It was always strange whenever Taiyo would wake up in the morning without a migraine. They were daily, always there and never going away for years. Nothing they had in the palace helped, so Taiyo had resigned to his fate of always having a migraine and all of the drawbacks that came with it, especially since they were only getting worse.

With the migraine gone, Taiyo did a lot more than what he normally did—Kyoumi looked relieved when he came to breakfast with no problems. Likewise, Rei seemed glad to be able to visit his friends without Taiyo tagging along. Heck, Taiyo even trained! The reprieve made him realize how little he did just to avoid making it worse.

Taiyo gladly accepted the chance to be on his own for a little while; the migraines let up a bit when he was with Rei, so he ended up being close to him all the time. This was his chance to do…pretty much anything. So, he took it to try to determine if the woman he dreamt of really was Tsujihara Seiko—and how he could help her look happy again, if at all possible. The whole day was him sitting in the entrance hall, looking over the records Kinjo Asahi left behind of the first queen.

…

Taiyo was asleep, now. He knew he was sleeping, dreaming, and such awareness happened so often it used to baffle him that his family didn’t have the same ability.

He always started out in his room, but it was never decorated the same—there was a boy in the corner, for instance. The boy started by saying “It wasn’t you.”; recently, he’s been saying “I wish you had killed them.” Taiyo wasn’t fond of the new chorus, and left the room as soon as he gathered his bearings.

It was still the palace—just older, with less personal touches. All of the doors were open, allowing Taiyo to see people like the boy in the other rooms; he didn’t know what they were doing there, or why they only spoke one or two sentences. There was only one person who actually talked to him.

He carefully made his way down to the main room, immediately noticing that most of the people had left their rooms and come here instead. They were chatting on about killing and death, how their last plan didn’t work.

“We’ll overpower him by sheer force.”

All of them turned to Taiyo at that point; he took a step back, but someone was behind him.

“Let him be for the night.”

The people faded, and Taiyo turned around to look at the other person. It was the woman. Every time he looked at her, she seemed so…realistic he couldn’t even understand how she couldn’t be real; long, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a few years younger than his parents at this point.

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“Thank you,” Taiyo murmured.

She shook her head, and she spoke quietly. “Please don’t thank me. You’re only involved in this because I couldn’t do anything back then.”

“I don’t follow,” he replied, frowning.

Unfortunately, she didn’t speak any more clearly. She looked at him, sad but firm. “They stayed around me all my life—I got used to them. They weren’t going to make that mistake again, so we’ve all been quiet. I’m sorry, child—I couldn’t stop them.”

“Whatever’s happening, I’m sure you’re not at fault,” Taiyo tried to assure her.

She didn’t seem to hear him, and despite his best efforts she started to cry a bit as she continued. “I was the last one…for a short while. I should’ve done the deed then—in that brief time between the war and marriage. But then I was pregnant, and I didn’t want to end two lives with one blade. They wanted me to kill my own children; what kind of mother would do that willingly? But I should have, because now you have to suffer.”

“I still don’t understand,” Taiyo maintained, worried. “What are you talking about? Who are you? How can I help?”

The woman took a short breath, then replied quietly. “I…am Gin-Tsujihara Seiko.”

Despite everything else, Taiyo felt proud for having guessed correctly; when he woke up, he’d have to report to Rei. Still, Taiyo bowed in respect. “It’s an honor to meet you, Queen Seiko. Even if this isn’t really a ‘meeting’ per se.”

She looked uncomfortable with the title, but returned the gesture nonetheless. “And you…” she said silently, “You’re Gin-Fujita Taiyo.” He nodded, and she continued with some distress, “I’m so sorry, child. I was selfish—I couldn’t do it.”

Now that Taiyo knew who she was, he could protest more firmly. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he insisted. “You were just protecting your family—that’s all you’ve been doing. You were doing fine until you died—and that wasn’t your fault either!”

Tsujihara Seiko paused for a moment. Carefully, she asked, “What do you think happened to me, little Taiyo?”

“You were killed,” Taiyo replied, confused on why she was asking. “A thief or something got in the palace and killed you while you were out walking.”

She didn’t respond for a moment, then chuckled grimly. “What did I expect out of him? He wasn’t the one who saw my faults.” Tsujihara Seiko sighed, then looked back at Taiyo. “I wasn’t murdered—I ended my own life, because otherwise I would have killed my family.”

“Why would you have killed your family?” Taiyo asked. He could feel the dream slipping, slightly, and he wondered if Tsujihara Seiko noticed it, too.

She put on hand on his shoulder, and spoke gently. “Listen very closely, little Taiyo. We…are cursed. Looking at you now, I wish I hadn’t failed—but I couldn’t bring myself to kill my children, despite it meaning you may kill your family instead.” She pulled away for a moment, smiling sadly. She didn’t quite sound the same—her voice almost echoed—when she continued. “But it’s all right; I know it will end with you. No one else will have to suffer like I have, or like you will.”

“…What?” Taiyo asked. A certain type of panic was sinking in now that the dream was fading—and a certain kind of peace came with it as well, only making it more frightening. “Please, tell me more. Be a little clearer—I don’t know what you mean!”

“You don’t have to,” Tsujihara Seiko assured him. “Just know that this nation’s history…it will end with you.”

The dream ended there, and the migraine when he woke up was replaced with hundreds of voices telling him what to do next. It was all he could do just to stumble out without hurting anyone.