The Three Princes of the East. Not known as such because they were the only sons of the king– no, in these lands the ruler was known as the Emperor. The Emperor had other sons. Many other sons, because he had them with many women, but only women born to his Queen– Empress, were eligible to become Emperor themselves. Or at least, that’s what Ai said, because that’s what her mother had told her.

  The Eastern lands were a mystery. Their people were not allowed to leave. Ai and her mother were the only ones who had ever managed to do so successfully, from what I’d ever heard. Very few people were let in.

  If not for my mother’s homeland, the only nation with contact here, I wouldn’t be standing here. Even standing within the borders, I still knew next to nothing. None of the language, but one necessary phrase, and only the briefest of details of the ceremony I’d be partaking in today. The Choosing. I knew even less of the princes we were seeking engagement with.

  I did not even know what the room I stood in now looked like. Behind my veil I could hardly see a thing, but I could not take it off.

  The music that had played until now, on strange stringed instruments that made strange but not wholly unpleasant sounds came to a halt, and a loud man’s voice rang out. I could not understand the words, but it was clearly a command.

  “You are to join the other ladies in line before the princes.” Ai whispered in my ear. “Then you need only stand there until the other ladies leave. You’ll be alright.”

  I nodded, taking small steps as she gently pushed me in the direction I was meant to head. Silhouettes came into focus only faintly. I could see the general shapes of the girls beside me, but past that, nothing.

  A firm hand grabbed my forearm, pulling me from the place I’d found and dragging me to another. The veil hid my indignation. I did not need to see clearly to know where I’d been moved. Out of sight. The furthest from anyone’s mind. I held my head higher, the silhouettes around me showing the top of their heads. Even here I’d be seen well enough. All these girls were smaller than I was.

  Dignity. I reminded myself. Even in offense, I had to carry myself with dignity.

  The man from before began to speak again. Another command.

  All the girls around me bowed. I followed to do the same, but could not hurry. I had to look as if I’d done it before. Dignity. As befitting a princess.

  More words I didn’t understand were thrown out. It felt like ages of strange phonetics, inflections, and tonal changes I did not understand filling my ears. I didn’t know if my lack of understanding made it more or less bearable.

  Then something I did understand came out. A name.

  “Touya.”

  Touya. The oldest of the three. I could not see him, only hear his footsteps as he went down the line of girls, giving each of them a good look, if his pace was any indication. I saw him when he passed by me. His height, his posture, and his eyes. They held a blue so fiery and alight I could see them through the veil clearly. What creature had bestowed a blessing upon him, I had to wonder.

  The only time his pace changed was when he passed me, and it was quicker. There was no acknowledgement to an onlooker. Only I could see the smile that pulled his face, and the look in his eyes, as if even his glance was a treasure.

  I turned my head.

  Did princes truly act so arrogantly everywhere in the world? If they did, then all this was pointless. I turned my head back to where it should be, refusing to let this spell despair. There were still 2 princes left. Surely one of them would be respectable upon a brief meeting.

  “Shinji.”

  The youngest prince. My brows furrowed. Was this not supposed to go by birth order? The other prince was supposed to be next. The one with longer name I had failed to pronounce. Or was I confusing the names again? The sayings in this land were all so strange still.

  This boy was certainly younger than the first. It was clear in his size. His pace was nothing like his brother’s. It was so fast I think he cast the same glance upon each girl indiscriminately. When he got to me, it was the same. His eyes held the same blue, but past the fiery glow there was nothing. I had never seen such emptiness in the eyes of a child. It sent shivers through me, and I feared they showed past my veil.

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  His passing was a relief, but it was not forgotten.

  “Ryuunosuke.”

  The air felt different after his name was spoken, breaking through the barrier of languages so it could even talk to me. All the girls here had been readied with the sole purpose of attracting the attention of one of these princes, but the way the girls beside me shrunk was as if they now wanted to do the opposite.

  The shadows cast by the girls before me disappeared. The footsteps didn’t go down the lines at a steady pace. They went through the lines, pushing past them, speeding up, and stopping in front of me.

  Even with my face covered, I could see he was different. His posture was anything but regal. The outline of his clothes was looser, almost less formal, though I knew little of this place’s clothing styles. Him physically pushing the girls in front of me was something too. I was told contact in these lands, even among family, was considered taboo. Surely this casual assault was considered even more so.

  Then he spoke. It was hard to tell how old he was. The people here were all quite small, but he couldn’t be much younger or older than me. Yet his voice was harsh and sharp as if he were something of a military officer, his tone aggravated consistently throughout his dialogue.

  I opened my mouth, ready to repeat the only phrase I’d been taught to– a request for my translator.

  Only for him to tear the veil from my face.

  Not even the engrained stoicism of nobility could withhold the gasps. I myself, however, was too stunned for even such a thing as this. What was the dignified response to this?

  The sudden barrage of light to my once shielded eyes blinded me. His voice raised, sounding sharper than before, but just as indecipherable. What was his aim in yelling at a girl from different lands in his own tongue? This had to be all sorts of improper, but no one made a move to stop him.

  His words themselves meant nothing to me, but I could tell from the tone they were meant to be unpleasant. One word in particular held more sharpness than the others. “Baka.”

  I could finally see, eyes adjusted to the light, and leaving me surprised at the sight of the boy before me. He spoke like some kind of imposing man, but he was just a boy. A boy with hair longer than I’d ever seen on a man. A boy that lacked the roundness of typical gluttonous nobility. A boy with features of the face I’d only ever seen on my maid and her mother. A face that despite its manners and voice, seemed fitting for a prince, yet even more stark than the simple lines of him, were the color of his eyes.

  I’d seen the others through the veil. A fiery blue that seemed to glow, jumping out of their faces, a clear sign of blessing.

  I had known each prince was Blessed, by a lightening bird that gave them those eyes. Yet those were not the eyes staring into mine. The eyes in front of me were red. So red they rivaled even the most dazzling rubies. No. Not even the finest could hope to rival this color, nor the deepest of dyes.

  He’d gone quiet, the aggression leaving not only from his voice, but his posture. His face relaxed, and he looked like a proper child.

  Again I could not find guidance for what to do. Was I even intended to do anything in such a situation? This boy had taken things so far out of line there was no response that could remain inside them.

  Then he stepped even further from those lines, stepping closer to me. I stepped back, and he came even closer, forcing my eyes to meet his. I turned my head away, and he grabbed my face, turning it back to his.

  “Stop! Unhand me!” I protested. He could not understand my words, but the meaning was clear. Or it should have been. His hold only became firmer and he spoke over my protest.

  Trying to turn my head out of his hands was serving only to hurt my neck. His grip was too strong for a kid. I took his hands with mine, prying his fingers off of and taking my veil from him.

  “If you wish to speak with me, you will have to wait for my translator,” I repeated what I’d been made to learn. The only thing I could say that he would understand, but a part of me could not contain itself and added “baka.”

  It was a word I did not know the meaning of, but clearly, it was as rude as I had imagined. He let out an indignant sound, his face becoming unreadable as I returned the veil to its place on my head. He turned back the way he came, walking past the ruined lines that hurried to realign themselves in his absence.

  I felt eyes on me in the silence. Not only was I a foreigner in a land such as this, I had become a spectacle. I kept my head high.

  Dignity. Even now I had to maintain my dignity.

  It wasn’t like I had done any wrong. It was all that prince, and yet the attention was on me and not him.

  The man from before spoke again, voice unchanged by the events that transpired. Then the girls beside me bowed, and I did the same. Then they began to depart.

  I turned around, careful not to show my nervousness as I tried to recall the direction I had come from. It would be terribly embarrassing if I were to go the wrong way, particularly under such scrutiny. I could not afford anymore embarrassment.

  A hand took my sleeve. Even without seeing a silhouette I’d have known it was my father. He led me back to our seats before taking my hand beneath his robes, hiding from eyes that would find such contact shameful.

  “You did well,” he said. “It wasn’t your fault things were made a mess.”

  “I know.” I said, though my lip still trembled at the fact it did.

  “Good.”