Chapter Text
Wataru's world shattered when her mother did. The scene had played in her mind a million times, with her mother walking calmly away from the house, facing her executioner, fighting and being killed. And during the whole thing, the teenager had watched. Her mother had turned glassy, died in a shower of multicolored shards.
She had picked up the shards, stored them away. The shards of her mother sat in a box by her father's violin in the display cabinet of the workshop, the only thing she had of him. She at least had her mother's remains; her father's, if any, were in some place unknown to her.
"Wataru-chan?"
She blinked and returned her focus to Oomura-san who was standing over at the table, waiting patiently for her. Oomura-san was an amazing man and at least an adequate parent figure, and it wasn't his fault that he was what he was.
Besides, she owed him so much for taking her in and teaching her as much as he did.
"Sorry, Oomura-san," she said, returning to the table of the atelier. The atelier, the violin workshop, was at the top floor of the house. It looked out over her combination living room and dining room, and if she went downstairs, was where the nook of her bed was. Below her bed were under-bed cabinets where she kept her clothes. It was a tidy little arrangement, and she liked it that way.
Her left palm itched, and she scratched it before returning to the table and to a violin that was being set and waiting for the glue to dry. She was grateful that Oomura-san would be the one to return it to the woman; had she been tasked with the job, she would have likely tried to kill the woman. If she could. The supposed college professor had been one of those indirectly responsible for the murder of Wataru's mother, and Oomura-san knew that too, thus he was taking the violin back instead of her. "Besides," he'd said, "If you get too close, she'll probably know what you are."
She liked Oomura-san. Oomura-san who kept her from ruining her chances at getting revenge for her mother's death, who told her what she needed to know about her heritage and why her mother had died. He had apparently been ordered by her mother to keep that part of her ancestry secret, but thankfully, he hadn't listened to her mother. Well, he probably would have, had he not come upon her, cradling the box with her mother's remains and crying. And then - against his better judgement, he'd said later - he'd told her everything.
"It's all right," Oomura-san said. "I'd just like to make sure that violin is perfect so that we don't have to deal with her for the next few decades." She could tell that he was joking, and smiled humorlessly. She knew she couldn't kill the woman, just like she couldn't bring her mother's killers to justice. But it was a pleasant thought, a pleasant dream.
"You sure we can't poison it?" she asked. "Make her really sick?" She knew that the woman couldn't be killed that way, but she still wanted to do something. Something that would cause the woman pain.
"Do you really want to call attention to yourself?" he asked. "If she gets sick, she'll come back here. If she comes back here, you might be here. And if you're here and she's here, then there's always the risk that she'll know what you are." He checked over the violin he was working on. "The last thing you want is an Elder getting near you. I know that at least two decided to visit shortly after your mother died, and if they'd found you...."
"Death," she said gloomily. "Death to the little half-breed Royal."
"Or worse," he said. "They could have accepted you. Your mother definitely didn't want that."
Wataru nodded. "I know. I wouldn't have let them."
"If they'd taken you to Dran," Oomura-san said, "You wouldn't have had a choice."
She shivered. Of course Oomura-san was right. She'd be brought up to be what she hated, and if she resisted... well, she'd probably have been killed. Or worse. As it was, she still could be found and imprisoned in the castle to be held until they were sure she was useless.
Better to remain out of sight, be prepared just in case an opportunity came. She scratched her palm once more, returning to her work.
Really, she never wanted to stop making violins. Making violins was what her mother had wanted her to do. Her mother had wanted her to be normal, human, had raised her that way. If it hadn't been for Oomura-san, and what she'd seen, she would have gone through life ignorant of what she was.
But knowing what she was didn't make things much better. She knew fully well why her mother had died, and how. Who had been there when she had been killed. But Wataru was more human than not, at least power-wise, and so there was little she could do to take revenge on those responsible for the death of her mother. Even if she trained, she didn't have the power; she could have had it, but her mother had cut her off from that choice. And a Royal half-breed indistinguishable from a human was certainly not powerful enough to go after a creature who could drain her without much effort, and gladly would.
"I hate being powerless," she complained as she worked, applying violin varnish to a violin that she was working on. "I hate not being able to do anything."
"Maybe it's for the best," Oomura-san soothed. "You're being what your mother wanted you to be. That should be all that matters."
"Wataru," Kivat, her bat-shaped companion said, echoing the man's words, "Your mother sacrificed much so that you could live in peace."
"I know," she said. "It's just... I can't solve anything here. I can't hurt her killers. I'm stuck being me."
"Maybe," Kivat said, "That is the best revenge."
He didn't want her hurt, she knew that. And Oomura-san loved her like a daughter, she knew that too. Between the two of them, she should have been happy.
But the image of her mother shattering into pieces, of the one known as Bishop delivering the death blow, of the teenage boy, the King-to-be standing there and letting her mother be killed even though he knew that mother was his mother as well....
Oomura-san wanted her to be safe, she knew, and making violins was a pretty safe endeavor. He was the one who went out a lot, got the supplies, unless he was busy. Her mother had been the same way; as a girl, Wataru hadn't gone to play with kids too much.
She had never even been to school. Her mother had taught her arts and reading and all of the important things she needed to know. If that included parts of her nonhuman ancestry, her Fangire heritage, Wataru didn't know.
As far as Wataru was concerned, the only kind Fangire were Oomura-san and her mother. Her mother had hunted criminals, and Oomura-san had done the same, as little as possible. The rest of the Fangire could go to hell, feeding on humans as if they were cattle, ending human lives at their cruel whim. Oomura-san said that he and her mother had once been the same way, but as far as she was concerned, they'd both made it up to the universe.
If Wataru could hunt the Fangire, she would. But she was powerless against them. There was no way a human could go against a Fangire and win; the human would die, their life energy sucked out of them, a meal for their opponent. Oomura-san had said that her mom had done certain rituals when she was a baby, to protect her from detection, but it had also taken away what little power she did have from her Fangire heritage.
Oomura-san walked over to her. "Your mother wanted you to be safe, Wataru. That's all that matters. If I'd known you would have obsessed over this, I wouldn't have told you."
"She was my mother, Oomura-san," Wataru said, swinging around to face her mentor. "I had a right to know." Blinking back a tear, she remembered what it had been like the day her mother had died.
5 years earlier....
"Wataru," her mother said, looking down at the garden, "There's some business that I need to attend to."
Wataru nodded as she shaped the piece of wood that would ultimately become part of a new violin. "Will it be long?"
Her mother smiled. "I hope not. But if it does, you can take care of the shop."
Wataru nodded, still working on the wood. Behind her, her mother spoke softly to Kivat, her mother's constant companion, and went down the stairs, closing the stairwell door behind her.
Finishing bending the wood for the moment, Wataru put it down to allow it to set. She moved to look out the window to check out their visitors when Kivat swooped in front of her.
"This is your mother's business," he said. She could have easily swatted him away, but she instead just stared at him. "Please, Wataru, just go back to your work."
"But Mom...." Wataru objected. "It's just a peek, Kivat. And I'll be behind the curtains; nobody could see me." Her mother didn't always want her to meet her guests, and she was a mysterious person sometimes.
"No, Wataru," Kivat said firmly. But Wataru wasn't listening. She caught Kivat and held him to prevent him from interfering. After all, she was safe behind the curtains. Nobody would see her there. And she would know what was going on.
Peering through the gauzy curtain, she could see her mother cross the courtyard and meet the two at the gate. One was a man in a black outfit with a white scarf, while the other was a teenage boy, maybe a year or so older than Wataru, in a red shirt and blue jeans, wearing a glove on his left hand.
She wondered if that was a popular thing, because the little boy who had saved her from bullies wore a glove on only one hand too. She didn't remember any other people doing it.
Her mother opened the gate, spoke briefly to the man in the white scarf, tried to embrace the teenager before he pushed her off. Then they were gone, walking towards the park, and she was aware that Kivat was struggling in her hand. "I've got to see what's going on," she said.
"Your mother would be unhappy," Kivat said, "If you weren't doing your work."
"Screw my work," she said, brushing off the words. "This is a chance to know more about my mother."
The violin she was working on would not be ruined, and the one her mother had been working on was clamped up and drying. She headed downstairs, to the back exit, where her mother wouldn't think to look for her. By the time she padded out the back entrance and locked it, of course, they had disappeared out of sight, but Wataru knew the neighborhood and it was easy to catch a glimpse of them, Kivat following sullenly behind her.
She followed the trio through the park to one of the more private spots. She and her mother had played hide-and-go-seek multiple times there when she was a little girl, and she knew all the good hiding spots. Her mother faced the man in black, while the teenager stood nearby.
Suddenly, markings appeared on her mother's face, and then her form blurred and shifted. In her place was a reddish-purple *monster*, and Wataru had to cram her fist into her mouth to not let anybody know that she was there. The man in black and white shifted as well, to a similar form, one both butterfly-like and swanlike, and hefted a weapon. To her surprise, the teenager just stood there, not shifting form at all.
Then the monsters started fighting each other. To her surprise, despite the bulky-looking form, her mother was rather agile. The man was no lightweight either, though he seemed better built for dodging and defense rather than offense. The two monsters seemed like they were well-matched, though her mother was better on the offensive than the man.
This went on for what seemed like forever in a few seconds, until the slimmer monster - the man - hit her mom with a beam of blueish light after slamming her across the clearing. "Goodbye, *Queen*," he said, shimmering back to human form.
Her mother did not reply, the monster form glassy and multi-colored. A few seconds after the man's words, her mother's form collapsed into shards in the grass. Wataru stuffed her hand further into her mouth so that the man and the teenager would not find her. If the man had just blown up her mother, who could turn into a monster and fight, he could certainly kill her just as easily.
The man in black turned to the teenager. "Now you will have a proper Queen to be with, my King, when both of your powers awaken." He put a hand on the teenager's shoulder. "You know the error of your mother's ways and I know you will guide your Queen not to repeat them."
The teenager nodded. "It had to be done," the teenager said, snorting. "She was a traitor to her own kind, a lover of humans. It was a shame it took so long to find her and destroy her."
"Yes, it is a shame. But... it is done. Maybe your Queen will awaken soon." The man smiled, a creepy smile by Wataru's estimates, and patted the young man on the shoulder. He then moved to the pile of shards that once was Wataru's mother, leaving Wataru to stare at the teenager who seemed to be unaware of her presence. King? What was he King of? Queen? What had her mother been Queen of? And if the teenager had been her mother's son, that made him at least her half-brother, if not full.
Her half-brother and the black-and-white man had killed her family. Well, the man did, but the teenager, the King, had stood there, not stopped him, knowing that his mother was the one being killed.
The man in black and white retrieved something from the pile, and displayed it to the King. "There's nothing here for us now," he said.
The two of them walked from the clearing. Wataru just stared, hand still jammed into mouth, until it was likely that the two were gone. She stared at Kivat, who hovered behind her. "What happened?"
"Something your mother would have never wanted you to see," Kivat intoned.
"But... but mom...." she stared at the shards in the clearing. "What was I supposed to do, worry about her when she never showed up again?"
"She didn't want you to be part of this world," Kivat said. "You have to forget, Wataru. She's dead. That doesn't mean your life is."
"It feels like it," she said. "Kivat, what did he mean by King? Queen? What does my mother have to do with all of this?"
"It's not important, Wataru," Kivat said. "It's something that your mother stepped away from so that you could have a normal life. Honor your mother's intentions. Go home, pretend this didn't ever happen." He patted her on the shoulder with a wing.
She ignored him, unrolling the scarf that she always kept around her neck. "I won't forget. I never will forget."
Gathering as many shards as she could in her scarf, she went home.
When she got there, she suddenly realized she didn't know what to do. Her mother was in little glass pieces, her fingers were bleeding, and she was now alone, even with Kivat there. She washed the fingers, applied bandages, and stared at the glass shards despondently, finally putting them in a box she found.
And then the doorbell rang.
Glancing out the window, she saw Oomura-san, one of her mother's friends, a friend of her father's before he became her mother's. She'd forgotten that he was going to come by, and her mother wasn't there to receive him.
So she went downstairs, bandaged fingers and all, and went to the gate. "Oomura-san! Thank goodness you're here!"
"Wataru-chan?" Oomura-san asked, confused. "What happened?"
"My mother, she's...." Then Wataru shut up for a moment. "Let's go inside."
She lead the confused violin maker up to the workroom. "My mother," she said again.
"Wataru-chan, where's your mother?" Oomura-san asked. "Did she disappear?"
Wataru pointed wordlessly at the box full of glass shards. "Mom."
"She saw," Kivat clarified. The bat flapped around the room as if unsure what to do.
"Oomura-san, what's going on?" Wataru asked. "Please tell me." Oomura-san had to know, from what Kivat had said. Something was being kept from her, something important, and she had to know what it was.
Oomura-san looked at the bat, and then Wataru, and then at the bat. "But I promised her mother...."
"As did I," Kivat said. "But she saw the Queen and Bishop. Fighting."
"In true form?" Oomura asked, paling.
"My mom is dead," Wataru said, pointing at the shards.
"This is not a conversation I ever wanted to have with Maya-sama and Otoya-san's daughter," Oomura told Kivat. "She's not even supposed to know! Order of the Queen...."
"The Queen's dead," Wataru pointed out. "My mom is *dead*."
"She's not going to be able to let it go until she knows," Kivat said with a sigh.
"We can't convince her that she dreamed it?" the violinmaker asked the mechanical-looking bat.
"We might," Kivat allowed. He flapped to one side, as if to be out of reach.
"I'm right here," Wataru pointed out. "My mother is dead. Someone please tell me what is going on."
"At least she's dead so she can't kill me," Oomura-san said. "Wataru-chan, let's go downstairs. I don't know about you, but I could use some tea."
Wataru nodded mechanically, plodding down the stairs and mechanically walking into the kitchen. She put the kettle on and prepared Oomura-san's favorite tea variety - had to be considerate towards guests, after all - and set out two mugs with a snack or two.
She then walked out tray in hands, setting it down at the table, serving Oomura-san, and then sitting down herself. "So, Oomura-san, what is going on and why was it so important to hide from me?"
Oomura-san sighed. "Have you ever heard the term 'Fangire'?" he asked.
Wataru tossed the term around, and finally shook her head. "No, why?"
"Because your mother, myself, you partly... are Fangire." Oomura-san fiddled with the finger sandwich she'd made.
"I saw my mom become a monster," Wataru said, remembering her mother's change. "What are Fangire?"
"We're not human," Oomura-san said. "Humans are our prey. They provide us with the life energy we need to live. We're not the only species that does that, we just happen to be the one that's thriving. You saw your mother's true form today, Wataru-chan."
Wataru pictured the form. Oddly enough, since it was her mother, it didn't seem so horrible. "She was beautiful," she said. "But humans are food to you?"
Oomura-san nodded. "I promised your father I wouldn't kill humans. I couldn't quite hold to that promise, so I attempt to honor it by killing as few as possible, and those that need that mercy. Your mother was the same way." He looked at his tea. "Your father was a good man, Wataru-chan."
Nodding, Wataru watched him closely. "So am I Fangire? Or am I human?"
"Both, and neither," Oomura-san said. "But your mother suppressed your Fangire blood through a ritual called Ritual Obscurement - which leaves you more or less a human for all intents and purposes. She wanted to honor what your father was and also, to keep you safe."
"I remember you and Mom talking about it." She doubted that either her mother nor Oomura-san had realized she was there. "You disagreed."
"Part of me wants you safe," Oomura-san said. "The other part of me... well, you are - were - in line for your mother's position as Queen. It bothered me to circumvent the natural way." He smiled briefly. "For two weeks of your life, maybe a month, you were the most likely candidate for Queen. But the Obscurement stopped that."
"The Obscurement made me human," Wataru-san realized.
"For all intents and purposes," Oomura-san agreed. "Loving humans is forbidden, punishable by death. That is part of the Queen's duties. But as your mother found out, love doesn't care what species you are. She fell for your father and became a traitor under our law. Most Fangire consider loving a human like a human would consider loving a pet in the romantic way. By our laws, you shouldn't even exist. And for you to be in line for the throne...."
"In other words, I could be Queen, but everybody would hate me," Wataru said, looking down. "I'd be a living example of a Queen breaking the law." He mother had wanted her to be better, much better, so she had been raised as a human. It made so much sense. Oomura-san's kind, her mother's people, they were so much less than humans, and yet they thought they were more.
So much more.
"Your mother said that if they found you before you were a teenager, they'd kill you," he said, taking a sip of the tea as if it would make things easier. "If a teenager on, they'd try to groom you for the throne. And if you weren't the Queen... then you'd die."
Wataru shivered. "That's why the Obscurement." To keep her safe, to keep her hidden.
Oomura-san nodded. "I wouldn't have known you have Fangire blood without touching you. An Elder, or one of the Checkmate Four - more or less our rulers - might be able to tell from several feet, but the average Fangire couldn't. Your mother says that it also keeps you from becoming Queen."
Nodding, Wataru took a sip of the tea. "The Checkmate Four?"
"King, Queen, Bishop, Rook," Oomura-san said. "The King keeps humans from being a threat to the Fangire. The Queen executes traitors. Bishop keeps an eye on Fangire society and prepares the traitor lists for Queen. Rook protects the other three. King and Queen are chosen by unknown means from Fangire with royal bloodlines, with their children having the greatest chance to inherit the titles. Bishop, it sounds like, executed your mother, and the King-to-be watched."
"The King-to-be," Wataru said dully. "She was his mother, too. Why did he allow her to die?"
"Because he was no doubt told that it was right, and that what your mother did was a crime. The ultimate crime," Oomura-san told her. "Don't blame him for following the law of our kind."
"I'm glad I'm human then," Wataru said. "So, I have to be careful of these Checkmate Four?"
"And the Elders, and touching other Fangire," Oomura-san said. "Though if your life is in danger, do touch common Fangire. It might save your life."
Wataru nodded. "I will." She took a deep breath. "But otherwise, I will be human." She looked over at Oomura-san, tears finally falling after the shock and numbness of the revelations. "But Oomura-san, what do I do about my mother's remains?"
Oomura-san smiled. "We'll put them in a box, and give your mother the respect she deserves. I owe your mother that much."
Nodding shakily once more, Wataru sniffled.
That night, after Oomura-san had gone, Wataru swore that someday she would hurt Bishop and King for what they'd done to her mother, whose only crime was love. She didn't care if it was Fangire law, it was barbaric and she would do something about it.
Present day
"Wataru-chan," Oomura-san said patiently, "Trying to kill - even killing the King and Bishop would not bring your mother back. It would just prove that you are what they are."
"But I am what they are," Song pointed out, staring at the stairway. "I'm a Fangire Royal."
"No, you're not," Oomura-san said. "You're Kurenai Wataru, and you're going to be the best violin maker."
Wataru sighed. "You're right," she said. "I still want someday for something to happen to them... but right now it seems like it'll never happen."
Kivat flapped over to her. "Some things just aren't meant to be."
"Maybe they are meant to be," Wataru said, "And I just haven't found a way yet."
But she let Oomura-san deliver the violin back to the Fangire Elder, and she didn't do anything to it. Her mother would probably be proud of her.
As the days passed, though, she noticed Oomura-san becoming more infrequent, leaving the running of the shop up to her. Some days, he barely came, some days he was out in minutes. It was strange to have him trust her with the running of everything. She put on gloves, knowing that Oomura-san wasn't there to tell her if her customers were Fangire or not.
Finally, she'd had enough.
"Oomura-san," she said, "Not that I don't appreciate your confidence in me, but are you sure you want to leave me running the shop?"
Oomura-san looked over at her. "Why shouldn't I?"
"Well," Wataru said, "If I wasn't wearing the gloves, I could run across a Fangire customer by accident. And what if it's an Elder, or one of the Checkmate Four?"
"Your half-brother unfortunately did not inherit your mother's love of the arts and music," Oomura-san said wryly. "Rook's not interested in such things, and Bishop goes for organ music, not the violin. There's one Elder that plays, and I made sure that her violin was in good working order."
Wataru nodded. "So, I'm safe. More or less." Human, unlikely to be revealed as anything else. Someone who could someday get revenge, if she figured out how.
"It's past time for you to be taking over anyway," Oomura-san said. "This was always meant to be your shop, not mine. You know the trade. You know how to make violins. You're old enough to be on your own, and you don't need me to be here for you." He smiled gently. "Besides, with me gone, you lessen the chances of running across a Fangire customer."
Nodding again, Wataru picked up a half-finished violin, then nearly dropped it as her left palm itched fiercely. She scratched it, not daring to look at how bad her hand was getting.
"And you also lessen the chances of ever losing the protection your mother put on you," Oomura said. "When I visited the Elder with her violin, she told me King, Nobori Taiga, had awakened. That Queen should awaken soon. I'd rather not tempt fate and make you lose the Obscurement."
"Why would I lose it?" Wataru asked, mystified. "I'm all but human. I'm not in line for Queen anymore."
She didn't want to be Queen. She didn't want to be a monster, become one in spirit.
"I made some inquiries," Oomura-san said, "With that Elder. It turns out that being near me for the last few years could have affected what your mother did to keep you safe. Until the Queen is found, I'd rather not risk you picking up your mother's position."
"I wouldn't take it if I did," Wataru said coldly. "I'm not going to be part of a group that killed my mother."
"Wataru," Oomura-san said, "If you for some reason do become Queen, you become Queen. You can't fight it. And even if you do fight it, the King will not - and he will not stop until he finds you. Bishop will be looking too."
Snorting, Wataru said, "Good luck finding some human who spends her days in a violin shop."
"Bishop is not stupid," Oomura-san warned. "And the King has good reason to search for his Queen if she doesn't come to him. The Elders will be looking too." He looked too. "And if you are Queen, it would be against my instincts to keep you hidden. Your mother knew it too; if the Obscurement failed, she would have wanted you to be with your King." He stared at the inset cabinet with her father's violin and her mother's remains. "King and Queen belong together."
"Then isn't it best that I'm not going to be Queen?" she asked. "Don't worry, Oomura-san. I'm sure that the Obscurement will keep me safe."
Oomura-san nodded. "But I'm still going to stay away. I don't want to tempt fate."
"Thank you, Oomura-san," she said. "I'll try to live up to your greatness."
Oomura-san smiled, and headed out the door. She heard him close the downstairs door, and then she watched him leave.
"Well, Kivat," she said, scratching her palm again, "If Oomura-san is going to trust me with the shop, I'd better prove that I'm worthy of it." She was not going to be Queen, and someday Oomura-san would realize that too. She wasn't going to become one of the monsters who had executed her mother. "But first, I'd better put some salve on that palm."
She went downstairs to the first-aid box, getting some salve and bandages out. She had work to do, and she wasn't going to get it done just standing there.
Looking down at her palm, she realized that it wasn't red. At least not much. But it did have a black pattern - a tattoo, almost - in the center of it.
"Let me see," Kivat commanded, and she held out her palm, taking a look at it too. The tattoo in her palm was black and red, a chess piece, stylized with a rose at the bottom, and the text. The text that read "Queen."
A few moments of silence reigned before Kivat spoke again. "We're doomed."
“Is that the Queen’s Mark?” she asked, but it couldn’t be anything else. “Does that mean that what Mom did-“
“The ritual was for naught,” Kivat said. “You are the Queen.”
“So, what do I do now?” Wataru asked.
“Well,” Kivat said gently, “You could always accept Queen’s role.”
“I’m not going to be part of the group that murdered my mother,” Wataru said, mentally gritting her teeth. She’d said that before, but it bore repeating.
“By Fangire law,” Kivat said, “It was not murder, and they will not see it that way.” He flapped in front of her. “And by law, you are now Queen. You will be expected to carry out your duties – including marrying King.”
“The King is my half-brother,” Wataru said dully. “I’m sure even they wouldn’t require us to marry.”
“The Fangire allow incestuous marriages when it comes to King and Queen,” Kivat said, “Because of the way the Marks work, they don’t have a choice. The King and Queen have a desire to be with each other in order to insure the next generation. The best that the Fangire can do is forbid second children of the King and Queen.”
“I have absolutely no desire to be with my half-brother.” Wataru looked up at the hovering Kivat. “There will be no next generation.”
“The pull will be stronger than you think,” Kivat warned. “He’ll feel it too. If nothing else, you might not feel like you have to be with him, but he will feel like he needs to be with you. And his pull is stronger than yours – now that you’re awake, he will be looking for you, and he will not stop until he finds you. You might hate him, but you’ll have no choice in the matter.”
“He won't find me,” Wataru said softly. “I won't let him. There's got to be a way.” She curled her hand over the Mark.
“Wataru,” Kivat said, “The former King and Bishop both knew the name of Kurenai Otoya. While they won't like it very much, it is possible that either of them could realize that the Queen might be the former Queen's child. Just because you weren't technically supposed to be born doesn't mean that you weren't, and if the Queen doesn't seem to be coming to King, they will start looking.”
“And Oomura-san would probably tell them I exist,” Wataru said. The man had made it clear that if she was Queen, she should be with her King – and that probably meant bringing her to King's or Bishop's attention. Or even that Elder whose violin needed repairing. She shivered, remembering how she'd wanted the Elder to be sick, and how Oomura-san had warned her not to. He'd been wiser than she'd thought. But he'd still turn her in, if he had a chance.
“Not unless he was sure you were Queen,” Kivat said. “I think he would have done it. In fact, I'm sure your mother would have told him to do so in such a contingency. She told me that in case she failed that I was to encourage you to go to Taiga, your King.”
“My mom would encourage me to go to one of her murderers?” Wataru asked. “Why? Why would she want me to go to her killers?” She felt tears, wiped the corners of her eyes.
“Because despite everything, she knew the attraction between Queen and King, and she would have wanted both you and Taiga to be happy.” He patted her on the shoulder with a wing. “She knew what it was like to be Queen; she knew what you could be facing. For whatever reason the Obscurement failed, it failed and you have to live with it.”
“So, he can find me now?” Wataru asked. “Even with the Obscurement? Or has that totally failed?”
“I don't know, Wataru,” Kivat said. “But I do know that as time passes, he will become more and more desperate to find you. To not find you would mean his death as well as yours.” He flapped in place for a moment. “I think you should know that if King and Queen find each other, you'll have no choice but to consummate the relationship. The longer you wait, the more violent and desperate the consummation will be.”
"Rape, you mean?" Wataru asked softly.
"Exactly," Kivat said. "Not that you'll care when he touches you. Your mother hated her King, but she still desired him sexually."
“Then I just won't be found,” Wataru said firmly. “It would be a long and agonizing death, wouldn't it?”
“For both him and you,” Kivat confirmed. “It is not an easy road you're proposing to take, Wataru. You'll have to resist your own desires as well as escape him... and keep in mind that, as I mentioned, eventually someone will remember the name of your mother's lover and realize that their Queen might have had an illegitimate second heir with him. Remember that Bishop knew where she had been living... he might choose to pay a visit.”
“With luck, he'll find nothing but a human violinmaker of no use to him,” Wataru said. “I can't be read, remember?”
“He would be powerful enough,” Kivat said grimly. “And I have no doubts that if he wasn't sure, he would bring your King to you to see how the two of you would react.”
“I'm not going to be Queen, Kivat,” Wataru said. “And he deserves to die. He's killed one Queen; what's one more?” Of course, killing her mother had obviously not killed him, but she wasn't going to make things easy for him.
"To the King, to be paired with his proper Queen is important to him," Kivat said. "You are Taiga's proper Queen. Therefore, he will be looking for you."
Wataru ran a hand through her hair. "So, what can I do to minimize his chances of finding me?"
"You'll have to hope the Obscurement keeps working," Kivat said, "Never leave the house, and hope that Bishop doesn't make the connection."
"But I have to leave the house, for supplies!" Wataru exclaimed. "I need to find out as much as possible. I should pump Oomura-san for information and not let him know I'm the missing Queen. The more I know, the better I can avoid King."
"And Bishop," Kivat reminded her. "Bishop will be looking too."
"And Bishop," Wataru said grimly. "Him too." So, she had to use Oomura-san, keep him from finding out that she was Queen, and avoid the King and Bishop. At least they were only two people.
"But you can't not live," Kivat said. "Your mother wouldn't have wanted you to be a total hermit. And now, with being Queen, you are going to feel restless inside. Because King isn't here."
"I'll live with it," Wataru said grimly. "I can order things."
"And then you will become impatient with the delivery service and go and get them yourself," Kivat pointed out. "Your body wants to be with King."
"Well, my body can go fuck itself off, then," Song said. "I refuse to-"
"Listen to your body," Kivat finished. "I know. I just hope that you're making the right choice, Wataru."
"I am," Wataru said firmly, and then started looking for some salve.
She ended up not only with salve, but with a couple of pairs of fingerless and regular gloves. With renewed energy, she kept at work with her violins, though she was, as Kivat predicted, drawn to go out. She found that being in the fresh air helped, though being outside in the sun helped even more. So she took up reading - her mother a fan of fine literature as well as other arts - as a way of not actually leaving the gates of her house.
But mostly, she stayed inside. Inside was safe. Inside did not have a King lurking about, ready to pounce on her and make her like he was - a killer. Of course, she would kill him, eventually, through their own biology, but that was the only killing that she would ever do. And then she would die anyway.
One day, the doorbell rang. Wataru slipped on her gloves - the regular kind - and showed up at the gate, where a woman was waiting with a violin case. "Yes, how may I help you?" Wataru asked, bowing slightly.
"I'm told that Oomura Takeo was here, and he repaired violins," the woman said. "I'm Miyazawa Hitomi, and Dr. Yanagi said to tell him she sent me."
Fangire customer. Yanagi Tomomi had been the Elder that Oomura-san had been so careful about. "Oomura-san has taken a vacation. Would you prefer to wait for him to return and do the repair, or do you need it faster?" She hoped that the woman would wait for Oomura-san to return so that she didn't have to deal with the Fangire."
"No, I need it," the woman, Miyazawa-san, said. "I'm sure that a man of such a reputation would not leave an apprentice on their own unless the apprentice could handle it. Would you please repair my violin?"
"I can do that," Wataru said, being polite and bowing at the woman. "Let's take your violin upstairs so that I can give you a proper estimate."
Oomura-san would be so proud of her.
She led her potential customer up to the atelier, indicating the center table. "Please, put your violin down here and unlatch the case."
The woman put the case down on the table and opened it. She moved the way a true violinist would with a violin, so Wataru had no doubt that she was one. She picked it up and examined it, hissing in sympathy at the damage, with the hole in the left side of the violin. "This will require some work, Miyazawa-san. May I ask how it happened?"
"Stupid human hunters," the woman responded, leaning back against the back workspace. "I use my violin to attract prey; now I'm without it, how can I hunt?"
A chill went up Wataru's spine as the woman casually talked about killing humans. "Hunters? I didn't know there were hunters."
Miyazawa-san nodded. "Yes. They're not very effective; the King makes sure of that. But they're still annoying when they stop you from hunting."
"Are you able to hunt anyway?" Wataru asked, trying to keep from shuddering. If only for the fact that the woman was so casual about it, especially from someone she just assumed was Fangire.
"Yes, it's just easier this way," the Fangire said casually. "The hunters are an annoyance. But the King will stop them if they get out of hand."
Wataru just nodded, not wanting to reveal how she felt about the woman's words. "Yes, he will."
"Have you heard the rumors?" Miyazawa-san asked.
"Rumors?" Wataru echoed. She frowned. Was this where the other was going to discover she wasn't a Fangire? "No, I'm afraid not."
"The Queen has awakened, and Bishop and King are hunting for her, but she hasn't shown up yet," Miyazawa-san said. "Can you imagine any woman not coming at the King's call?"
"She must feel either very independent, or very unworthy of King," Wataru said, examining the violin more for lack of other things to do. "After all, Queen is a very important position."
"Yes, but I'm sure King and Bishop would teach her what she needs to know," Miyazawa-san said. "I hear parents are hoping their daughters will develop the Mark, especially those in the royal bloodlines."
"That would make sense," Wataru said, hoping the woman would Go Away. "They have the best chance of developing Queen, after all."
"Yes, and I hope for his sake that she finds him, soon," Miyazawa-san said. "So, do you know how long the repair will take?"
"I apologize, Miyazawa-san, but it will take at least three days," Wataru said. "And I would say four for safety's sake. Can you wait that long?"
"I can wait," Miyazawa-san said.
"Then, let me have you fill out this form," Wataru said, "And I will contact you when it is fixed."