#shinoya

“Congratulations Crown Prince. The Princess is Pregnant”

Prince Kagami: If that is everything, then I’ll be leaving.

Emperor Hiruzen: Wait. You’ve been very distracted today. 

Prince Kagami: I apologise.

Emperor Hiruzen: I hear you and the Princess went to see another Doctor.

Prince Kagami: ...Yes.

Emperor Hiruzen: And?

Prince Kagami: ...He said he can’t find a physical reason why she’s not getting pregnant. There’s no problem with me or with her. It’s just not happening. Somehow.

Emperor Hiruzen: I should have known earlier that her womb was cursed. I never would have let you marry her in the first place.

Prince Kagami: Father!

Emperor Hiruzen: But all is well, now that we’ve taken the steps to recover from this deception.

Prince Kagami: What are you talking about?

Emperor Hiruzen: Hye Sun, your concubine. Get her pregnant. You have until the end of next month.

Prince Kagami: And if I refuse?

Emperor Hiruzen: There are other ways I can make a woman carry your child, with or without your consent. Don’t assume that I won’t go to such lengths to protect the Hizashi family name. This is the last time I expect to have this conversation with you.

Princess Sakura: Your Imperial Majesty

Empress Chunhua: Princess Sakura, you’ve come. Please sit. 

Princess Sakura: Thank you Your Majesty.

Empress Chunhua: A woman in your condition must not stay standing for long, and please call me mother.

Princess Sakura: Thank you, mother. You look beautiful in that colour.

Empress Chunhua: Thank you. And congratulations on your pregnancy. I don’t believe in wearing dark colours around children. It’s a bad omen.

Empress Chunhua: Anyway, straight to business. One of the first things you should know about me is that I do not like to waste my words. So I expect you to hold on to every word of this conversation, as if you’re holding on for dear life.

Princess Sakura: Yes, mother.

Empress Chunhua: One day, you will be Empress. Whether that is in the near future or the far future the fact remains that that time will come and when it does, you must be prepared. 

Princess Sakura: Yes mother, I will be.

Empress Chunhua: No, you won’t. At least not without my help.

Empress Chunhua: I’ll tell you the same thing I told the Crown Prince. Right now, he is too soft to become the Emperor. Shinoya will crumble under his rule.

Princess Sakura: In that case, for the sake of Shinoya, he must change.

Empress Chunhua: Precisely. The only problem is, he cannot.

Princess Sakura: What?

Empress Chunhua: Both my sons are more important to me than anything. So I know them better than anyone. The Crown Prince... Kagami is a softie. It’s his nature and that can’t change. Haru, on the other hand, is extremely selfish and doesn’t care about anything but his interests first, a trait he inherited from his father. Neither of them is perfectly fit to rule Shinoya. But Kagami holds the most promise.

Princess Sakura: I agree that Kagami is gentle, but he can learn to at least put on a mask for the sake of the Kingdom. If he cannot change on the inside, he can act like he has changed from the outside.

Empress Chunhua: You know, Sakura, not a single day has gone by over the past 5 years where I have doubted that you would make a great Empress.

Princess Sakura: What?

Empress Chunhua: I see bits of myself in you. The truth is you’re incredibly brilliant but you don’t draw attention to it, so you’re capable of catching people off guard. You’re a lot smarter that Kagami gives you credit for. You don’t act on impulse, you take the time to think through your decisions. You stand innocently by Kagami’s side but he would fall to pieces without you. Right now, you are the greatest pawn in the future of Shinoya.

Empress Chunhua: You are Kagami’s greatest strength but also his greatest weakness. His Empress. Kagami will be Emperor no matter what. But he can’t rule properly as he is. So you will turn him into the Emperor that Shinoya needs.

Princess Sakura: Me? How?

Empress Chunhua: By turning into me.

Empress Chunhua: You’re very capable as you are Sakura, but you have two major weaknesses. One, you don’t know your own strength so you’re unable to exploit it. Two, you’re too soft... for now. Unless you take care of both weaknesses, you will not succeed. 

Princess Sakura: How do I do this?

Prince Haru: Sunny, come on. I’m taking you home.

Lady Hye Sun: Haru you can’t. I’m the concubine to the Crown Prince now.

Prince Haru: No, you’re not!

Lady Hye Sun: I don’t have a choice!

Princess Sakura: She’s right Haru. 

Prince Haru: Neesan?

Princess Sakura: She can’t leave. As much as I’m not happy about this situation, she has to stay. Who knows what the Emperor would do, to her or her family, if he found out she ran away.

Prince Haru: Well I’m not just going to sit back and let this happen.

Princess Sakura: Haru...

Princess Sakura: Sunny, this is where you’ll be staying in the meantime. 

Lady Hye Sun: Thank you...

Silence

Princess Sakura: Well, I guess I’ll leave you to it then.

Lady Hye Sun: Yes, thank you...

Sunny starts crying

Princess Sakura: Sorry, I forgot to tell you- Are you okay? 

Lady Hye Sun: Yes, I’m perfectly fine. Just adapting is all.

Princess Sakura: Are you sure? I know this is all new and it’s-

Lady Hye Sun: Yes. I’m fine. I’m here because I chose to be here. It’s my duty. One that I have accepted.

Princess Sakura: Then, why are you crying?

Lady Hye Sun: I’m... adapting...

Princess Sakura: Sunny, I’m not blind. I can see that you’re not okay with this.

Lady Hye Sun: What I want does not matter.

Princess Sakura: It does to me.

Lady Hye Sun: I’m scared.

Princess Sakura: I know.

Lady Hye Sun: I’ve only just graduated high school but my future has already been set in stone. I have to sleep with a man I don’t know and become a mother to his children when I’m still a child myself. I’m scared.

Prince Kagami: I thought I’d find you here.

Princess Sakura: Yeah...

Prince Kagami: Come, Sakura. Let’s talk.

Prince Kagami: I’m so sorry Sakura. This is all my fault. If’ I’d stood up to my father sooner he wouldn’t have done something so horrible.

Silence

Prince Kagami: What’s on your mind?

Princess Sakura: Hye Sun is a nice girl. She’s just a child, she’s only just graduated high school. Never even had a boyfriend. And now she’s being forced to have your children.

Prince Kagami: I know. It’s horrible.

Princess Sakura: But... I can’t help but think...

Prince Kagami: What?

Princess Sakura: Maybe we should consider what your father said... N-Not with Hye Sun, but we can find someone else. 

Prince Kagami: Sakura...

Princess Sakura: It’s been four years Kagami. I love you more than anything and I want us to raise a family together. But if that can’t be by me, I won’t deny you children by someone else. 

Prince Kagami: Sakura we still have options.

Princess Sakura: Like what?

Prince Kagami: We could go to a doctor-

Princess Sakura: We’ve been to a doctor. So many times I’ve lost count.

Prince Kagami: We can go to another one. I’m not giving up until we get real answers about why you’re not getting pregnant.

Princess Sakura: And what if they say it’s because I can’t have children. Finding out that I’ve failed as a wife, as a woman. That I can’t be the mother of your children. It’ll kill me from the inside out.

Prince Kagami: Well, what if the doctor says it’s because I can’t have children?

Silence

Prince Kagami: You’re my wife Sakura. My Empress. That can and will never change. Children or no children. If that’s what tthe doctors say, we still have other options that don’t involve me sleeping with another woman. Because no matter what, that will forever be off the table. Okay?

Princess Sakura: ... Okay