status and his crimson hair matched his black and red attire; the robe made him seem dignified.

She suddenly became afraid, this was no ordinary guard and his presence made the thought of being caught by a guard thousands of times more pleasant. However, she remembered that she was no longer the princess, but her nineteen year old self. She was the strongest woman she knew and that gave her the courage to reply.

"I'm a traveling shaman, but I got lost after following a vision."

Complete bull, but shamans were held highly in this world. The man's expression changed from suspicion to amusement. He was in thought as he repeated her identity. Shaman…Why had he not thought of it. She was here because of her vision, then there might be hope.

"Then, could you release the spell on this grave?"

"Huh?" She turned to face the 'pedestal.' True, there seemed to be a barrier even though the tomb was built to be entered. The entrance locked so inviting, especially if it were blocked. She hesitated, unsure of what kind of person would ever seal the monument of the deceased.

"I — I will do my best, but may I ask why? Her eyes travelled to the writing engraved in the large stone. Honorable and Brave Empress of Kou. This was the Empress's grave, and even doing anything to it would be a serious crime to the empire, not to mention an offense to the empress herself.

She watched the man, waiting for him to speak. The sub seemed to rise with his appearance and the sky began to dye a stunning shade of magenta. The orange light illuminated his face, and his features became clear. He spoke, "It's my mother's grave. I have a right to access it, but I haven't found a way to undo the damn curse. Not even Haku could do it.."

She was shocked, and was about to grovel in his presence when he urged her to hurry and do something about the said curse. She did, and approached the tomb. Raising her hand, she chanted. Soon, a light came atop the stone and began absorbing surrounding ruhk.

"Most barrier spells work this way. It's reflective layer is due to the lack of ruhk, so anything — and basically everything — will be pushed back by the discrepancy in ruhk. Try to force your way and you'll eventually tire out; worst case scenario: die." She looked at the emperor and saw that he was staring back at her. He seemed impressed, as he should be — she thought. She prided herself in her magical knowledge.

"So what is it that you did?" The red haired ruler prodded with raised brows. She beamed at his curiosity to know more, and his eyes widened slightly — not that she noticed.

"If enough things were thrown at it, the ruhk will slowly deteriorate the barrier. That dragon of yours might have physically broken it if her throw himself at the shield a couple hundred times. It's not the best solution, but it's a very possible and plausible one."

She paused to take a breath, and, knowing her solution would take a while, took a seat on the ground. He joined her on the grass, assuming she knew what she was doing. Her tone sounded passionate and inviting; strangely, he was at ease with her. It was a much needed change in pace than to have to hear the nagging of those old geezers. Not only were they annoying, they were also forceful and picky, impatient and never satisfied. They always seemed to be disappointed with him. God, he wished he could fire them, but their personality was never a good reason to get rid of someone so invested in running the nation. He watched her speak, and somehow felt pained at his marriage the day before. Was it too impulsive of him to just take a bride? Would he regret it? He's asked himself those questions this whole week, and now, it seemed like fate had played a prank on him. He was about to get what he's always wanted after his ascension to the throne a year ago: to open his mother's tomb, but why was he so unsettled in his heart? This shaman seemed to stir more in him than just his hope.

"As for what I did, I'm currently gathering ruhk closer to the barrier that it will wear down the spell faster. At this point, it shouldn't be long until the walls come down." She smiled at him.

He hummed at her enthusiastic explanation. Again, she caught him staring and immediately remembered her position. She shifted to a kneel quickly and bowed while trying to apologize. He stopped her before she could say anything, his hands were on her arms.

Again, they made eye contact, yet this time, the emperor didn't let go. She felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks, and didn't understand why. Her indifference to nobility and royalty has always kept her composed, so why now? What was it about this particular man? Then again, he did a lot of things she didn't understand, like how he looked at her as if she had something on her face, or when he acted shocked whenever she seemed to smile slightly wider. No one was as reactive or attentive towards her as he was. And she's only interacted with him for a moment!

Their gazing came to a stop when a small explosion came from where she had left her spell. They both turned their attention to the noise which made him finally released his grasp. She backed away, the blush redder and more noticeable than ever. He noticed and rubbed the back of his neck. God, he felt like a teenager again.

Nonetheless, the two recovered from their embarrassment and left the awkwardness behind by laughing it off. They moved closer to the tomb.

She spoke up, "Well, it should be the way they left it, before the spell was ever laid. Go ahead, I'll wait. It's not my position to intrude the dead or your mother-son relationship."

The emperor deemed it reasonable and decided to make it quick. He was curious and wanted to genuinely know more about this mysterious woman. She became a much bigger enigma than whatever was sealed off in his mother's tomb. The man had went in when the guards began to make their early morning patrol duties. Seeing this, she had no choice but to run back to the princess' room. If the castle was waking up, the 'princess' had to be in her chambers.

When the emperor exited in anticipation, he was greeted with silence. His encounter with the magician made him wonder if he had just spoken to a fairy.

Guilty. She felt terribly guilty for leaving that man like that, but either way, she had lied! Not even abandoning her job would have made her feel as guilty as abandoning the red head!

Oh, what had he done to make her feel this way? What had this job gotten her into? She was now guile of being a liar!

Privately, she offend the emperor, her 'husband' by saying she would wait. Publicly, she lied to her own kingdom and the Empire of Kou that she was the princess who in truth was missing!

As if things could get any worse! Like how fate had spat on the emperor's marriage decision, a dozen guards barged into her room to arrest her.

Oh no! She thought. They had realized her identity, didn't they?

Kouen was enraged. He felt betrayed by his advisors when they planned things without him. He, who told his own dragon to bring back the princess, actually learned that the real princess was dead!

"Clarify!" He demanded, trying to hold back his growl. Haku, his dragon, copied from afar, making the advisors tremble. Their presence felt even smaller in this giant throne room. One of them stepped forwards, afraid to look at his king in the eye, and repaired, "Your servants only wanted the best for your majesty, so he hastily made arrangements to fetch the princess. However. she had managed to escape our sight and unfortunately died by the time we found her. Please, forgive us, your majesty."

He closed his eyes, thinking. Quickly, he told his trusted servant to hush anyone that knew about yesterday's marriage with the 'princess.' It was a private ceremony and only a select few was aware of it. However, this turn of events left him with a headache.

Calling one of his closer, more trustworthy advisors, he informed him of his predicament. There was an impersonator and the emperor currently had too much on his plate to care. His mother's tomb must be explore, and this news gave him hope for the girl he saw this morning.

On this sunny day, the emperor locked himself in the tomb.

She was thrown into a dungeon jail cell, interrogated, then chained to the wall. She wasn't left alone for a while either, so her magic could not be reveal — else the whole nation would consider her more dangerous than she was already.

It wasn't until late noon that anyone of importance came to question her once again. She judged this man to be an advisor by his attire and how the guards referred to him. But this man seemed cruel. He hadn't even flinched at the sight of a fourteen year old girl hanging by the chain attached to the wall. He even asked for a cowhide, which she had flinched upon hearing. This man was crazy! For the first time, she began to feel fear towards another human.

"So…" he examined the leather rope, "who are you."

It wasn't a question, but a demand. She was smart enough to answer him, "I'm just a replacement they hired to maintain the place of the princess until she got back! If you looked closely, there are slight differences between us! I'm a mere lookalike!"

A whip came down on her stomach. It stung. Tears threatened her eyes, but she held back her scream in fear that it would only encourage the man further. "This isn't how the interrogation works, princess. You're supposed to refuse until you're about to break, so I could show the emperor how much weight I put on getting answers. And at least make a better, more shocking story, won't you?

Insane. This asshole was insane! He whipped her a few more times and finally, a pained cry resounded in the dungeon. The guards looked down as if they didn't see what was happening. He continued speaking, "But that's alright. You can just stay here as appearances. Of course, if anyone could recognize you, we could make something up. Little would people know that the real princess is dead."

The news shocked her. If her father ever caught news of this, he would worry endlessly by thinking it was her. She lost that thought when the leather struck her again.

"The princess that the emperor was supposed to marry, she was important. She had enemy blood, and not just from now small kingdom line, either. It took us a while to find where she was, since she was protected and sent away. But she was the child of our biggest enemy. If she married into our empire, why, it'd be like their side offered a sacrifice! Either way, we would've had an upper hand, but you! You had to come along and mess thing up. You ought to fix it, too… You, as the 'princess,' is now of royal blood, so you should reflect on how you should act the role." He paused to catch his breath, "But you won't really have much power. After all, what would happen to you if the public found out that someone of lowly status had killed the princess out of jealousy to take the throne! The least horrible thing would be to have you publicly hung!"

The man threw the whip aside and left in hysterical laughter. She fell into unconsciousness from begin worn out by the numbing pain, her face streaked with tears.

The emperor rummaged through the papers in cold sweat. He hadn't expected to find so much evidence in his mother's tomb. Now, he had a fairly clear idea who placed this spell in the first place. He also had evidence against them, against them all. After this, he would only have a handful of people he could trust. The opening of the tomb had to remain a secret to himself and the shaman girl only.

Defeated, he made his way our of the tomb, and walked back to his quarters. It was near dark at this point; he had spent an entire day in there. But right after he exited the tomb, he heard a low hum. Turning to face the sound, he was met with a glow atop his mother's tomb, the same place where the girl had left her spell.

The glow started moving towards him; he backed off with caution until he realized it wasn't coming after him. It passed his body and — he could have sworn he saw the image of his other, as phenomenal as it was — followed it. The light had not failed to bring him to the dungeon.

He wasn't sure why he was led here, but this was the supposed 'princess' he had wed the day before. He broke into cold sweat when he saw the girl's condition. He had not imagined his order to cause her so much harm.

She stirred and he stepped back as he continued to examine her. The guards were excused by him moments ago, so the two were now alone.

When the magician's mind cleared, she caught the glimpse of a fancy robe. Rich attire in the dungeon did not give her happy memories. But now, she could care less. Sleep or no sleep, this made her exhausted; she didn't think she could hold on any longer. Her head was down and she was about to return to her slumber when she heard a voice, "Were you envious?"

Ah, it's soothing- like her father's. Was she dreaming? With her smallest trace of remaining strength, she hummed in response, not that she was aware what the man said. Irritated, the emperor chose to elaborate, "Were you envious of the princess? It's the only possible explanation."

He didn't understand why he went through such lengths just to hear from her when he could know her reason from his advisor.

Ah, she thought, so it was just another interrogation.

Jealous, it was a strange concept for her. Perhaps the answer might have been 'no' before she met the emperor. But now, she was jealous for another reason. She answered her questioner, "Yes, because she is dead."

He scrunched his brow; she continued, "and I am not." Now leave me alone. Hell, don't you feel bad for the princess already? She had so much potential, and yet…

Hearing her latter words, he was taken aback. Just what had his advisor done to her? He told her, "You're crazy for thinking that." Partly, it was his empire that was at fault and he was prepared to give his advisor hell for it.

But her, she was mad. How unreasonable was this man to assume that one wouldn't wish to die in a torture chamber? She felt her energy burning out as her anger came. With her last effort, she sneered, "If I'm mad, then you may as well be the emperor."

He wanted to point out her spot-on joke, but panicked when her head dropped even lower. Her body went limp and a light covered her. Her spell had worn off with the last of her energy, and the emperor's eyes widened when he came face to face with the magician.

It was her.

The misunderstanding f the dead princess was cleared in no time, and so was the Kou administration. The very system of advisory was cleansed by the emperor himself using the evidence he found in his mother's tomb.

It was regretful, but he had to let go of a number of useful advisors — those he thought could have been trusted. His dragon friend had helped a lot in the process, who had also befriended his wife and now, empress of Kou. The two hit it off quite well, considering how she almost died in him arms because of him. He would not have been offended even if she demanded to leave with a peace treaty for her kingdom.

But she chose to stay by his side when he needed companionship the most.

"How would you know I'm not plotting with one of your advisors?"

"My advisors won't send someone that ignorant."

"Hey!"

"Besides, you could open the tomb to their end. Were they to know that, they would have taken out all evidence."

"But you don't even know who I am!"

"True, love, but that does not mean I cannot start now. After all, we are married."

"That d-didn't count. It was forced, and I was in disguise! T'was not me you married!"

He pouted at her denial, and she was at a loss of what to do. This was a completely different man than the one she met before the empress' tomb — not that she disliked it.

Her strange urge to make this man feel pleased, however, dominated and made her turn her head away from him. "If it is a marriage with me that you seek, you must speak with my father first. He will always have a say in my relationships."

He paused, "So you are saying, if your father disapproves-"

"Then, you can say 'farewell.'"

"That's … hardly fair."

"Father is a fair man, that I can attest."

"Not when you consider the fact that the man asking to wed your daughter is the same man that kidnapped her…"

"He will understand the reason. He listens to reason."

"Then he will think of me as unloyal."

"How so?"

"I- uh. I did fall for you as a married man."

Her blush grew shades redder than the tint on the emperor's cheek. She could not help but think this man as a natural womanizer, despite his claim of never being near women.

With her reddened face, she held a cup to her lips and took a sip. He, on the other hand, fetched a piece of parchment and immediately began scribbling away.

She inquired, "What are you writing?"

"An invitation."

"To whom? For what?"

He smiled, a gleam in his eyes, "A marriage invitation, to the general of Magnostadt."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "So you did know!" Her cheeks puffed up in playful anger.

He laughed, "It's not that common to hear of a beautiful and powerful magicians out in the streets." He winked at her — his flirting always put her on edge, but she'd wished it never end.

End.