Takato’s challenge

When the door opened, Ruki was blinded by the light. She couldn’t look directly at it, so she could not tell who uttered those words: “You truly do look like her.”
Ruki tried to look, but all she saw was Takato’s eyes. Was he here to rescue her?
“Takato…” She muttered, hoping he would hold her again, hoping he would be able to take her away again, into the snow and next to a warm fire.

“Takato?” The voice said, and Ruki realized she had been wrong. This was not Takato. She forced her eyes to look at the light, and she suddenly saw a face she did not want to see.
“Shanjahen…” she whispered.
Here he was, so close to her, the High King, Takato’s father and the reason behind everything she’d been doing the past few years.
“Ah, so you do know me. You little, foolish girl… How do you know my son?”
Oh no, no, no… what have I done? Ruki was sure she had blown it all now. He would know, he would…

“Tell me!” Shanjahen yelled, and he pushed her against the wall.
“Tell me,” he growled again while his leg pushed against her throat, “how you know my son. Where is he now?” Ruki refused to look into the eyes that drew her back to safety. The eyes she had seen so often and loved so very much…
“TELL ME!” He roared in her eye, pushing her even harder, making it hard for her to breath.
“I will never tell you.” Ruki hissed.

“That is very interesting, little girl.” Shanjahen said, releasing her.
 He grinned wickedly, knowing very well he had the means to make her talk if he wanted to.
“Soon, you will learn to talk, and you will tell me all you know about my son. And you will tell me why you look so much like the pony that escaped my castle yesterday. Yes… very soon, you will talk.”
The High King turned, and as the door slammed shut she was in darkness once more. She had told him… She had told the high King she knew Takato’s name, and he certainly knew this was not something she recalled out of a vague memory.

“What do I do, what do I do?” Ruki panicked. Obviously, she had to get out, away before the High King would return. But the cell was locked. She had no idea in which part of the cellar she was in. The door didn’t even have a small window, so there was no way to see how many guards were out there. And even if, by some strange twist of fate, she would manage to overpower the guards, the protective barrier Takato had placed on her was already gone. She’d get detected as soon as she would touch a prana-covered door.

“You are sure about this?” Takato asked the girl who was apparently called Sakurako once more.
“Yes. It was Ruki. She’s been my friend for years. I am not mistaken.” The girl answered.
Hikary stared at this girl who had been spending so much time with her young niece. There was no lie in her words and there was truth in her eyes, no matter how much Hikary hoped that her story was not true.

Not even half an hour ago Sakurako, who was one of the ponies send out to look for Ruki, had stormed in together with a male pony Hikary had not caught the name off. They claimed to have seen Ruki, but this was not good news; apparently Ruki had been chained, captured by guards, and she was taken to the castle. Sakurako had been able to follow her all the way to the castle gates.

Taira was still asleep, giving Hikary some time to think this over. So Ruki was captured. Her sister’s daughter was captured by the same person who had captured them and who was still holding her sister captive. What Hikary could tell from Takato’s stories, Ruki was a tough girl. But she also knew, both from Takato’s tales and her own experience, that Shanjahen was capable of the most horrible things.

“We need to get her out of there. Can’t we use the same trick you used when Ruki came to release us?” Hikary asked.
“Technically, yes. However, I fear the High King will be well on his guard. He knows it is not easy to break through prana and escape his dungeon, and yet you did it. He will have more than just prana and guards guarding Ruki. No, if we want to free Ruki, we will have to resort to more drastic measures.”

“More drastic measures… my prince?” One of the ponies attending asked. Hikary was also not so sure she liked the tone in Takato’s voice.
“Yes. More drastic measures. If we want to free Ruki… if we want her to survive… we will have to remove my father from the throne. The time for subtleties has passed! The time to wait is over! The time is now… to take over the castle and be done with it!”

Hikary wondered why Takato suddenly got so fired up, but she did not disagree. She only had one simple question.
“How?”
“Princess Hikary, for months… no, for years, we have waited for this. For years, we have gathered information, we made plans, and we waited in secret. But no longer! If we wait, surely it will be too late. The time is now. Tomorrow morning, we will invade the castle. The prana will be on our side tomorrow!”

With those words, Takato retreated, and three other ponies followed him, leaving Hikary alone with Sakurako and one other pony.
“Will we be able to do it?” Hikary asked.
 There lived maybe ten ponies in this house, and that was stretching it. From the short time she had been able to observe the castle, she was sure there were at least a hundred guards surrounding the castle and even more lived on the inside. There was no way that it would be an equal battle.

“He will.” Sakurako said. Hikary blinked, looking at the pony that seemed so sure of things.
“Okay. If you say so.” Hikary said, and turned away. She walked up the stairs, and halfway through she ran into Yuuro.
“Hey. You’re awake?”
“Kind of.” Yuuro replied, smiling. “I still can’t believe we got out.”
“Yes, I know. It was amazing. Listen, Yuuro… is Taira still asleep?” Hikary asked.
“She was a minute ago. That girl Flora is still watching over her.” Yuuro replied.

“Good. It seems they found Ruki.”
“Ah. Did she come back with them?” Yuuro asked.
“No. She was captured by guards at the city gate and brought to the palace.” Hikary answered. “And Takato just announced… tomorrow morning they will attack the castle.”
Yuuro blinked, finding it all rather hard to believe.
“Attack the castle? Does he not know how well it is guarded then?”
“He does. He’s well aware of it. He lived there for a long time. He knows, and he is certain he can defeat his father. What matters for us, though, and what we should decide before my sister wakes up… will we join them?”

Yuuro blinked, realizing what she asked. Would they join them in their attack, hoping it was the best way to free Stelline, get the stone and free Ruki, or would they go their own way, hoping to find their own way into the castle? Of course, they had to discuss this with Taira, but Hikary knew her sister was very emotional right now. She’d want to storm the castle right away and free Ruki, so they had to have a solid plan ready which they both supported to convince her otherwise.

“We should join them.” He said at last. “If this Takato has faith he can do it… he might be our only chance. There’s no way we can get in the castle unnoticed and release Stelline and Ruki, let alone get the stone.”
“Right. I have no idea how he plans to do this… but I guess you are right. We have no other option than to assist him.”
Hikary didn’t like to admit it. She didn’t want to depend on this Takato whom they had only met so short ago. But they were powerless here, so they needed to rely on him.

It took two hours for Taira to calm down. The mere thought of her daughter being locked up in that horrible dungeon was enough to make Hikary’s sister cry and scream for another fifteen minutes. Screaming that it was her fault, that she had driven Ruki into the arms of Shanjahen, Taira cried on and on. Only after explaining their intention to assist Takato and to free Ruki along with him for the third time, did Taira manage to calm down somewhat.

“So…” Taira said, still fighting to keep her tears down, “What exactly is Takato’s plan?”
“We are not sure yet.” Hikary replied.
“He said he would take over the castle tomorrow; how, we do not know yet. Yuuro and I were going to offer our services to him for this fight; will you join us, my sister?” Hikary asked.
“Of course.” Taira replied, determined to save her daughter.

They found Takato in his study, together with two elderly male ponies Hikary had not yet seen before. “I hope we are not disturbing you, Takato.” Hikary said, making a slight bow.
“No, not at all. What can I do for you?” Takato asked.
 “We would like to offer our help in your upcoming attack on the castle.” Taira said before Hikary could utter a word.
 Takato smiled slightly. “Thank you, Taira. I will gladly accept it. Your help could be of great use. You know more of the stone than I do and it seems to play an important part in my father’s plans; he might decide to use it against us.”

“Prince… could I please ask what your plan is?” Yuuro asked.
 “Yes, of course. We were just discussing that. Tomorrow morning, about an hour before dawn, we will penetrate the castle unnoticed. I have found a breach in the castle wall that Ruki has used before. Together with a small spell I can cast upon everyone, we can all quickly enter the garden. Once all our ponies are inside, we will enter the castle, corner my father, and I will make him surrender.”

“Your father will not give up that easily.” Hikary said, shaking her head. This was the best he could come up with?
“Of course he will not. We will have to fight him… no, I will have to fight him. Wicked though he may be, my father is the High King and there is no one left alive in this world to challenge his powers except me. Your task, and that of my friends and allies, is to secure the rest of the castle. A lot of my allies are nobles, capable of wielding prana better then my father’s guard. If you can defeat them, and give me time, I will defeat my father. That fight is my own.”

Hikary nodded. She understood. If Takato wanted to claim his father’s throne, he had to be the one to defeat him. Not just to prove his kingdom, and the rest of the west, that it was him who had managed to defeat his father and expose his deeds, but also for himself, to prove that he was worth it to sit on the throne of the High King. He had to defeat his father on his own… if he wanted to receive the crown while he was at peace with himself.

The High King of the West descended the stairs to the small underground room. He opened the several locks and dissolved the prana barriers he had put on, and entered. The room was glowing red as ever, its light coming from the stone that lay in the flower-shaped cradle in the centre. He stretched out his hoof and softly patted the surface of the stone, so soft, so strong, so…

“It will not be long now.” Shanjahen assured his precious stone. He checked on a liquid substance in a bowl standing on the floor. He smiled, satisfied. He picked up an old book that lay on a table in the corner of the room, and left the hidden basement, closing all the locks once more. The High King made his way back to the castle, and once he was back in his room he summoned the head of the guard, Lord Rokos.

“It is time.” Shanjahen announced, and Lord Rokos’ eyes grew wide.
“Are you certain?” he asked.
“Yes. Everything is done. I want you to prepare the circle tonight according to what the prophecy says. Then bring out the prisoners. Not just the unicorn… bring the girl too. I think we might still need her, and if we don’t… we’ll dispose of her before dawn.” Shanjahen said.

“Yes, sire.” Lord Rokos bowed, and left the room in a hurry to fulfil his task. Shanjahen stroked his precious book. Tonight… the ritual would be performed. Tonight, under the dark sky, he would pull out the stars from the sky and see his prophecy fulfilled.