Ruki’s powers

“Yes. That’s it. Think of nothing but the memory you chose- and then focus on me. Don’t close your eyes Ruki- look at me. Good, keep looking at my eyes and think of your memory- and then think of how you want to share that memory with me.” Hikary instructed. Ruki tried very hard to stare at her aunt’s eyes and also think of her memory, but she kept getting distracted by things around her. A clock ticking somewhere far away, the wind outside, one of the servants walking through the hallway.

“I’m sorry. I get distracted so easily.” Ruki admitted after a few moments.
“That’s okay. You’re doing great so far. And don’t forget this is highly advanced magic already- not many ponies can do this.” Hikary admitted.
“I know. I just want it to work- but I can’t seem to focus anymore.” Ruki sighed. “Why don’t we wrap it up here then? We’ll try again tomorrow, when you’re better rested.”

“Yea. Okay.” Ruki agreed.
The past few weeks she had been training with Hikary almost every day to master her royal powers. Now that she was so aware of her powers, everything was a lot easier. At first they came out wild and uncontrolled, almost hurting Hikary in the process, but she quickly managed to control them better. Though very different from wielding prana, the eastern powers were very powerful and could come in handy too, Ruki quickly realized.

The basic difference between Prana and the eastern powers was, in Ruki’s view, that prana was the force of the earth that ponies like Takato could wield to do their bidding, while the eastern powers came out of the ponies themselves; it is a force inside you that you must learn to control. This also meant it could do very different things, while there were a few similarities also.

Eastern powers were very much focussed on the mind; while these were the most difficult of exercises and limited to maybe the queen and her two eldest children, the eastern powers could be used to share memories or even lock them. They could be used to make seals on doors that would only respond to keys with had powers in them too; they could even be used to light up special stones if you were powerful enough.

They could make shields to protect the ponies inside from assaults from outside- something Ruki had mastered quickly. This was not that different from wielding prana; after all, prana could also be used to protect those you love, or to bind your enemies or keep them out. The main difference was how it worked; eastern powers worked on the mind of your foes and friends, while prana was pure physical. Of course eastern powers could influence physical things like stones and prana could influence pony’s minds, but the difference between the two lay there.

Ruki had become eager to learn more- she kept bothering Hikary, her mother and grandmother with questions. Could you store memories or thoughts in an object? Could you store your own memories in someone else’s mind? Could you read someone’s dreams? Could you learn a skill by simply reading that information from someone else?

Ruki had been scolded when she had asked those questions. Maybe you could, her grandmother had said, but would you? Ruling a country did not only come from being the strongest or having the strongest powers- it came from knowing what you should and should not do with them. Skills you could learn from someone else’s mind- but should you? What value did it have if you just took the information without giving anything in return- like time spend learning the skill yourself?

Her aunt Hikary had warned her not to use her powers lightly. They did cost a lot of energy and you did not have an unlimited supply of that, something Ruki had noticed quite often herself. She could sleep for hours and hours without seeing a single dream- her mind was too exhausted to produce them. Tonight would be one of those nights, she knew for sure; trying so hard with the memory transfer thing had left her even more exhausted then normal, and she had not even succeeded.

“You can’t do everything right on the first try, you know.” A voice said as she walked through the hallway.
 “Oh, Yuuro. How could you tell?”
“Your face says enough. What did you practise this time?” Yuuro asked as he accompanied her to the dining room.
“Memory transfer… I’m supposed to transfer my memory to Hikary’s mind without telling her about it.” “Wow. That’s advanced stuff- I don’t even think my mother can do it.” Yuuro explained.

“I know. But everything has gone so smoothly so far- I want to know how far I can go now. This whole power is so new to me- I want to know what I can do.” Ruki admitted.
“I know. I understand. But you need to be careful- it’s not without dangers.” Ruki opened the doors of the dining room and found her mother and little sister inside.
“Good evening, mother.”
“Good evening, Ruki. You look tired.” Taira greeted her.
“I know. I’ll go to sleep after dinner.”

Yet sleep did not come. Alone in her dark room, with her belly still full from the delicious meal, Ruki found it very hard to fall asleep. By all means she was exhausted, but she was also too stirred to find sleep. After spinning and turning for what seemed like hours, Ruki decided this would not work and she got up again, intending to get a glass of milk in the kitchen.

“Where are you off to at this hour?” Yuuro said as soon as she stepped one hoof out of her room.
“Geez Yuuro, are you standing guard?” Ruki asked a tad annoyed.
“Not really. I was just passing by on my way to my bedroom. You can’t sleep?”
“Not really. I kept turning around. I’m on my way to get some milk to drink.” Ruki confessed.
“Mind if I join you?” Yuuro asked. “No, sure.”

Together they descended the stairs and went to the large kitchen, which was deserted. The servants had already gone to bed as well. Ruki helped herself and Yuuro get a glass of milk, but once she was done drinking it she did not feel any sleepier, just more tired.
“It’s not helping I think.” She admitted to Yuuro.
“Why don’t we take a short walk in the garden then? Maybe some fresh air will help calm your mind.” He proposed.

Ruki agreed, and after putting on a cloak and a scarf, as it was already really cold outside at night, she followed Yuuro to the garden. The gates of the castle were closed, but two small fires burned on top of the wall to mark the entrance to the castle. The dark skies were clouded, but it was dry. Ruki instantly went right towards her favourite part in the garden, even though she could barely see anything. The only light came through the windows of the castle.

“To the circle again, uh?” Yuuro guessed.
“Yea. It always calms me down.”
The circle was a spot in the garden on the left side of the castle. It was a circle of white stones and in the middle grew a large tree. The tree had already been there before the castle was build, but the builders had not dared to pull it down. It was the only adult green in the entire garden, and Ruki cherished it. Of course, it did not grow leaves now, but come spring it would bloom beautifully again, she was sure.

Of course, in the darkness of the night Ruki could not see anything. Not the stones, not the trees, meaning she almost tripped twice before she reached the circle. Once she made it to the tree Ruki breathed in deeply, enjoying the late autumn air. Snow would come soon, Regina had told her, and Ruki could smell it; the early frost was upon them, but the moist of autumn had not yet disappeared.

“I don’t understand what you like about this place so much.” Yuuro complained after he caught up with her, almost tripping himself.
“It’s just so calming. I don’t know.” Ruki answered.
“Ye, okay. But how is it different from any other place?”
“I don’t know. It’s just… calm. I feel safe here, so much more than two meters away. It sounds silly, doesn’t it? But that’s how it feels.”

Ruki enjoyed the cold breeze on her face, playing with her long mane. Winter came so calmly here; she remembered winter coming in the old house of the Asana Bond. It came fast and relentlessly, pouring down ice and snow for days on end until all was covered in white. She used to sit inside together with everyone, locked up and unable to go outside, playing games and pondering what to do next.

Ruki suddenly wondered how Sakurako was doing. She had gotten a job in the city, Ruki recalled, and she was sure to do well. Before they left Ruki had seen her little house, and it was lovely and perfectly fitting for her. Her friend would do fine, Ruki knew, and she was probably happy. Would she miss her too? Ruki missed her friend, feeling a bit alone sometimes, having no one to discuss things with. She had her family, but she did not know any of them very well yet. She had Yuuro, but that was… different, somehow. He was exactly the kind of topic she wanted to discuss with Sakurako.

“I wish I could understand what you felt.” Yuuro whispered. Ruki looked up, and she saw he was sitting against the trunk of the tree.
“Hm?”
“Just… this place. I wish I understood why it made you feel so safe. So that I’d maybe be able to create something as safe for you inside as well.” Yuuro confessed.
“oh, you don’t have to, Yuuro, really, I…”
“I know I don’t have to.” He interrupted her. “But what if I want to? What if I want to make you feel safe and secure as well? This stupid tree… what can it offer you what I can not?”

“I… I wish I could show you. I wish I could…” Ruki said, but she lost her words.
She wanted to. She wanted to feel secure and safe. She was not blind; she knew what Yuuro felt for her. But those feelings… the wounds were still so fresh and the scars felt like they would never heal. Then suddenly, Yuuro held her. For what seemed like an eternity, he said nothing and did nothing except holding her. Was this what people meant with safe? As he held her, the cold of the night slipped away and was replaced with a warm feeling which seemed to come from deep inside her body and spread to every corner of her, and even beyond that; a warmth coming from inside that now held her and kept her warm.

“Ruki… look.” Yuuro whispered.
She slowly opened her eyes and had to close them again instantly for the light blinded her. When her eyes had finally adjusted to the light, Ruki dared to look again. The stones around the circle were lighting up. A violet-white color radiated from them, brightening up the entire circle like small stars that had fallen down from the sky for them.

The tree in the middle was glowing too, but his light was very different than that from the stones.
“It can’t be.” Ruki gasped, but in her heart she already knew it was true. This was not just light like that coming from the stones. This light was the light she had seen so very often before. This purple pink glow which seemed to come from inside the tree itself… she knew exactly what it was.

“Prana.” Yuuro gasped. Ruki nodded while she slowly approached the tree.
“How… what… Did I do this?” Ruki stammered.
She had been feeling so safe… for the first time in her life she had… no, that wasn’t true. When she was young… as a child living in Batafurai the prana and the butterflies and her father and grandmother… they had made her feel safe also. This tree was just… making her remember the safety she had long forgotten.

“I don’t know. You felt really warm all of a sudden and then all of this happened.” Yuuro answered.
“I… just wanted to show you. What made me feel safe.” Ruki stammered.
“Well, it seems like you did. Thank you, Ruki.” Yuuro said, holding her again.
She had done this… she had wanted to show Yuuro, and she did. Ruki was relieved. Her powers were not only good to defeat others… she could also show beautiful things like this. This was even better than showing a memory… this was creating new memories together.