Reborn: The New Empress

It"s been almost a day and Sayori still hasn"t woken up. Mother called me to the audience chambers. When I got there, she and father were already waiting for me. I knew what they wanted me to do. My mother and father don"t take abuse like what happened to Sayori too lightly. My mother dealt with the same abuse when I was young. I wasn"t around to witness it since back at that time, I wasn"t even allowed to see my mother. I don"t hold it against my father because everything is different now.

"Son, you"ve seen what happened this morning. I want you to find out who is behind this although at this point, it"s already quite obvious." Father said. I gladly accepted my duty and was about to leave to start my investigation when my mother stopped me.

"Sweetpea, I know that this weighs heavy on you since you have feelings for Sayori but please do try to be fair and just in your decisions. Do not let your emotions cloud your sense of proper judgement." Mother said. I felt embarra.s.sed from what she said. My face became hot and I had to look down to hide my blushing face.

"Mother…" I started but I didn"t know what to say. She was right; I do like her. Why am I trying to deny what"s already obvious. Even my parents know but why do I keep holding back. I bowed my head at my parents before leaving the room.

"Have you saved that man"s family?" I asked my guard who met me by the doorway when I was on my way to the dungeon where we kept the man who supposedly kidnapped the general"s daughter.

"Yes, your highness. What he said was true. They were kidnapped and the man was forced to confess to a crime he did not commit. He said a masked man came into their home and took his wife and kids away and told him to follow his instructions." My guard told me the current situation.

"Did you find the masked man?" I asked. My guard shook his head. I already expected that it won"t be easy to find him. I instructed them to protect the family and to watch over them. I"ll be expecting that masked man to show up and finish his business since they were caught. I gave my instructions to my men. Just when I was done, Eiji showed up. He knelt in front of me.

"I"m at your service, your majesty. If you may, please allow me to join the investigation." He said with his head down. I was reluctant on allowing him since I"m very suspicious of his behaviour right now.

"For what? You dare to make it right even when you ignored her when she was being wrongfully accused?" I was angry at him. Sayori is his fiance and yet he didn"t even bother helping her when she needed it the most. How can he even be considered as someone dear to her when all he did was side with her father and completely turn away from her. The mere thought made my blood boil.

Eiji was silent. He couldn"t even offer reb.u.t.tal to my argument. I tried to think of this in a positive light. Maybe he was just swayed by his loyalty to Sayori"s father. Even so, I can"t forgive him. Not yet.

"You are not to take part in the investigation nor are you allowed to visit Princess Sayori. You will stay in the training camp to help train the new recruits. Do you understand?" I said. I made sure my orders were clear and that I won"t be easily persuaded. Eiji knelt in front of me and accepted his duty. He left as swiftly as he came in. I turned on my heel and dismissed my guards. They should start investigating the matter and I"ll probably hear from them soon. Right now, my priority is Sayori.

I pa.s.sed by the kitchen to grab some porridge and water for Sayori. Mother asked Sumire to watch over her while I was away. When I arrived back to her room, she was still unconscious. SUmire stood up and greeted my by the door when she saw me come in.

"Onii-san, how was everything?" She asked. I put down the bowl of porridge down by the bedside table and I patted her head.

"Everything will be fine. You should rest. I"ll be the one to stay here for now. Thank you for doing this, Sumire." I said. She smiled at me and looked back at Sayori one last time before leaving the room. I sat down next to the bed where Sayori was laying. I wonder when she"ll wake up. I hope it"s soon.

"Have you really forgotten our past, Sayori?" I asked while stroking her hair. As I look at her, flashes of memory come back to me. It was at the time when the Imperial family was still unstable and I wasn"t allowed to meet my mother. Sayori would stay with me whenever I felt sad about not seeing my mother. She would comfort me, and play with me when no one else wanted to.

"Please remember me…" I whispered. I held onto her hand while I prayed to the G.o.ds to bring back her memories. I don"t want to keep holding myself back when she"s within my reach. Just as I closed my eyes, I felt her hand twitch.

"Sayori?" I stood up from where I was sitting and I held her hand in mine. Slowly, her eyelashes started to flutter and she opened her eyes. I felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my chest.

"Yukio…" Her voice cracked when she mentioned my name. I got so excited that I hugged her but I immediately stopped when I realized she was still injured. She slowly sat up and looked at me. She blinked her eyes a few times before she jumped onto me and hugged me. I was confused on why she hugged me all of a sudden but it"s not like I"m complaining.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She was still silent. She just hugged me tighter. I wrap my arms around her and hugged her too. I could feel her warmth on my skin and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"I"m sorry…" She whispered.

"Why are you sorry?" I asked. I was getting more and more confused about what was happening. She didn"t answer me. She just kept her arms around me. I slowly pulled her arms away and I cupped her face.

"I don"t understand what"s happening but if you want to tell me something, you can just tell me. I"ll always be here for you." The look in her eyes said it all. Tears were welled in her eyes as her hold on me got tighter. She didn"t answer me so I just let her be until she fell asleep in my arms. I wonder what"s going on in her head. Could she may have remembered something about us?

[The Princess" View]

I woke up with a throbbing headache. This time, Yukio wasn"t around. I felt embarra.s.sed when I first woke up a few hours ago. The moment I opened my eyes and saw Yukio, I felt like my body wasn"t mine but I still had the same familiarity when I felt all those emotions. It felt as if Sayori"s soul was momentarily back. The memories I retrieved must"ve triggered Sayori"s heart to make me feel what she felt. But I couldn"t shake off the embarra.s.sment. I felt my face getting hotter the more I think about it and I don"t have any idea how to face him now.

"Sayori?" A familiar voice came from behind the door. It was Yukio. I quickly hid under the blankets to hide my blushing face. He came inside the room and I heard him place something on the table near the bed. He tapped my back and I jumped from the contact.

"I know you"re awake." He said. I refused to uncover myself as I stayed silent.

"Since you"re awake, please have some water and food. You must be hungry." He said. I still didn"t respond but my growling stomach gave me away. I hear him chuckle and it made me blush even more. I pulled the covers away from me and I looked at him. He was smiling at me and that made me remember the visions I saw when I was unconscious. It was Sayori"s memories the day before she was poisoned.

[Flashback]

Yukio and I agreed to meet at the old sakura tree by the river. When I arrived, he was already there waiting for me. He was dreamily looking up at the night sky.

"Have you been waiting long?" I asked. He turned his head toward me and a smile formed on his lips.

"Not long." He quickly made his way to me and enveloped me in his embrace. I was surprised but it was something normal for the both of us.

"You"re being extra clingy today. Are you okay?"I asked jokingly. He pulled back and looked into my eyes. There was desperation in them. I felt inside of me that there was certainly something wrong. I held his hands in mine.

"What"s wrong?" His sullen look made me worried. He tightened his grip on my hands.

"I wish I told you sooner." He said. He was being incredulously vague that it made me lose my temper.

"What is it, Yukio? Tell me!" I said with my voice raised. He looked away but his hands were still on mine. My heart was pounding. Could he be confessing his feelings? Did he muster enough courage to finally tell me? There was excitement thrumming in my chest.

"My father has decided to marry me off to the Empire in the north." He said. I felt as if a bucket of ice water was poured all over me. My body trembled and my heart sank. I immediately let go of his hands. I covered my mouth with my hands to stop myself from crying out. I didn"t know what to say or what to feel.

"Sayori…" He called out to me but I didn"t want to listen. It was stupid of me to think that Yukio liked me. I shouldn"t have expected my best friend to fall in love with me. It was just me. I thought we felt the same way but I was wrong. But it hurt even more to hear that he"s going to marry someone else.

"Sayori, please don"t cry. Let me explain." He said as he tried to come near me. I stopped him from coming closer. I wiped my tears away. I tried to pull myself together to tell him that I was happy about it.

"No, it"s okay… I hope you"re happy about that. It"s okay because… I"m engaged too, right? So, we"ll be the same…" I said with a shaky voice. Tears were still streaming down my face and I couldn"t stop them. I took a step back trying to distance myself from Yukio.

"I would"ve chosen you if I could." He said. I felt like my world was on the brink of collapsing and when I heard him say that, it made me cry even more.

"Please don"t try to comfort me with lies." I said. He shook his head and made his way in front of me. His hands held mine and he looked into my eyes.

"I"m sorry I didn"t tell you. I wanted to but I saw how excited you were when you found out that you were going to marry Eiji and I knew that I wouldn"t stand a chance. I couldn"t let my selfishness get in the way of our friendship." He said. My heart ached from his confession. I didn"t know what to do.

"All this time, I wanted to be with you. I wanted it to be you but I didn"t want to ruin anything. You"re my best friend and I don"t want to lose you just because I let my emotions get the best of me." He explained. I pushed him away from me and I took a few steps back.

"I wanted it to be you too… I"m sorry." As the words fell out of my mouth, I turned on my heel and left. I heard him calling for me but I kept on walking. n.o.body knew of our secret. We met in secret and now there won"t be a secret meeting ever again.

[End of Flashback]

When I got home that day, I cried my eyes out. A few months pa.s.sed and I was poisoned and when I woke up, I was someone different. I didn"t have all her memories but it gradually came back to me. As I held the congee bowl in my hand, I try and think back to the time when Sayori and Yukio were still okay. I wonder how Sayori never noticed the way Yukio looked at her. Anyone could see his loving gaze towards Sayori.

"Are you okay?" Yukio"s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked at him and nodded and then I took a sip of congee. Once I was done, he took the bowl from my hands and he cleaned up. I was left in the room to reflect on the memories I saw. There was no doubt in my mind and heart that Yukio was the one Sayori was truly in love with. I can feel it resonating inside me when I think about him. Without a second thought, I got out of bed and went through the window. I need to speak to Yukio where we ended our friendship.

The directions towards the old sakura tree was still fresh in my ind. It"s like I"ve never forgotten it. The tree was still there and the awful memory also came back to me. I"ll try to make things right. I have to. I knew Yukio would come back to my room and find that I"m not there. He"ll definitely know where I am.

"Sayori, if you can hear me, I promise I"ll make things right with Yukio. You have my word on that." I said out loud. No one"s around to hear it but I hoped that Sayori"s soul would hear me.

"Sayori?" I heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned to see an out-of-breath Yukio.

"I knew you"d find me." I said with a smile. Yukio"s face was worried and he made his way to me.

"What were you thinking?! Running away from the palace while you"re still injured?" He said. I looked him in the eyes as the feeling inside me swirled.

"Do you remember this place?" I asked. He looked at me and nodded slowly.

"Of course I do." He answered. I took his hand in mine and placed it on my cheek. Tears started streaming down my face as my emotions overflowed.

"I"m sorry about that night." I said in tears. Yukio pulled me closer to him and hugged me. I could hear his heartbeat as I placed my head to his chest.

"I should be the one to say sorry. I"m sorry I never told you about my feelings." He said. We were both quiet for a while. I mustered up the courage to say what I wanted to say.

"I still wish it could be you." I closed my eyes and focused on his heartbeat. The moment I said those words, his heart started to beat faster. His arms around me were tighter and I could feel his warmth.

"Wish granted." He said. My heart fluttered inside my chest. I"ve never felt happier.