Usagi looked out over the garden, watching as the birds played among the plants.
The fortress wasn’t too bad; well ... not after six months of work on her part.
Well, it was her work now; it had been Ranma’s.
When they had first arrived at the abandoned fortress, she had been a wreck. They had only two horses, and that was because he had tied one to the other, as he held her on his horse.
But he stayed with her, taking full care of her, as they set up keep. He stayed by her side as she cried for all those lost, all those who would likely never be seen again.
He was all that was left of her kingdom, of the ideals that her ancestors had built it on.
Well, him and the items he had been able to fetch when she was well enough to tend her own needs for a time. He was able to return to the ruins of the castle, acquiring furniture built for humans, supplies, and what books he could manage from the old library. Add to that a few animals that had been left on the farms when the farmers had fled, and you had what they now had.
If not for him, she would have either gone crazy or died. He taught her how to tend the crops, care for the animals.
She didn’t slaughter them. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Grabbing eggs, sheering wool, milking them; those she could do. But kill...? No, she couldn’t.
As he gathered intelligence on the ones who had attacked her kingdom, she had been able to at least fill in the missing information for him.
They were looking for the Ginzuishou.
Of course, the fact it was now forever lost to the world was their own fault. The Ginzuishou could only be wielded by the Queen of Silvermoon. It could be passed, but only from mother to daughter—a sad fact that usually ended up cursing the line to have but one child, and always female, to ensure legitimacy. A bond was supposed to be formed between mother and daughter so that if the Queen died, the Ginzuishou would go to the daughter.
But that bond is made on the wedding day of the daughter.
They had not even begun to seek out potential candidates for a husband for her, when the attack occurred.
So in a way, the Silvermoon kingdom was gone forever. She didn’t know of anyway to bring the Ginzuishou back, and Ranma had already planted the information about such for the enemy to find, to further dissuade them from searching for her.
He had promised her they would find a way to bring justice to those who had attacked.
That was what she liked best about him; that he always took the time to ensure she was happy, and not simply because of her former position. If anything now, he was a prince she had always imagined.
He even had a white horse to ride. It was named Billy.
That wasn’t what Ranma called the horse, of course. But, she didn’t know what he called it. She had ... never asked.
Closing her eyes, she opened them slowly, observing the room as it had appeared to her in her dreams.
Winter Solstice decorations covered the place, a warm fire burning. All around, several children of varying ages played on the floor, enjoying their presents, waiting for dinner to be finished. Each child had blue eyes and varying colors of hair.
She could see herself in the kitchen, belly bulging with yet another child, as Ranma came in with some more wood for the stove, stopping to kiss her as he went to play with the children.
Shaking her head to clear the images, she went back to working, preparing their home.
“Yes,” she said, “our home.”
Now, if she could just let him know she was ready for him to pursue her. For a guy who was a genius fighter, he certainly had no clue when a girl was telling him to basically come and get her.
Hopefully though, he would return soon with more supplies, as the seasons were changing soon, and with some more news of their enemy.
“Come back to me Ranma, come back ... my Prince.”
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(Posted Wed, 02 Aug 2006 00:23)
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