"Ah, Lady Raiyama how are you fairing today?" I stopped hearing the voice behind me and turned to face Lord Kona, a younger Noble who served the crown prince. He was a bit of a naive boy at the crisp age of fifteen. His father had passed not too long ago making him the next Lord.

His hair was black, even though it appeared a dark grey in most lighting, and he had amber eyes that twinkled with boyish glee. He wore the colors of his noble house, since he was also a Duke instead of just a minor Lord. His house showcased black tones, along with light brown tones, and bronze touches. He looked the part of the newest Duke in Clarines.

"As well as one can in the hot weather." I replied watching as the young Lord took in my appearance because even though the summer sun was blistering today I still wore every piece of my noble clothing, "How about you Lord Kona?"

"Ah, I just came from a meeting with Izan- I mean the Crown Prince!" The young Lord pursed his lips together in distaste as he shook his head.

"You'll get used to every thing. Eventually, Lord Kona." I smiled softly at the boy trying to comfort him the best that I could. His father had died suddenly which had left him unprepared about advising the crown. I understood that feeling all to well, after all, I gained my title when I was but fifteen as well.

"I don't know if I'm cut out for this I mean, whose going to listen to a fifteen year old? I should just resign and let my Uncle take over." Lord Kona lowered his eyes shuffling his feet as he talked.

"Do you think I am wise, Lord Kona?" I asked him bending down on one knee so that he would look at me properly while we spoke.

"Get up Lady Raiyama! You can't be seen showing me any respect or your reputation will be-" Lord Kona tried to get me to stand up but I refused to move. My eyes stayed on his as my smile continued to remain on my face.

"Do you think I am stupid then, Lord Kona?" I asked and watched as his face grew red from effort and worry.

"Of course not! I think you're rather amazing, Lady Raiyama!" He spoke hurriedly and only then did I stand glad that he was now looking at me once more forgetting the notion of resigning.

"I was fifteen when I became Lady Raiyama and since then I have learned many things about this world." I spoke watching as his eyes widened, he clearly hadn't known that.

"If you feel unprepared, arm yourself with knowledge. If you make a mistake, fix it or ask for help. Above all though, when you advise speak with confidence so that you can be heard." I began to walk hoping the young man would follow me and he did. So, we began to walk through the halls of the castle in step with each other.

"How do I arm myself when there is no one in this place that wants to see me succeed?" He asked and I simply smiled at him knowing that there was no way that was true. At the very least I wanted the kid to succeed and I refused to believe Izana would want one of his men to fail.

"I can guide you if you wish, Lord Kona." I replied and I couldn't stop the smile that rose to my face. His eyes seemed to beam joy at me as he quickly nodded his whole body full of energy.

"I would absolutely wish that my Lady! Thank you!" He spoke so happily that I was jarred to see his smile falter and only then did I notice his gaze. I looked over my shoulder finding the answer to my unspoken question.

"You're first lesson is simple, Lord Kona." I turned to face him again nodding my head to get him to start walking towards the people he had seen over my shoulder. Two lesser nobles than ourselves and yet it was obvious as they whispered back and forth. Their eyes occasionally looking in our direction.

"Never show a reaction to such pitiful shows of displays." I spoke just before the two men could see us and then we stopped directly in front of them. I didn't wait to see what Lord Kona would say to my first lesson.

"Ah, Lords Fischer and Southwark how are you both doing today?" I smiled a fake gentle smile towards both gentleman as they both quickly fixed their posture. I imagine they only did that because of my own presence even though Lord Kona was a higher Lord than them as well.

"We are doing well Lady Raiyama of Estaria." Lord Fischer was the first one to respond using my full title at that. I couldn't figure out if he was trying to separate me because my title came from another kingdom or if he was showing me respect. I assumed the first though.

"Yes, Lady Raiyama, we are honored as well that you have decided to visit our Kingdom once more." Lord Southwark gave me a grin which sent my skin crawling. He wasn't being truthful at all, that much I was sure of.

"Have you met Lord Kona?" I looked towards the boy and I saw a flicker of panic in his eyes. Whatever he saw in my own calmed him down though and when he turned to face the men he had a gentle smile of his own on his face. His shoulders set back and his breath held.

"It is good to see you again Lords Fisher and Southwark." Lord Kona gave them a short nod of his head in greeting not seeing both the Lords faces darkening slightly.

"Ah yes, you're Alexander's son. It was a shame to lose such a fine man so young." Lord Southwark responded and Lord Kona nodded although it struck them odd that they were calling his father by his first name.

"Condolences child for your loss." Lord Fisher responded nodding once towards the boy and then turned towards me once more. I knew the question that as coming, considering I wasn't a noble within their kingdom.

"I wasn't aware that you two knew each other, Lady Raiyama." Lord Fisher spoke his gaze analyzing me and I refrained from showing any emotion on my face. I simply smiled at the man and tilted my head ever so slightly. I let out a small laugh and then I spoke.

"He's my new protege and I make sure to understand the Kingdom's Nobility of everyone the Lions of the Mountain are in contact with. Which means I have to know everyone, wouldn't you agree Lords?" I asked them watching as they both widened their eyes in shock at my statement.

"Yes, Lady Raiyama has been kind enough to take me under her wing." Lord Kona spoke once more and then he surprised me as he continued, "Thank you both for your condolences and kind words. My Father would have appreciated them tremendously."

"Yes, of course. I must be going, my wife is expecting me. Have a good day Lady Raiyama," Lord Southwark spoke looking at me and only then did he look to Lord Kona, "Lord Kona."

"You as well Lord Southwark." Lord Kona gave him a forced smile, he would need to work on that, and turned towards both of us.

"I should depart as well. I need to check on my family back home. I will message you via bird tomorrow Lady Raiyama. Lord Fisher." Lord Kona nodded his head towards both of us and then quickly made his escape before I could get a word in. I turned to the final Lord raising my eyebrow at him.

He simply nodded his head in a sort of bow and made his exit as well. Then I was alone and as I looked around to make sure no one else was there... only then did I let out the breath I had been holding. I scoffed, "Nobility."

"Considering you are nobility yourself I do not believe you have much room to complain, Lady Raiyama." I heard a voice come from a hallway a couple of paces ahead. Only then did the Crown Prince step from the shadows his eyes sparkling in mirth. A smirk settled on his face as he took me in.

"What do you think about the boy?" I replied not even responding to his badgering instead asking him what he thought about my protege. If I leaned into his provoking them we would be sparring with words until he convinced me to spar with swords. Infuriating man.

"I think he's terrified of speaking his mind. Whether that fear is warranted or not remains to be seen." Izana responded as he walked closer to me to where we were but a couple feet away from each other. I held my ground continuing to dare to look into his eyes as we spoke.

"He needed an ally in the castle to thrive, I provided him with the means." I replied as shrugging my shoulders like it was nothing, "He'll be a good advisor for you your highness."

I turned to leave but the prince put his hand on my shoulder to stop me. He took a step closer and his head leaned down to where I could feel his breath nearing my ear. I did not move knowing that he must want something since he was doing this. Still, it was the closest I had let him near me since all of those years ago in the mountains.

"You are playing a dangerous game, Mirayuki."

I never got the chance to turn around or ask him what he meant by his words. Instead, I felt the wind billow as he left and I waited until I knew he was gone to continue. He rarely called me by my full name, Lady Raiyama yes, Mira to irritate me sure, but never my full name. Only when it was important.

He was concerned about me taking on Lord Kona as my protege. Which meant I should be concerned about the boy.

Yet, even with my head spinning with theories for some reason I could still feel his eyes on me and his breath against my neck.

It had been two days since Shirayuki and the Prince had left to help the village of Renai. It was a small fishing town just south of the capital. Kazuki, true to his word, had not left her side the entire time to the point where Shirayuki wondered if he had even slept in the past forty-eight hours.

They had found that the water where the fish they had been catching were at had been polluted. So, whenever someone ate a fish from that they had gotten ill. It had taken awhile for Shirayuki to heal all the village while Zen had dealt with the pollution in the water. Zen had felt more at ease about leaving Shirayuki with the villagers with Kazuki around. Even though he refused to admit that it had been a good idea.

Now, Shirayuki was riding with Kazuki talking about old memories of her sister. Kazuki had told her about her cooking lessons and when she taught him how to fight while on horseback. Shirayuki was amazed by how accomplished her sister had become over her years.

"One time I was practicing my form with my dagger and it slipped out of my hands straight towards her." Kazuki spoke with a smile on his face as he remembered the unfiltered fright that she had shown that day. She had just narrowly dodged the dagger only to end up with a small line of where her hair had used to be. He was pretty sure there was still a tiny scar there.

"I don't think this is making me trust your abilities to protect me Kazuki." Shirayuki jested back as she thought about how much older her sister seemed than herself.

"Don't worry that was back when she first started to train me. She was so mad though and I had to spend four hours straight on my form after that." Kazuki let out a laugh at the thought of how she had thrown daggers at him later that week to make him better at dodging.

"Why didn't you tell me that she was the one to raise you?" Shirayuki looked at him with big doe eyes and for a moment Kazuki felt older than her. He gave her a boyish grin his hair falling to the side as his hair fell to the side. He honestly had wanted to tell her all about Mira, but...

"Well, I figured she would want to reveal everything when she got the chance. It's not like our relationship is a common or even a normal one." Kazuki began tightening the grip on his stead's reigns, Juniper was keeping up with the rest of them well. But every now and then he could tell she was trying to slow down a bit.

"But she loves you so why would it matter what everyone else thinks?" Shirayuki smiled at him feeling him laugh behind her. After a few moments of laughter he finally spoke.

"I guess you're right. I'm really lucky to have her in my life." He bit his lip as Juniper tried to slow down again this time more forcefully. His gaze fell to his stead his eyebrows drawn together. He had been riding for a long time, Mira had gotten him on a horse within days of him coming to the mountains. But he didn't know this horse.

"Is everything alright Kazu?"

"Okay, so these books tell me about finances of the kingdom which goes with these papers for my dukedom's finances." Lord Kona spoke as he flipped through the pages of his own finances. No one had showed him his finances since he had taken up his father's mantle.

"Yes that's right. Before you can start advising the crown on it's spending you have to prove that you can be trusted with your own finances." I spoke with a smile as I watched him squint his eyes at something on his papers.

"Why is my dukedom spending so much of its money on importing sugar." Lord Kona tilted his head as he spoke to her and then he spoke again, "Why are our exports so low? They don't correlate to our mines at all."

"What do you know about how your father operated the Dukedom of Kona?" I asked him looking over the papers that he passed over to me.

"He never really talked about it to me. But he always made it sound like the mines were are biggest export." Lord Kona let out a small sigh as his eyes drooped.

"Then that's your first order of business." I spoke reaching out and ruffling the young Lord's hair smiling, "Get those mines to give more exports."

"Lady Raiyama?" A solider's head peaked in causing me to turn to face him with Lord Kona following suit. Then he spoke words I was extremely happy to here, "Lord Raiyama and Lady Shirayuki have returned."

I turned towards Lord Kona to apologize but he simply shook his head. Then he opened his mouth and spoke, "Go ahead, I'll be fine."

"I'll see you tomorrow Lord Kona."

The moment I walked into the throne room for the second time this week I knew something was wrong. The second prince looked as if a herd of horses had run him over. Fabric ripped and his skin riddled with cuts. The rest of the party seemed equally as worn, though my sister and Kazu were not in view. Probably together, Kazu always took everything so seriously about protecting people. He couldn't even stop to greet me?

But as I turned to Izana and his eyes met mine I felt my feet freeze. I did not know the prince well. I had meet him a handful of times that I could count on one hand. But I knew that look. I had seen it once before. My jaw clenched my eyes turning towards the party my heart beating out of my chest.

"What has happened, Prince?" I heard my voice speak but it was as if there was another person here, with my voice. I watched as the Second Prince's face fell his face riddled in grief.

"We were ambushed, by hunters we barely escaped their attacks." Zen spoke not meeting my gaze, "Shirayuki has a few scratches and she hit her head pretty hard. But the doctor says she should be fine after some rest."

"I see." I sighed closing my eyes and stretching my neck, "I guess Kazu's keeping an eye on her then? That kid can't take a break."

When there was no answer I opened my eyes looking between the people in the room. They all shifted their gaze and I glanced at Izana to find him looking directly at me. Cowards. All of them. I stepped towards the Second prince my eyes trained on him like prey. Step after step after step. Until I was nearly in front of the young man who still wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"Where is Kazuki?"

"There were so many on top of us and I had to make sure Shirayuki-" The prince began finally meeting my eyes but it was like he was convincing... convincing himself. I interrupted him fire lit in my veins as more pieces began to fit together.

"WHERE IS HE!" I watched as the prince seemed to shrink before me, his little guards hands automatically going to their weapons on their sides. Not drawing the weapons but now standing as if ready for battle. As if they would be any help, if I wanted to kill the prince he would be dead before they could draw.

"WHERE IS HE PRINCE!" I roared again spitting out his title as if it was a piece of worn out leather. My fists clenched by my side and I took another step my gaze flitting up as Obi stood before me instead. My eyebrows narrowed and without any regard for the repercussions, one moment Obi was standing before me, the next he was flung into the wall behind him hitting the prince as he flew. They both collapsed onto the floor gazing up at me with fear.

"Lord Brother!" The prince called out to his brother, outraged that the Crown Prince would allow me to shove them around. As if I wasn't entitled to more.

"Mirayuki, you must calm yourself." My gaze turned to his voice, flat and calm, as he rose from his throne and took several steps down. I raised my eyebrow at him shaking my head my teeth clenched together until the point of pain.

"You don't understand Izana," I couldn't stop shaking my head it was the only thing I could do, "What that boy has been through, he deserves so much more in this life than me. Someone who fails to protect the things she cares about."

Zen's eyes widened his mouth opening as he watched me fall apart. My mask busting from its seams and everything fell around me. He watched his brother, the stoic man he had grown up with, place his hand on the my shoulder. The way I looked at him, it looked as if his brother had done it a thousand times before.

"You've failed at nothing, Yuki." Izana spoke turning towards his brother his jacket flaring out behind him, "You will take us to the spot of the ambush, from there we will track down anyone who dares to harm a noble of Wistera and Estaria."

"Right." The mask fell back down as I stepped forward my eyes blazing like fire, "From this moment on it as seen as a kidnapping and an attempted kidnapping of Lord Raiyama and Madam Raiyama."

"You mean?" Zen whispered but he never got to finish his thought, I was already speaking again.

"From this moment forward, Shirayuki is Madam Raiyama Shirayuki. Sister to Lady Raiyama and a noble of this kingdom. Anyone who should take issue with my claim, will find themselves on the other end of my sword."

I looked back at Izana daring him to disagree with me, but he bit his lip that infernal smirk rising back onto his face. But I could see it in his eyes... approval. So, I nodded. Then I moved. Commanding those around me as if they weren't nobles of the Kingdom and of higher status than me. Because I was second in command of the Lions of the Mountain... and I would find my son.