31 Ch. 12 - The Start of the War (1/2)

[The Prince's View]

It's been a few weeks since I last saw Sayori. The memory was still fresh in my mind. I supervised the search for Sayori's body. Ever since that night, I haven't had the chance to close my eyes and rest. I can't rest now that Sayori hasn't been found. I don't care if it takes me weeks, months or even years. As long as I can't find her body, I'd believe she's still alive.

”Yukio, you should get some rest. It won't do your body good if you keep this up.” Mother entered my room carrying a tray of tea. I wasn't in the mood to drink tea nor sleep. I have to get back out there and look for her. I completely ignored my mother's words. She slammed the tray down on the table which startled me.

”Is this how you're going to be? I thought you were better than this, Yukio. I understand how you're feeling right now. It's hard but what if you found her but you die because you haven't taken care of your body? What would Sayori say? What would she do? Remember, she did all of those things to protect you and you can't even protect yourself?” Mother snapped at me. It was the first time she's raised her voice at me. I was in complete shock. She was right. I should take care of myself. I can't take care of Sayori if I fall sick.

”I'm sorry, mother. I… don't know what's happening to me. Losing her made me lose myself.” I said while trying to pull my hair out of frustration. Mother came up to me and held my hand.

”It's okay to feel that way, Yukio. But you have to be strong for her right now. Take care of yourself. I believe Sayori is out there and she's still alive. I feel it in my heart. I understand your frustration, when I saw you come back without her, I found myself feeling empty. It's like I lost a child of my own but I can't falter. You can't either. We're about to enter into a war. It'll be no good if you show weakness.” Mother reassured me. I nodded my head and I took the cup of tea from the table. I gulped it down and placed the cup back where I took it. I sat on the bed and then suddenly I felt sleepy. Like all of the fatigue in my body had finally caught up to me. Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

[The Empress' View]

”I'm sorry Yukio but you need to rest for now.” I didn't think that I'd have to do this to my own son. I gave him chamomile tea to relax his body and I put sleeping powder in it to help him sleep. He's been awake ever since Sayori disappeared. I took the tray of tea back to the kitchen. I went back to our room where Sora was. He was pacing the floor trying to think of a way to fight this war. He was deep in thought and I knew I shouldn't disturb him but there was something he needed to know. I came up to him and held his hand. He turned to me and a sigh came out of his lips.

”Are you okay?” I asked. He tightened his hold on my hand and planted a kiss on my forehead.

”I'm fine. How about you?” He asked. I looked down and shook my head.

”This has been the biggest conflict we've faced so far. I didn't want our children to experience such a thing but it's happening and Yukio is in the center of it.” I said. Sora pulled me close and he wrapped his arms around me.

”I know you're concerned, I am too. This was the one thing we were trying to prevent but it's still happening. As long as we're still standing here, I won't let them ruin the peace we've built in this Empire. I just need you and our children to stay by my side. You're the source of my strength and it'll destroy me if I lost you.” Sora said.

We've been married for more than 2 decades but he still hasn't changed. That's why I decided to stay here and be with him. This man was more than an Emperor of this Empire. He was a great husband and a great father to our kids. There's nothing in this world that could make me leave him. Especially now that our family will grow even bigger.

”I have something to tell you and I know this is the worst possible time.” I said. He put his hand on my cheek and I held it with my other hand.

”What is it?” I took his hand and placed it on my growing belly. I looked at him with loving eyes and when he realized what I meant, his eyes widened.

”You're with child?” He asked. I smiled and nodded, tears started to well in my eyes. Sora couldn't contain his excitement. He lifted me off the ground and carried me around the room. He carefully placed me on the bed and he sat next to me. He caressed the bump that started to show. I could see how happy he was and my heart melted. He placed a tender kiss on my lips and I felt the love he has for me and the baby inside me.

We decided to keep it a secret to Yukio and Sumire for the time being. The next morning, Sora immediately called for his advisers. He was planning on extinguishing the revolt as early as he can. I know he was doing it for me and for the baby.

”Good morning, Mother.” I was placing the dishes I cooked on the table when Sumire came in and greeted me. She still wasn't her usual jovial self. She was also affected by Sayori's accident. She quietly sat down on her seat. Yukio came in shortly.

”Good morning.” He said with a quiet voice. Sumire and Yukio were the same. They were deeply affected by what happened that up until now, they haven't been themselves. I urged them to start eating.

”You don't have to wait for your father. Let's have breakfast.” I said. Sumire and Yukio nodded and they started. I noticed that they were eating so little. It pained my heart to see my children being this sad. I want to take the pain away from them but I knew I couldn't.

”Yukio, I'll come with you to the ravine today. So please eat as much as you can. I don't want to keep worrying about you when we're looking for Sayori.” I said. It seemed what I said had struck him. He started eating more. After breakfast, we headed to the ravine.

”How is everything?” I asked the guards in charge of the search. He bowed to me before he answered.

”There's still no sign of the princess, your majesty.” He said. I already knew that they haven't found her yet. I looked down at the ravine and saw how deep it actually was.

”Has anyone tried to go down there?” I asked. The guards nodded.

”One of the Emperor's men tried to go down but was not able to reach the bottom. The waterfalls lead to a river upstream and we thought that Sayori must've washed up there.” They explained. There was a possibility that Sayori was washed up somewhere.

”Before Sayori fell, she was struck with two bows. 1 on her shoulder and the other on her chest.” I remembered what Yukio told me. I knew in my heart that Sayori could live. Even with those injuries and the fall from the ravine, she could still survive. I just wish that someone managed to help her.

”How deep do you think this ravine is, mother?” Yukio asked. I peered over the edge and I couldn't see the end of the waterfall. You can hear it but the sound was loud due to the echo of the ravine.

”This ravine is deep and I can tell that there's something at the bottom of this. Where can I find the river connected to the waterfall?” I asked. The guards pointed to the direction somewhere north of the ravine.

”We found the river up north. It was surrounded by a clearing which made it easy to spot.” One of the guards said.