CONTENT WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS THEMES OF VIOLENCE WHICH MAY BE UPSETTING FOR SOME READERS.

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Reiji finished buttoning his burgundy barong. He closed it up to the collar, touching the delicate gold linings on its edges. As he dropped his hands to his sides, he looked at his reflection in a tall mirror, his eyes following the traces of gold threads over his chest that wove into the elaborate curves of vines and thorns.

A young seamstress at his side sewed the hem near his hips for better fitting, and he stilled himself, examining his full attire.

He grimaced. The color of Ozaro was green, and he should have been wearing that today, but except for his eyes, nothing in the mirror returned the majestic shade of the Darackan forests. His attire exhibited only wine and bright corn, as insisted by the Kahani.

The face of a boy—his face—gazed back at him. He squinted, searching his features and wondering if he had already grown to look like his father, the late Kaharaza. But he couldn't find any hint of the mature features in his reflection, and his gaze fell away with shame and disappointment. When he dared another look at himself, he found that at least his dark skin and his green eyes were his father's. The late Kaharaza was there, buried underneath all the doubt and hesitation.

"I am almost finished, My Matu," the seamstress said. "I only need to check the cuffs," she added.

Reiji kept his gaze on the mirror and lifted his hands to the young girl who kept her head bowed as she worked.

The seamstress took his right wrist, but instead of stitching a needle and a thread into the cuffs, she pressed a small piece of paper into Reiji's hand. "All done," she said, packing her things to leave.

Reiji turned confused, but it took only a second before he composed himself as if the girl had not given him a secret message.

He sensed Gat Kiyo watching him from behind, but the attendant said nothing as he stood waiting.

"Gat Kiyo, please escort her to the door," Reiji commanded, and the attendant nodded, striding to help the seamstress with her tools and leading her away.

Reiji quickly unfolded the note and read, Let's get you seated.

His eyes widened, and he crumpled the paper tucking it into the pocket of his trousers. He was not expecting the message, especially here in Zircka when he was away from the Ozaro Palace.

His thoughts raced to decipher what the message could mean, but as he looked up, Gat Kiyo had returned, watching him in the mirror.

"Is everything alright, My Matu?" Gat Kiyo asked, noticing the frown that grew on Reiji's face.

"Yes," he nodded. "Everything is alright." He would need to decipher the message later.

When he stared at himself in the mirror again, a knock came at the door, and he turned.

"Enter," Reiji said.

The door to the chamber opened, and a guard came inside, bowing low before speaking. "The Regent and Kahani of Daracka, Queen Ara," he announced.

When the guard stepped aside, the Kahani entered in a mestiza of the same shade as Reiji's barong. Her low square neckline clipped to her large butterfly shoulders while the rest of the dress clung to her slim figure, the skirt cascading over the ground. She was regal with how she held her chin high, and the bun of black hair on top of her head added to her height. A loop of pearls sat just above her forehead, shining against the beautiful tan of her skin. Although her eyes were weary, her air remained vibrant. And despite her age—well in her fourth decade—her face appeared with fewer strokes of her years. Ageless and timeless.

Reiji bowed to her. "My Kahani."

The Kahani glanced around the room, barely giving Gat Kiyo any notice. The chamber wasn't as generous as his room at the Ozaro Palace in Kazima, but it was inviting. Her blue-gray eyes fell on the heavy wooden furniture. The warm tones of nature encouraged a restful sleep. And the open capiz panes allowed the cool breeze to enter, compensating for the heat of the weather.

"Are you well-rested, ma—" Reiji stopped himself before he could say the word and corrected himself, "—My Kahani."

She turned her gaze to him. "The travel was not comfortable, but I have recovered." She smiled and stepped toward him. "Turn for me."

Reiji obliged by slowly pivoting on his heel in a full circle, aware that the Kahani was scrutinizing his attire.

"You'll need to have your hair cut soon," was the first thing the Kahani noted. "I wish there is more complexity to the golden linings, especially with the thorns that symbolize Ozaro's house. I will have to discuss that with the seamstress next time, but there isn't much we can do now."

Reiji completed the turn and faced the Kahani again, swallowing a nervous lump in his throat that had not been there moments ago.

"You look magnificent." the Kahani looked pleased. "I'm sure the ladies will be thrilled. Several young Maginoo will join us for dinner after our showing."

Reiji nodded at the compliment but disregarded the note about the ladies. His intention was not to please anyone in the way the Kahani thought.

When she finally stepped back, he moved to a corner table where a baldric was displayed.

Gat Kiyo came quickly to help with the belt, looping it over Reiji's shoulders before locking it in place. Reiji's sword—a heavy bolo—snuggly fitted in its sheath.

The Kahani blinked at the baldric. "Is that your father's?"

Reiji looked down at the belt and felt the weight of it on his shoulder. He had found it in the armoire in the palace before they left for Zircka and thought it would be good to wear it.

"Ah!" Someone exclaimed at the door.

Reiji and the Kahani turned to see the Keeper of Laws, Master Irdu, striding toward them.

"I see both of you are now ready for your showing," Master Irdu said, his red karkan swaying beneath him with his movement until he stopped.

The Maestro was flanked by Heneral Arkan and Sarhento Heneral Zamira, both wearing the green livery of Ozaro—several black lines striped on the sleeves of their arms.

All three bowed low to Reiji and the Kahani, greeting them with respect.

"We are now ready for you, My Kahani," Master Irdu said in a rough old voice to the Kahani. Then he turned to address Reiji. "That baldric looks very familiar," he noted.

Reiji looked at it again, now almost memorizing the thin gold linings on its edges and its warm brown leather tone.

"The late Kaharaza had worn it proudly," the Kahani said.

"I think it fits well. Makes your shoulders look broad," the general said. "The ladies will swoon." He chuckled.

"Looks like our little Jiji is now all grown up," Zamira added, grinning. "Well, almost." She called him Jiji. No one had called him that in quite a while. It was a pet name that the late Kaharaza had given Rreiji as a child.

The baldric and the bolo felt heavier, a wrenching reminder that Reiji was still a boy—too young to ascend the throne and too young to lead a kingdom.

Reiji looked to the Kahani, who was frowning at the baldric. "Perhaps I shouldn't wear it," he said, unslinging the belt from his shoulder and handing it back to Gat Kiyo. His assistant raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Oh, but it looks good," Heneral Arkan protested while Zamira's smile faded into a concerned expression, her lips pursing and her brows rising.

"I know. I just—" Reiji looked from Heneral Arkan to Zamira. Aside from the Kahani, they were the only other people in the room who had known him at a very young age. And he had treated them like family—Heneral Arkan like an uncle and Zamira like an older sister. "I didn't realize that my father's memory is too much for me to bear right now." He glanced at the baldric in Gat Kiyo's hand. What he said was partly true, but his real reason was fear. He was frightened of their expectations.

Reiji knew he was nothing like the late Kaharaza, and he doubted himself now. He might not be able to fill the boots of his father, he might not be able to wear the baldric proudly, and he might not become the ruler that Daracka needed.

"If it is too much for you, Reiji, you should leave it. It's no use to you anyway." The Kahani nodded.

The Maestro cleared his throat. "We should be on our way then," he suggested.

The Kahani raised her hand to Reiji. "Shall we?" she asked.

Reiji placed the Kahani's hand around his arm, escorting her to the door. The Guards outside led them through the hallway and onto a parapet.

Before they reached the balustrade, he sensed the murmur of people.

A guard on the parapet stepped to the railing and announced Reiji and the Kahani's arrival. "People of Zircka, I present to you the Matu of Daracka, Prince Reiji ng Ozaro! And the Regent and the Kahani of Daracka, Queen Ara!"

As soon as they stepped forward, the crowd gave gasps and applause. Reiji saw everyone's faces—the men and women, the young and the old.

The Zirckan wore colorful attire; many were in green terno, mestiza, and saya—a gesture of the people supporting the royal family.

Zircka had a lesser population than the larger cities in Daracka. It was not modernized like Kazima, and its economy had been stagnant for years, but it was not a city to be ignored. The only port in the kingdom that made trades with the Vurcka, islands of flames, a powerful ally of Daracka, was in Zircka. And so, these regular visits by the royal family were an essential political strategy.

Reiji and the Kahani were meant to appear to the public only once, and meetings with the city's Kavisera and officials would be held privately.

Reiji smiled at the people, bewildered by the look in everyone's excited eyes. He waved a hand for a short while, soaking in the awed expression of the crowd.

Everything was going according to plan until someone below gave an alarmed shout.

Reiji came alert at the noise. He didn't catch what the person shouted, muffled by the sound of the gathered audience below. And he was unsure if it related to what he saw next.

A man wearing a black mask perched on a tree, hidden in the shadows of branches and leaves. Only a part of him came into the light—his hand that held the handle of a crossbow. The masked man aimed an arrow at the parapet, and as soon as Reiji's eyes caught him, the arrow was released.

Reiji reacted in time, ducking away from the shot. It barely missed him, making his heart pound hard in his chest that it ached.

The Kahani crouched low beside Reiji, her hands covering her head as she whimpered. "Heneral Arkan, what is happening?" she asked, frantic.

When the crowd screamed and began to run, the guards flanked Reiji and the Kahani. The general barked out orders to his men, "Take them back inside! After that assassin!"

The explosion of gunshots rang in the air. The soldiers on the ground fired their rifles at the tree.

Reiji couldn't see much beyond the guards that covered him with their bodies. Someone hauled him by the arm, pulling him to his feet away from the railing.

"Reiji!" Zamira grunted at his weight. "Come on!" she ordered him.

Someone on the balcony shouted before they could get back inside the house. A crashing of metals followed, and when Reiji looked back, another man wearing a black mask raised a sword at the general.

"My Matu!" Gat Kiyo was pushed to the other end of the balcony; the old Master Irdu clung to his arm. Panic struck his Dakawa eyes. "Run, My Matu!"

The guards pushed Reiji and the Kahani inside the hallway, but they were not safe yet.

Queen Ara screamed as they ran back into the protection of the house. "Quickly!" she shouted. Her eyes were wild with alarm as she followed Zamira to the nearest chamber—Reiji's borrowed room.

When they entered the bedroom, Zamira quickly checked inside. When she thought the room was clear, she stepped outside with the guards. "Stay here, and keep the door locked," she ordered.

"Wait!" Reiji reached for Zamira's arm. "I want to help."

"No, Reiji," Zamira hissed. "Protect the Kahani." She shrugged his hand off before pulling the door closed behind her.

Reiji grimaced. "I should help them."

"You can't," the Kahani said beside him. "Those men are after us. After you. If you go out there, you'd only be putting everyone at risk. We should stay here."

Reiji hated the thought of himself cowering in a room while everyone else was fighting. Even Gat Kiyo was still out there. But he obeyed the Kahani and locked the door. He barricaded it by pushing the vanity table against it. He then rushed to the other table at the corner of the room where Gat Kiyo had supposedly left his father's baldric with a bolo, but when he reached it, he found it empty.

Something creaked loudly in the room, and another masked man jumped out from behind a wooden wardrobe. His whole face was covered, and only a small slit showed that his eyes were brown. In his hand was a long sword with a straight sharp edge.

Reiji recognized the weapon—a kampilan. It was the late Kaharaza's favored blade, best known for cutting off heads, a perfect device to slice a man's neck straight through. Such a weapon was heavy, and it slowed down its bearer.

The assassin attacked, swinging the sword. Reiji stepped back and almost stumbled, but he righted himself and raised his hands. He had nothing to defend himself with.

The Kahani screamed, cowering by the door. She tried to push away the barricade, but it was too heavy. "Reiji!" she shouted in horror.

"Stay there!" Reiji said, keeping his focus on the masked man.

Though Reiji had no weapon, he was quick on his feet, and his mind was sharp. He watched and tried to predict the next attack.

The assassin leaped and waved the kampilan into a wide arc, swinging at Reiji's chest. It missed as Reiji backed away, and the man took another swing. He held the handle with both hands this time, but it also missed.

Reiji was not entirely defenseless, for he had been trained to fight since he turned into his first decade. But this was the first time he faced an opponent who wanted to kill him.

The masked man swung the kampilan sideways, and Reiji jumped back, stepping into a wall and trapping himself. The assassin chuckled under his mask, and Reiji could only imagine the vile smile formed under the disguise.

Reiji's sweat trickled on his skin under the heat of his barong as the man before him showed revolting confidence like a predator catching prey.

There was a moment of pause as if the assassin was savoring it. He arrogantly humphed before he raised the sword high over Reiji's head and brought it down with a heavy arc. Reiji stepped sideways, crouching and dodging the kampilan that hit the wall instead.

Reiji kneeled low enough to reach for a small knife he had always tucked in his boot. He gripped the short handle, and with the strength of his legs, he thrust himself up to the assassin's torso, finding the soft spot under the man's ribs. Angling the blade upward, he buried it, puncturing the skin, scraping the edge of a bone, then reaching the meat.

Reiji wasn't sure if the small knife was long enough to reach the man's heart, but he felt he'd pierced one or two vital organs, punching through layer by layer. Then he twisted it for good measure.

The man with the black mask dropped the kampilan. It clanged to the floor as he stumbled back and clutched the knife. He looked down at his stomach, eyes wide as if trying to comprehend what had happened. Then he took another backward step before he finally collapsed to the floor. His knees hit the ground first, then fell on his belly with a whimper.

Reiji's breathing came ragged. The buttons of his barong had come undone, and sweat matted his black hair to his forehead. He looked at his hand soaked with blood and realized he had killed a man. Nausea struck him, but he steadied himself. It was not the time for guilt or fear.

He looked to the Kahani, who still stood by the door. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The Kahani didn't say a word. She pressed her fists to her chest as if she was praying, and she stared at Reiji. Her dark blue-gray eyes widened and filled with terror.

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