ten facts about

SHINKOKAMI OF CONTÉ

1. Shinkokami would swear on any God that ever was that her mother-in-law to be was an old hag. Of course, she couldn't say it. She couldn't say anything bad about the troll, because it was custom that she respect the witch.

A week before the wedding, Shinko was sure there was no escape. Her kimonos were almost finished, and all the guests had been finalized. She was going to marry this young lad, but more so, she was giving her life away to his abominable mother.

It was up until then, that the true realization of a spit-second changing a person's life hadn't been actuated. When the imperial messenger arrived with the news that Shinko was to wed the heir apparent of Tortall; Prince Roald, she couldn't entirely contain her glee.

Because Thayet the Peerless wasn't a troll, she fought them.

2. The emperor's iron hand was legend, and Shinko could still remember the time when it was played onto her family.

Her mother had rushed into their chambers, telling Shinko to pack her bags quickly. Shinko had asked why, and for the first time, she saw the fear apparent on her mother's features. Some blood trickled through the threshold onto their floor.

"Pack."

The blood and fear never faded from Shinko's mind.

3. The strange Tortallans that landed on their coast struggled with the Yamani culture. The Yamanis watched them through polite faces, Shinko was one. She befriended Keladry out of the desperation of having no one else, and she remained friends with her out of the desperation of needing to have Keladry in her life.

One of the hardest things that Shinko had to do was watch the young Tortallan sail away.

But she couldn't cry, because crying was impolite.

But if a tear trickled down her face, her mother pretended she hadn't noticed.

4. Tortall was a strange and wonderful land for Shinko. The closer she got to Corus, the faster her fear changed. She was no longer afraid of her mother-in-law, but rather, her future husband. Shinko wanted to fall in love like the maidens in tales.

Because while the maidens got the opportunity to be swept off of their feet, princesses got the opportunity to do grand duties for their nations.

Shinko was lucky enough to be both maiden and princess.

5. Prince Roald was a pleasant surprise. At first, Shinko had worried, because he could hardly speak to her. The first night, Shinko prayed to the gods that he wasn't daft.

Then they had a small gathering with Raoul, and Shinko noted that the Prince was hardly daft. That night she prayed that she would make a good wife.

The gatherings continued, and Shinko had started to adore the way Roald set things out, and the way he was beginning to treat her. Following that realization, Shinko began to pray he felt the same way.

When he told Shinko it was love, she didn't pray about them anymore.

6. Shinko had always been told that easterners were ridiculously emotional, and that anger was never far away. Personally, after spending time in Tortall, she thought the assumption was not entirely accurate. After all, Roald had less of a streak for anger than she did. If he was angry, it was stony and silent; quite similar to Shinko's cold and icy.

One court function remained memorable as the night that Shinko and Roald were in an argument. To the majority of the court, it simply seemed that they were off a little bit from their normal cheerful selves.

"I've never seen Roald or Shinko that angry before." Keladry had made the comment to Yuki and Neal. Yuki had nodded in agreement, and watched the royal couple carefully. Neal had blanched.

"How you understand your wife, Meathead, I will never know."

7. It took Shinko awhile to realize how different her current culture was from her former one. No matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to really get rid of most of her Yamani ideals. Her mask remained firmly in place, even when she didn't try, just out of habit. Some had taken to calling her the 'faceless princess' due to her lack of emotion.

As she spent more time with the Tortallans, and they became proud of their queen-to-be, the phrase changed slightly.

No longer was she the 'faceless princess', she was the 'face of a princess'.

8. Shinko, after being with the court in Corus for awhile started to get concerned. Because King Jonathan and Queen Thayet were plainly made to be rulers – they were fascinating to watch really. However, Shinko was quite sure that when it came time for her to be Queen, she couldn't hold to the standard at which Queen Thayet had set.

When the current Queen started to come to her for advice, Shinko started to think that maybe she wouldn't be so terrible at it after all.

9. For awhile, there was a large pool on the gender of Shinko and Roald's baby, started up by (with no-one's surprise) Nealan of Queenscove. He had pegged on a boy, which he carefully deduced through historical examples of the Conté line. Many bets were made (some for fun, some out of seriousness) and neither Roald nor Shinko participated – watching had been entertaining enough.

When the baby was born, the biggest collector of them all was Lady Alanna. She later confessed to the Royal Couple that it was with Neal's help she had won.

"He was always hopeless with prediction – who knew it would make me rich?"

10. Fate, luck, blessed – all of those words Shinko attributed to her life. She was in love, with a beautiful daughter, in a realm who thought she would make a great queen. Whatever it was, Shinko was thankful, and not only because it kept her away from the terrible woman that would have been her mother-in-law.

Shinko learned to love Tortall with all her heart, and no matter what her Yamani training had taught her, she couldn't keep that emotion off of her face.

Thank you for the reviews! Every one made me smile, and it was nice to have something wonderful to see at the end of the day. As to the Evin Larse thing Swangal, he isn't dead, and when Buri went north to marry Raoul she put him in command of the Queen's Riders once she stepped down. Things have been really hectic here – it's harvest time (we farm) so it's really busy. I'm not sure who I'll do next - Shinko was on sort of a whim.

I hope you like Shinko though. (:

Until next time, lots of love,

QUITERIE -