Ruki's new world

“Look sis! Look what I found!” Frika giggled as she came trotting towards Ruki.
Ruki sighed as she rolled over to sit up. She had almost dozed off too... the winter hadn't been particularly long, nor cold, but still, to be able to enjoy the spring sun amidst the many flowers in the field like this...
“What did you find, Frika?” Ruki smiled as her little sister barely stopped in time.

“Purple flower!” Frika grinned as she showed her the basket. Indeed, her baby sister had found a wonderful purple tulip, a rare sight among the many white flowers that covered the field in front of the castle.
“It's absolutely lovely, Frika. Why don't you show nanny?” Ruki suggested. Frika nodded and instantly trotted off, almost forgetting to take her basket with her.

Her baby sister had grown up so much over the winter... of course she was already three years old, but it wasn't hard to imagine the baby girl she'd been when Ruki had first met her. Now, Frika just seemed to have an unlimited supply of energy, wanting to see and learn everything she could. Somehow, Frika reminded her a little bit of Meran... which wasn't that strange, seeing how the two young girls were cousins.

Ruki stretched out on the blanket again. It was just past noon, meaning she had about an hour left before her mother expected her in her study. With only a week to go until the coronation, there were still so many preparations to be made, and guests were already arriving. Most of them were staying in a nearby village, though, because the castle could only house so many ponies, and none of those had arrived yet.

Ruki only realized she had dozed off in the faint sunlight when Yuuro woke her up.
“My love... wake up.” Ruki blinked, her eyes no longer adjusted to the light.
“Y...Yuuro? What's up?” She asked.
“Your mother is waiting for you. I'm afraid you fell asleep and it's way past the time you had agreed to meet.”

“Oh, no!” Ruki jumped up. She had totally overslept! When she was up, though, the entire world went dark.
“Oh...” Her head spun around while her eyes were temporarily disabled, and she had trouble staying up right.
“Ruki!” She felt Yuuro hold her until the dizziness wore of and her sight came back.

“Be careful!” Yuuro said when he noticed she was back to normal again.
“Yea. I know. I'm sorry, I just got up too fast.” Ruki explained.
“You should think about these things before you get up, Ruki. I don't want to see you get hurt.”
“Well, I wasn't hurt, was I?” Ruki snapped. She instantly regretted it; Yuuro meant well. He could just be so overprotective sometimes.

“I'm sorry, I...”
“No, no, it's okay. I understand. You weren't hurt. But please be more careful next time, okay?” Yuuro smiled.
“I will. Thanks. For waking me up, too. I'll see ya when we're done okay?”
Ruki gave him a kiss and then took off towards the castle. Her head was still rather heavy so the usually short walk seemed a whole lot longer all of a sudden, but she was determined not to show Yuuro.

The castle was still pretty cool, Ruki observed when she entered the hallway. The spring sun wasn't strong enough to warm it up. She quickly walked to her mother's study room.
“Mom, I'm sorry!” Ruki blurted out when she opened the door. Taira looked up from a letter she was apparently writing and could only smile.
“That's okay hun. I saw you sleep. It's only natural that...”
“No, no. I shouldn't have fallen asleep. I'm sorry. Really.” Ruki said, out of breath from climbing the stairs still.

“Well, you're here now. Sit down, I'll get you some water.” Ruki smiled gratefully as her mother poured her a glass of water, and she sat down in the comfortable chair across her mother's desk.

When she was done, Taira sat down also.
“Now, let's see... we have several different things to discuss. How about we start with the plans for the coronation?”
 “Yea, sure. Whatever is best to begin with.” Ruki said, determined to let her mother decide the agenda for this meeting. She was still a little dizzy from her unexpected nap.

“Okay. Well, to be honest, everything seems to be going fine. The orders for the food for the feast afterwards are finally working out and we just got the delivery of wine this morning, as you've most likely noticed. Mother has her speech finished, and so does the mayor of the capital village... I reviewed them, and both of them are fine, of course. But I was wondering, was there something you wanted to say at the ceremony?”

Ruki blinked. “Me?”
“Yes. I thought maybe... you had something to say.”
Taira looked unsure when she noticed Ruki hadn't even thought of that.
“I... I don't know. I don't think it's such a good idea...”
“Of course. You're right. It's not. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking about...”
“No need to apologize, mom. Under different circumstances I would have, I'm sure.”

Ruki wondered if that was true. Would she have given a speech? She honestly had no idea what to say. She didn't know enough about politics to say anything useful... or about her mother, for that matter. Taira and her had gotten much closer over the past few months, but still... Well, as it was, it was better that she didn't.

“I received a letter from Asilde today.” Taira continued.
“Oh?” The queen of the Tokowa Lands would of course attend the ceremony next week, so Ruki was not sure why she would send a letter this close to the actual date.
“Apparently she wants to hold an official meeting about the alliance thing we discussed at your wedding. She says it is an excellent opportunity because representatives of all queendoms will be there as well as those of independent city-states and other areas. I think she does have a point, but...”

Ruki sighed. This was exactly what she'd been afraid of. Asilde was a good queen and a friendly person, but she could just be so pushy at times.
“Asilde is right... everyone will be there, so it is an opportunity. But I do not think we should hold that meeting next week. The coronation should be a fun event, not something related to work in this way. Besides, I think it is rather low of Asilde to send this letter, knowing we don't have time to respond.”

“So what do you suggest?” Taira asked.
“I say we agree to have a meeting about this subject... this summer, like we planned. We will invite everyone, but we will not discuss it at the coronation. Or right before it, or after.”
“Exactly what I thought.” Taira smiled. Of course, her mother had already decided on this before she had even invited her to this meeting, but she wanted Ruki to think about it for herself.

It wasn't like Ruki hadn't noticed this shift in behavior from Taira- on the contrary, it was so painfully obvious that sometimes Ruki wanted to yell she wasn't a kid anymore. But she was grateful for the opportunity. It had become all too clear to her that she would be the heir to the throne of this country in a week- and her mother might be too busy to teach her anything. She'd probably need her by her side.

“Anything else?” Ruki asked.
 “Not really. We finally got a confirmation letter from the mayor of the town of Maris. Any longer and the letter would arrive later than she would herself. But nothing major. Anything you wanted to discuss still?” Taira asked as Ruki finished the last of her water. Was there anything? Of course, she had so many questions and so many things she wanted to discuss... but those would have to wait until after the coronation. She wouldn't dare bother her mother with those right now- indeed, Taira was stressed out enough as it is.

“Not really, no.” Ruki shook her head.
 “Good. I guess we're done then. I'll keep on working for a bit until dinner... you just relax, okay?” Taira smiled, concern obvious in her voice.
“Don't worry, I will. And if I don't, Yuuro will make me.” Ruki got up from the chair, slowly this time to avoid the same confrontation she'd had with Yuuro earlier.

“Good, take care.” Taira said. Ruki was already halfway towards the door when her mother called her name.
“Oh, Ruki! I'd almost forgotten.” Ruki turned to see her mother dig through a pile of papers. Her mother's desk was such a mess... but she didn't dare to send a maid to clean it up, for Taira surely had some kind of system.... somehow.

“What is it?” Ruki asked.
“Ah, here it is.” Taira said as she pulled an official-looking piece of parchment from the pile. Ruki recognized the symbol of the royal house of the west instantly, and her heart skipped a beat without her permission.
“I received this letter too, this morning. I thought you'd want to know.” Taira smiled nervously, knowing what that seal meant to her daughter, something that made Ruki only more annoyed.

“What does he have to say?” Ruki asked suspiciously. Why would Takato send a letter that would arrive a week before the coronation? He had already confirmed he would attend ages ago, of course. And there would be no time to reply anyway- he was probably already well on his way.
“He's not coming.”
“What? Why?” Ruki was disgusted with herself when she noticed she was more disappointed than relieved. Had she really been looking forward to seeing him? That couldn't be... after all this time.

“Flora has given birth two months early.” Taira said.
“Oh....”
“Don't worry. According to the letter both mother and baby are doing fine, but because the little guy is still very weak, Takato refuses to leave their side. So he's sending a representative.”
“Oh... I see. That's good. That he's healthy. I hope he makes it. Two months is pretty early.” Ruki said, wondering what could have caused the baby to be born so very early. Flora was a healthy woman- she couldn't imagine there being any complications, although there obviously were.

“Apparently he's called Firian. High Prince Firian.” Ruki chuckled, imagining a tiny little baby carrying such a heavy title.
“That's a nice name. That's good. Well, I'll be going now. I'll see you at dinner mom.”
“Sure. Take care.” Taira replied, already lost in her paperwork again.
“Oh, mom... Frika found a wonderful purple flower. Be sure to ask her about it, okay?” Ruki added before she left the room.

“I will, don't worry.” Taira said, but Ruki was sure she would forget. She sighed as she closed the door. Her mother loved Frika, she knew for sure, but she also felt a heavy responsibility towards the country she would soon rule. Frika deserved more attention from her mother... but once again Ruki realized now was not the time to make a big deal out of it. In two weeks, things would be back to normal.

Ruki thought about going outside again, but she decided against it. Evening would fall soon, and even though it was spring it cooled down ridiculously quick at night still, so she decided to just go to her room for a bit. She now shared two rooms with Yuuro, their own living room and a bedroom which were joined together by a door on the inside, and she'd soon have her own work room as well.

When she entered her bedroom, she noticed Yuuro wasn't there. He was probably studying or helping her father or whatever, so Ruki took advantage of the situation and crashed down on their spacious bed, somehow managing to take up all the space. So Takato was a father... she had forced herself to forget about it, but she found it so hard to imagine. Takato looking after a little baby... She grinned. She wouldn't mind seeing that sight.

But she wouldn't... and she couldn't worry about that any more. Takato was a thing from the past. Her future was here, with her mother and her place as heir to the throne, and her husband, Yuuro, who was nothing but sweet to her, albeit sometimes a bit too concerned and overprotective. She could take care of herself...

Of herself, and the little baby that had been growing inside her for the past three months. She had noticed right away, of course, that another living being was temporarily living inside her, but she'd only told Yuuro and her family a month later, although she suspected her mother had known for a while as well.

Her own child... That coming winter, she'd have a child of her own to take care of and to protect. And she'd see Yuuro's smiling face as he would hold his daughter. Her own little girl... She didn't even know what to think of that yet. Yuuro had gone around ordering all kinds of baby-stuff, but she wasn't ready for that yet. She would be that winter... but not yet. Becoming a mother was not something she had ever thought of, and she knew she had to get to know the little child inside her better before she could become a true mother. Only for a little bit...

As Ruki felt her eyes grow heavy again, she knew she'd fall asleep. But before she dozed off, a single thought spooked through her mind. If both she and Flora had gotten pregnant so easily, then how come through all those years she had spend with Takato, she had never conceived? How come...