Farewell For Now
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Sakura marveled at the queen's personal washroom, located high on the top floor of the palace, there were large windows lining the top of the ceiling and it was quite open…..should anyone come around on a giant bird without a doubt they would be able to spot anyone in this area.
'Has the queen ever heard of the term modesty?' Sakura wondered as she held the white towel a little tighter to her chest; there in the center of the room, she saw the beautiful women bathing in a large tub of steaming water. She looked up at Sakura and smiled
"Ah, there you are. You've been gone since morning, I thought you might have flown off and abandoned that fool, Sinbad,"
Sakura gave a small laugh and shook her head "I was just waiting for you to finish. Sinbad told me you wanted to see him after you woke up."
Mira drew her hand from the water and gestured to Sakura "Are you going to just stand there or are you going to join me?"
Sakura felt a trickle of insecurity creep through her as she dropped the towel causing her to descend quickly into the water. The women of Artemyra would all be considered visually pleasing to the outside eyes, they had a natural beauty that couldn't be replicated. And Mira was by far one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.
A small shock of pain coursed through her.
'No wonder Sinbad….' Sakura sighed and sunk into the water, feeling the warmth of the water encase her and her unsuspecting depression fade away. After a moment of silence (longer than she expected) Sakura opened her eyes and saw the queen looking at her with a thoughtful expression. She seemed to be examining Sakura with such concentration it made the pinkette squirm.
Sakura instinctively lowered herself further into the water "Something the matter your Highness?"
Mira just smiled unashamed "Oh I was just admiring your physique. I'm a little jealous."
"Eh?" Sakura couldn't help but blurt out, she didn't understand what the queen would find appealing about her body. It wasn't unusual for women to have problems with their own body image but Sakura knew for a fact that while her body was fit, she believed her body lacked in terms of what was considered to be feminine. She was petite yes but over the years her body had become toned and lined lightly with muscle-not visible but if grasped one could tell she didn't have the 'soft curves' of most women, though she felt it was an improvement from when she was younger-nothing but elbows and knees. She had started caring less about what she looked like especially now that she was in a world where she felt she didn't have the 'need' to.
"I don't think you would have any reason to be your highness," Sakura said "Your body is far superior to mine. My body isn't soft or anywhere near as dainty may appear it's-
"Powerful," Mira interrupted before swimming towards Sakura until she was right beside her to get a better look at her. She placed her hands on Sakura's shoulder "You have the ability to do what most women in this world can't-subdue men, overpower them, and be seen as equal if not greater. Because of this body, you will never have to live in fear of man, you can survive in the outside world. Men look at me and forget who I am, of the power I hold, they do not see a queen but another should I say….typical object of their desires; simple and incapable of being anything. They underestimate me and while I love using this to deceive and then put them in their place it is quite irritating and a bit shaming to think that my first impression isn't the image that I want to portray."
Sakura was surprised by the queen's confession, had they already reached a point in their relationship where boundaries were now non-existent? Well, they were bathing together, suppose that gave liberty to bare the soul as well as the body.
Mira rested her head against Sakura's, the pinkette then dared to ask "Is that the reason why Artemyra isolates themselves like this?"
"Mmm, I suppose it's partly that, but a country ruled by women has no real need to interact with a world ruled by man. The women of this country do not trust man because of all the whispers of the outside world. Any deviance in this world has been man-made, destruction and war are the cause of man. Women have no part in it, yet they are forced to suffer through it, why should I condemn my country to such a fate? We keep our distance from the world because we are strong, we do not need to lean on the support of other nations."
Sakura felt like she was slowly beginning to piece together the real reason why Mira refused to interact with outsiders, it was more than just power or her hatred of men; she wanted to keep her country safe from a world that even Sakura admitted to be cruel.
But this also made her wonder how negotiations had gone for Sinbad. He may have been spared since defeating the queen, but there was no guarantee that he would be able to accomplish the goal he set for his company. Which was more vital now that they knew the leader possessed a djinn and was a metal vessel user.
"But even if you say that the reality is that the world is a cruel place. It has always been cruel and will continue to be." Sakura stated, her eyes hardened "Even so, I don't believe that isolation is the way to stay strong. While you may say that men have subjective views towards women; the women of Artemyra have the same views of men. You explain how much you despise men's traditional systems yet at the same time you're implementing the same systems. You despise being underestimated because you're a woman but at the same time you were subjective and judged these men you threw into the valley based on a mass assumption rather than individual."
"No, I threw them down because their leader attempted to seduce me to get what he wanted." Mira argued, "He assumed I was a mere plaything that would bend to his will with a few empty words."
Sakura let out a small breath "Of course there are men who have their deviance, but women are not that different either."
Mira then let out a huff "Well then I suppose you'll be pleased to know that negotiations with Sindria have gone over well and we will be joining."
Sakura was stunned, "Really?"
"That man…." Then Mira looked at Sakura with a stern face, "Are you and Sinbad-
Sakura's face turned red, "Sinbad and I share a past, but there is nothing further than that. He is someone I considered to be a good friend once before but that time has long passed."
"Then why did you help him?"
"Because…." Sakura trailed as she tried to come up with a reason "He isn't like other men in this world."
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..
"Is it time already my king?" asked Stolas
Starring out in the distance as the sun began setting on Artemyra Sakura breathed in the strong air. She sat on the edge of one of the bridges overlooking the city. She had not seen Sinbad or the other's since last night and she decided that a quick escape was the easiest option.
"Afraid so, staying in one place too long seems to invite trouble for me and unnecessary complications."
"By unnecessary complications, you are referring to those former companions of yours?" asked Sitri
Sakura didn't reply to the question and instead asked herself "Tell me, do the three of you find me despicable?"
"We don't understand my king," Beleth said
"I say that I only have one objective in this world, to collect the shards and return to where I came from, and that you are all just bi-products of my goal, a means to an end but at the same time I continue to contradict myself by helping Sinbad and speak about him like….how can I say? Like I am utterly devoted to him when my devotion is supposedly only to my mission and goal yet I continue to defend him, fight for him. Tell me, do you still want a hypocrite like me for your king? Someone who might discard you when this is over?"
She was met with for silence a good three minutes before finally she got a response
"My king, I have not known you for a long time but from that time you yelled at me in my dungeon, I have accepted you fully as my king. Your ambitions I would never question." Stolas said
"Yeah, after all, I don't think I could have asked for a more interesting master," Sitri said "With you, there is never a dull moment and if you decide to put us down one day we won't complain-well I know I won't because I would've already gotten more out of the journey with you than anyone else could give me in a hundred years."
"It does not matter what your goals and ambitions are, be it for yourself or someone else we will always support you. You are our king, we have given you our power to use as you see fit. If you only want our power to return to your world, even if you plan to discard us in the end, we will support you until that day."
Sakura felt her heart swell with emotions "Thank you….all of you."
Closing her eyes Sakura smiled "Then I guess we should get going huh?"
"Running off again?"
With a small yelp, Sakura spun on her heel to come face to face-with Sinbad. She didn't say anything as she walked closer to her.
"Ja'far, Mystras, and I were summoned to have another meeting with the queen and she said some interesting things."
"Oh?" Sakura asked raising an eyebrow.
Sinbad nodded "It seems she's had a change of heart and has agreed to join the company,"
"Good for you," Sakura said acting coy but Sinbad wasn't falling for it.
"I know it was you who had a hand in that,"
"Don't be stupid." Sakura hissed softly "You were the one who changed her mind not me, I've finished helping you after I left Reim."
"And yet you spoke quite a bit on my behalf in Sasan."
Biting the inside of her cheek, Sakura glared at him unable to think of anything else to say in reply.
"Ja'far, Mystras, and Hinahoho really want to see you. We're heading back to Reim soon."
Sakura averted her eyes, she was worried about this which was why she wanted to leave before he caught her again.
"Too late for that," Sitri muttered
"I was just about to
"Take off again without saying anything, yeah I got that."
She winced like she had been scorned, she knew the rules of the Looking Glass were to detach herself from everything in this world, it was hard enough the first time she said it when no one was there to hear it but with the way things were going she might actually have to tell him….
"You remember what I said the last time right?" he asked now playing coy himself
Sakura took two steps back from him, she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes knowing that she remembered their conversation from last night and that time in Sasan.
"You mean that empty threat about not letting me go if you saw me again?" she asked through clenched teeth.
Sinbad was many things but he was not one to make false threats or empty promises as far as she knew.
He laughed "Well yes but it was no threat nor was it empty, I meant every word."
Sakura rolled her eyes "What are you going to do? There's no way to keep me here besides you said it yourself, I have my own goal and you respect that."
"I do," Sinbad said "But as it turns out I am also a very selfish person."
"And greedy, a flirt, lazy, a possible drunk-
"Are you finished?" asked Sinbad with a hearty chuckle "I am not going to stop you from continuing your journey, I do not need to do that."
Sakura felt her shoulders deflate, relief filling her as she realized he would not force her to stay with him.
"Thank you-
"Because you're going to come back on your own."
Sakura stopped, staring wide eyes at Sinbad "What?"
"You heard me," he said, overconfidence lacing his every word "I am not going to stop you from leaving because pretty soon you are going to return all on your own"
Sakura raised an eyebrow "Oh really? Isn't that declaration a bit cocky even for you?"
Sinbad shrugged "Perhaps but I am a man with high goals."
"Or a boy with unrealistic ambitions."
"Ambitions that you have fiercely supported from the day we met."
Sakura bit her tongue, he seemed to have the upper hand as far as this conversation was concerned and she felt it was better to end it. Thus closing her eyes she began the chant to send her off, not feeling for any more goodbyes.
A slih ma tama kasrah ( Fix that which has been broken )
Aistirdad ma tama tahtimuh ( retrieve that which has been shattered )
Wamae kl qiteat qumt bi'iislahiha ( And with each piece that you have mended )
A n tunazil nafidhatan jadidatan ( A new window shall be descended )
Sakura opened her eyes and was met with gold; that was close- indescribably close!
"Sin-
Her voice was muffled as her mouth was sealed shut, her eyes were bulging, her mind unable to process anything, turning blank, her body felt light as if something was lifting her from the ground, and there was a warm bubbling inside her stomach that twisted into knots she couldn't untangle, she felt all the air leave her body while she stood as though petrified, frozen. She couldn't see anything other than gold and she couldn't feel anything aside from the arms wrapped around her, she didn't notice anything either-which was going to prove to be her downfall.
The gold began to vanish and she heard Sinbad murmur "See you soon,"
With that, she vanished with the wind.
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When Sakura looked again she was in another location, in another part of the world, the weather here was cold but she still felt the warm aftereffects of what had taken place, her face felt like it was growing hotter every passing second as her mind began to fathom what had just happened. With gingerly fingers Sakura touched her lips, her eyes still wide from shock.
'Sinbad…he-he-he
Sakura felt her knees grow weak and she fell onto the soft sand, she was so engulfed in her thoughts she failed to notice the tall dark silver tower that was only a few meters from her eye. She also failed to hear her djinns talking to her in her mind.
"My king!"
"Please listen!"
Her head snapped up "What?"
"It's Sitri"
"What about Sitri-
"She's gone."
Sakura gasped as her hand quickly shot to the top of her chest where she usually kept her hairpin and realized that the ornament wasn't there anymore.
"W-What?"
Then it clicked.
While Sinbad had 'distracted' her, she failed to realize he had taken one of her metal vessels.
'So that was his plan!' Sakura thought menacingly, the warmth Sakura felt became the white hot rage.
"So that's what the other king's vessel meant when he said he would see you soon." Stolas stated "Stealing Sitri when your guard was down."
"That insolent! He shall not get away with this right my king?"
Sakura was silent, soft pants left her mouth.
"My king?"
…..
…..
….
….
"Let's go."
Sakura turned around and headed towards the dungeon she finally realized was there, she didn't say anything else but her eyes burned with unspeakable anger.
'Just you wait Sinbad,' Sakura swore 'I will come back to you only I'm going to make you wish you never met me.'
"See you soon."
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SNEAK PEEK: Chapter 21
"You there, girl, state your name and business here."
Sakura turned to face the men who had survived the battle, her gaze unwavering. She had little patience for idle questions in the wake of such a harrowing encounter. "My name, as well as my business, isn't something I'm obliged to tell you."
A tense silence hung in the water for a moment before another voice, firm and authoritative, resonated from the midst of the surviving soldiers. "Leave her."
There was a young boy round about her more or less, with deep crimson hair and sharp red eyes looking at her with such scrutiny as if trying to decipher her. He was watching her hand which was currently glowing green from her chakra, she caught the hidden curiosity behind them but chose to ignore it as she tended to whoever she could.
"But Lord Kouen-
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-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter 57, 58, 59
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes WHAT IF SPIN OFF: Dorms and Exams
-Kunoichi amongst Pirates chapter 23, 24, 25
-Crossroads of Fate chapter 15, 16
-Through the Looking Glass chapter 17, 18. 19, 20, 21
-(SEQUEL) Through the Spyglass chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6
Public post 15 FEBRUARY
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter 57
-Crossroads of Fate chapter 15
Well that's it from me, I hope you look forward to the next chapter! See you lovelies!