Seiko suffered migraines from the day King Tsunkei had died; despite some of the palace’s staff leaving, Princess Maenomi—likely thinking it was caused by stress or general illness—insisted she took some time to rest. She spent those given days learning how to trudge through the pain, on the chance they would send her home. She didn’t want to explain that to Mikka—why she decided to stay, but ultimately left. It would worry her mother more than the woman needed, if the situation wasn’t already worrying.

She still wasn’t quite at her best, despite her attempts at trying to appear otherwise. Princess Maenomi seemed to understand this, at least somewhat, and didn’t ask quite as much of her—then again, in Seiko’s absence the girl had gained two assistants, so one whose capability became dependent on who she was near wasn’t always necessary.

The people around her kept gossiping whenever she did try to rest, making it difficult to do much more than hope she could sleep. The allotted time for lunch was always the loudest.

“This whole thing’s public. They can’t hide it.”

“What will they do? Wait until the littler ones are eighteen?”

“Age doesn’t matter, does it? It’s some strange thing like whether or not they’re worthy.”

It’s almost time, little Seiko. Are you excited? We are. There will be a battle! It’s been so long since we fought.

Seiko winced, failing to hide it. Most of the other servants in the room glanced at her, curious or worried. “All right there, Tsujihara?” One of them asked.

Lie, girl. “I-I’m fine; just a migraine.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Are we talking too loud? Want me to get some tea?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I can manage, but thank you for the consideration.”

The servant girl didn’t look convinced, but none of the others offered their help and Seiko wasn’t going to make them. They kept on chatting away before one of the older servants opened the door.

“How many of you are assistants to the royal family?” He asked firmly.

Seiko raised her head, as well as a few others. He continued on with his response. “Get to the training area, ladies. Change if you have to.”

None of them protested and he left; the remaining girls began to chat on about possible reasons as Seiko and three others left. Seiko trailed behind the other three, never having the chance nor desire to explore the palace, and they took her outside. The training area was big enough for about a dozen people to spread out and still have plenty of room. Trees were planted at neat, orderly intervals to make the place seem more natural, while brown spots on the ground indicated bloodshed earlier in the day.

One of the soldiers greeted them, but they weren’t immediately told why they were brought there aside from the bare minimum. “Because you all take care of the royal family,” the soldier explained to the collective group of servants, “Lord Ozuru has seen it necessary to give you some fighting experience. All of you will be carrying some sort of weapon with you in order to protect the royal family in the future.”

A few girls looked like they wanted to question or protest, but Seiko kept silent—if only because her voices wouldn’t let her actually speak a single word. They were quite fond of the idea, actually, but that…wasn’t quite reassuring, considering how spoke of it—although they did quiet down enough for the pain to leave for a few moments.

They were given basic, crude instructions; the servants’ safety wasn’t much of a concern, as the soldiers only instructed them how to use their given weapons in defense of someone else. They weren’t even given an actual chance to practice, instead being instructed on what to do then given a small knife wrapped in thick fabric as a cover.

Her voices grew louder, while the actual people around her became less apparent and less important. Absently, Seiko unwrapped the fabric around the knife and ran a finger across the blade. At the very edge, the blade cut her finger—the pain of the wound brought her a moment of silent clarity, but even the small dot of blood was enough to make the voices scream. She winced as the migraine returned, but if anyone offered to help she denied it.

It’s about time you head back to your duties, little Seiko. Yes, be a good dear. Your responsibilities will be much grander, soon…