Silence Keepers Rarepair Week 2k17

Night had always been Flora’s least favorite time of day. It carried far too much danger and risk. Even walking around the Northern Fortress alone without Princess Camaeo, Jakob, Gunter, or her sister had been too dangerous at night. There had been no telling if she would be attacked or not, so she’d piled into the kidnapped princess’ bed along with Jakob and Felicia. She hated that she found herself away from camp under the light of the full moon now. “No, no… That’s wrong. Oh…” She dropped the practice knife and sank to her knees, burying her face in her hands. No matter what she did, she got the movements wrong, large or small. She could hear her father’s criticisms and a few tears rolled down her face. Clumsy. Useless. Disgrace to the Ice Tribe and our bloodline. Being so terrible with weapons had revoked her birthright of leading the tribe someday. Felicia was clumsy but at least she was competent with wielding weapons. Her? She really wasn’t good for anything other than housekeeping and nothing but useless deadweight. The sound of a rustling bush made her head snap up and she looked around. Through tear-blurred vision, she saw a silver moonbeam approach. Blinking them away, she realised it was Prince Takumi. The way his hair glowed in the dim light sure made it feel like… “And just what do you want?” Flora slipped back into the usual cold mask, but her words lacked their usual bite. With as raw as she was, it was difficult to snap and be cold. “I’ve seen you sneak out of camp a few times, but since it’s so late tonight, I was worried. According to Princess Elise, this is a pretty dangerous part of Nohr so…” The prince sat next to her and picked up the wooden knife. Her gaze just drifted down and tears misted over again. Normally, she would have snipped at him for implying she couldn’t defend herself, but it was true. She knew she had been stupid for sneaking out of camp in such a dangerous area, but she’d been restless and needed to get out. Silence cloyed the air for several moments until Takumi stood up and offered hr a hand. “...Might I have this dance, Ribeiro-san?” She looked up at him with blank eyes. Where in the gods’ names had this come from? He was nothing but cruel to the people in camp and yet… Even in the dim light, she saw color flush his cheeks. “Humor me for a bit? I won’t hurt you; I promise.” The genuine warmth in his tone made it hard to refuse, so she gave a small, reluctant nod before he pulled her to her feet. For the next hour, he and the moonlight existed only for her. She stepped slowly, uncertainly at first, but she found confidence in his warm, gentle words. An unkind one never passed over his lips as they stepped, twirled, and turned beneath the silver beams. Something about the routine felt familiar, yet it was unlike any dance style Gunter had taught her. “Prince Takumi, if you don’t mind my asking…what dance style is this? It feels very familiar, but I can’t place it.” She just had to ask. It wasn’t Nohrian, that much was certain, but how could it feel so familiar if it wasn’t…? An unreadable smile adorned the prince’s lips as he held out he practice knife. “Why don’t you try that combination you were practicing before?” Flora just gave him a sidelong glance, hesitating before she took the wooden blade. All of the old worries flooded her mind as she started the first movements. To her surprise, everything flowed. Six, seven, eight, nine movements worked in near-perfect sync. She could still pick out the pois that needed refinement, but she’d never moved with a weapon like that before. She stared at Takumi. What had he…? His smile silenced her fears as he wrapped both of his warm hands around the one gripping the weapon. “Ribeiro-san, the trouble you have is that you project past negative experiences into your practice. You were criticised for not meeting up to your sister and possibly even your culture’s expectations, right?” Her head snapped up, her eyes wide. “H-How did you…?” Was she really so transparent? She thought she hid it better than that… “The Snow Wings are full of people like you, so I know what to look for. If you’d like, you could join. They’re my personal unit so only those I pick are allowed in.” His honeyed gaze took her breath and away and she swear her heart skipped a bit. How in the gods’ names was this the same man that terrorised the Nohrian camp so much? The two sides he showed were diametric opposites; how did they exist in the same person? Forcing herself calm, she looked down and away, not wanting to lose herself in those eyes. “I…really don’t know, Prince Takumi… I’m useless in combat…” She really was. Just because he’d taught her one combination didn’t mean she could be trained fully. Her father and Gunter had tried her whole life and she continued to fall to that day. She caught him nod on the peripheral of her vision and he dropped her hand. “I won’t force you to, but the offer will always remain open. Regardless, if you’d like me to teach you more, I can.” She looked at the practice dagger in her hand, biting her lip. They were at war and needed every available soldier. If she could be of more use to everyone especially Princess Camaeo… And maybe she could reclaim her birthright as future chief of the Ice Tribe… She let her gaze drift upward, their eyes locking again. “If you would be so kind, Prince Takumi.”