Chapter 19: Aftermath

"How dare you princes so blatantly ignore the wishes of the aristocracy!" Duke Rukan roared. "Half, half, of you just picked up and left for some girl who doesn't even belong to Koukidan! They've been gone for a week. Do they care nothing for their own country? Or have they perished in their fool-hardy and reckless visit to a warring country?"

Ukyo kept his sigh internal as he and Kaname faced a crowd of very irate nobility. He also cursed Masaomi for leaving him in this position. After Ukyo told Masaomi that he was absolutely not allowed to leave, Masaomi appointed Ukyo as regent ruler, pointing out that the nobility were always saying Ukyo would make a better king anyway. Then he left.

"Action must be taken," Lord Satsu said viciously. "We will not stand for this blatant disrespect."

Ukyo was starting to feel a bit anxious about the dark look on the nobility's faces when Iori entered the large meeting hall. To Ukyo's relief, Iori looked calm and satisfied. He moved to stand next to Kaname and Ukyo.

"I'm afraid that your feelings of insult have no grounds on which to stand," Iori informed the irate crowd calmly.

"Truly?" Duke Rukan asked, narrowing his eyes. "Are you insinuating, Prince Iori, that you and your brothers did not ignore and override the general will of the nobility of Koukidan? Or are you under the impression that it is only the opinion of royalty that matters?"

"Not at all, Duke," Iori said, still calm. "I'm saying that Koukidan and all its people are as important to my brothers and me as ever. This country is under our charge and we take the care of all its citizens very seriously. As such, we would never be so irresponsible as to put our own wishes and desires above that of the general will of others."

Harsh whispers flowed through the crowd of nobility as lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses, gave each other shocked and disbelieving looks. "The Princes of Koukidan have clearly done exactly that," Lord Satsu said, sounding affronted and looking suspicious. "Do you take us for fools? Or have you been biding your time coming up with some paltry excuse for your absent brothers?"

Iori shook his head, his calm expression never wavering. "If all of you would be so kind as to follow me, I believe you will understand." Without another word, Iori turned and left. Ukyo and Kaname exchanged a glance before following their younger brother and, slowly, the crowd of nobles followed along, their angry rumbles getting louder.

Though Ukyo had great faith in Iori, he felt some trepidation as they walked through the halls of the palace, wondering what Iori planned to show them all. Iori had not divulged his plan to Ukyo or Kaname before he left with Louis and Fuuto the same day the rest of their brothers left for Istain. He merely told Ukyo to keep the nobles at bay for as long as he could. If the nobility weren't satisfied with whatever scheme Iori had come up with, they might have a riot on their hands. Or a coup.

If only at least Masaomi had stayed, things might be a little better. The nobility seemed to take the disappearance of the heir to the throne as a personal insult, and a testament to how little the Princes of Koukidan respected the nobility.

Iori led them straight to the front doors of the palace and threw them open, striding confidently outside. Ukyo followed, but paused in shock on the doors of the palace. A crowd of hundreds, maybe thousands of peasants stood before them, completely obscuring the lawn and gardens. Ukyo idly thought that the palace gardeners were going to be furious.

"W-what is this?" Lord Rukan gasped, his face paling as he beheld the crowd. His eyes jumped to Iori who had joined Louis and Fuuto standing a few yards from the front of the crowd.

"Isn't it obvious?" Fuuto asked, holding his arms out to gesture at the crowd behind him. "This is the Princes of Koukidan fulfilling the will of Koukidan."

"I don't understand," Lord Satsu said, looking warily between the princes and the peasants.

"I think the answer should be obvious," Louis said, an airy smile on his face. "The people of Koukidan love Lady Ema. She's precious to them and they want her back. After all she's done for them, they consider her to be of Koukidan."

"So as you can see," Fuuto said, an insolent smile on his face, "we aren't ignoring the general will of Koukidan at all. Unless of course, you think that your opinions matter more than the people you serve."

Duke Rukan and Lord Satsu both had puckered looks on their faces, like they'd just swallowed lemons. Ukyo worked hard to keep his smile hidden. Brilliant. Iori's plan was brilliant. After all the time Ema had spent among the villagers they loved and respected her. Ukyo had seen that for himself. As much as the nobility may hate it, they couldn't contradict the general will of so many peasants. There were simply too many for them to even hope to fight against or punish.

"So," Iori said, leveling a piercing look at the crowd of nobles. "Since the actions of my brothers have the support of our people, will you support them as well?"

Looks of begrudging and furious acceptance spread across the faces of the nobility, but none dared say a word of criticism against the princes or Ema now.

~.~

"You ousted half the nobility?" Ema asked Masaomi in shock. It was two months since Masaomi and his brothers had rescued Ema. She'd spent the time being crowned as Queen of Istain and trying to calm the chaos caused by the civil war with the help of Commander Rao, Rintaro, and others. Today she was back in Koukidan, where she'd arrived late the night before. She and Masaomi were sat in a sitting room while they took tea and talked. She had unfinished business here that would be carried out at the end of the week.

Masaomi nodded, looking pleased. "Most of my brothers have helped out with the whole affair. When the villagers supported us saving you and the nobility had to back down from arguing against it, my brothers realized the power that peasants can have. They decided that our country would benefit from the peasants having a larger say in government. Iori and Ukyo have been traveling around the country to setup councils in each village that will work with nearby noble families to run their town. Natsume plans to act as advisor to any of the councils who request his help and Subaru and his men are helping to keep everyone calm. These changes are pretty big and have brought up a little unrest in some areas."

Ema's eyes were huge as she stared at Masaomi. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Giving the peasants more power and decreasing the power of the nobles as well as their numbers…it sounded like a miracle. "What about the aristocracy who had their noble titles taken from them?" She asked. "How are they handling all this?" She doubted any of them accepted this willingly.

Masaomi winced. "They were upset, of course, but I guess things got pretty bad here after we left. Iori says that the nobles were on the verge of a coup, so Hikaru threatened to throw them all in prison for attempting treason. He told them they could accept no longer being nobles and adjust to being simply wealthy citizens, or they could spend the rest of their lives locked up with their children sold to apprenticeships and their assets seized by the crown. They opted not to argue with him."

Ema nodded sagely. She wouldn't dare cross Hikaru either. "I can't believe you and your brothers were able to do all that. That's amazing!"

Masaomi merely smiled at Ema. All of it was because of her. The changes in his brothers that led to them caring and wanting to make Koukidan better. The villagers gathering together and being one in purpose. None of these changes would have taken place without Ema, but he knew that if he told her that, she'd blush and brush his words aside. Ema seemed unable to realize her effect on other people and too humble to accept any credit.

"Maybe I should talk to your brothers about how I should sort things out in Istain. There's still the question of how to handle the nobles who supported the twin Princes and joined their armies. Some of them immediately gave me their support when it came out that I'm Queen Mai's daughter, but some are against me and still support the princes." She gave a rueful smile. "Commander Rao and Lord Kai think all those nobles should be forced into service helping to repair the towns that their forces destroyed or damaged."

"I know there's still a lot of work to be done in Istain and a lot of things for you to sort out," Masaomi said, concern etched on his face as he reached out to take Ema's hand. "I would understand if you wanted to postpone—"

"No," Ema said immediately, clasping Masaomi's hands between her own. She gave him a fierce, determined look. "I want this more than anything." She smiled as she squeezed his hand. "Aside from this being the best decision for the two of us, I also believe it's what's best for our countries. It seems to be a decision that the majority of our citizens support. When the nobles of Istain found out, almost all the twin princes' old supporters fled to my side. If that's not a sign that we should do this now, I don't know what is."

Masaomi nodded, smiling as he drew Ema closer to him. "The merchants of Koukidan are thrilled. They're already lining up at the border of Istain and nothing's even been signed yet." He bent down to kiss Ema's forehead. "If you have no doubts then we'll carry on with everything as scheduled. I know that I have none."

"I have none at all," Ema said, taking Masaomi's face between her hands and kissing him.

~.~

Rintaro nervously straightened his waistcoat as he looked at himself in a mirror. "This just all feels very sudden and rushed to me," he said. Despite all his fussing in front of the mirror, he wasn't really paying attention to the sight in front of him.

"It will be fine, Lord Rintaro," Miwa said in a fondly exasperated tone. "You always worry too much. Just relax." She came up behind Rintaro to place her hands on his shoulders. He jumped at the contact and his eyes met hers in the mirror. She smiled at him. "Ema and Masaomi aren't children. They may not have all the answers to life, but they know what they're doing."

"I-I suppose," Rintaro said, not looking convinced at all. "But Ema is still so young. And she just found out she's the heir to Istain two months ago and only took the throne a week after that—She's had a very busy two months."

"Trust me, things have been busy here, as well. My sons took it upon themselves to reorganize nearly the entire governing system of Koukidan, but things are going well and I have no complaints." She paused a moment, her gaze going distant. "It's nice to finally see them all taking such an interest in the well-being of their people and country." She met Rintaro's eyes in the mirror again. "It's all because of your daughter that this happened. That's why I know things are going to be okay. Ema has a lot to learn as Queen, but I have no doubt she'll be great. And she'll have me and my sons to ask for help."

Rintaro turned to give Miwa a grateful smile. "Thank you for being so willing to aid Ema, Queen Miwa. She respects you a lot and I know it means a great deal to her and to me." A concerned look crossed his face. "But are you sure you'll have the time to help her? We don't want to inconvenience you and I'm sure you'll still have a lot to—"

"Stop worrying so much, Rintaro," Miwa chastised again, patting him on the cheek. "In an hour the crown will pass from me to Masaomi. It's time my sons took over the ruling of this country. I'll still be around if they need me, but I'll have much more free time to help Ema as well."

She gave Rintaro a suggestive smile as she placed a hand on his chest. "I'll also have time to pursue other interests I've been neglecting."

Rintaro's face burned red at the look on Miwa's face.

~.~

A rather mixed looking crowd sat in rows within a church. There were peasants, nobility, and orphans. In the very front row sat a line of princes, some with very disgruntled looks on their faces.

"I can't believe she's marrying Masaomi," Tsubaki muttered, crossing his arms and sinking down in his seat. "I didn't even know they were that close."

"Just be glad we'll still be able to see her frequently," Azusa said, ignoring the jealous twinge in his chest. "We'd rarely ever see her as just the queen of Istain, but with her and Masaomi creating a joint monarchy between Koukidan and Istain, she'll be here at least half the time. A joint monarchy is the only way we'd still get to see Ema without making a trip all the way to Istain."

"And I think she'll make a wonderful queen," Iori said. He would miss the time the two of them spent alone, but he couldn't imagine a better choice for queen.

"This is also a marriage that will benefit both countries," Ukyo declared. "The people of Koukidan are thrilled to have cheaper access to the dyes, herbs, and spices of Istain, while the people of Istain are glad to have closer ties to a more stable and powerful country. This marriage will solidify the Istainian's faith in Ema."

Tsubaki made a 'tch' noise. "Don't you ever think of anything other than politics?"

"Yeah, that's not the only good thing about Masa and Ema getting married!" Wataru piped up, nearly bouncing in his seat. "Ema is going to be our sister now!" He beamed at all his brothers and they couldn't help returning his smile.

"What a minute," Yusuke said, looking around the bench. The idea of having Ema as a sister rather than something more didn't thrill Yusuke, but like Azusa said, it was better than having her live so far away all the time. "Where's Hikaru?"

Ukyo's face flushed red and his smile slid away to an unhappy look. He crossed his arms and glowered rather than answer.

Kaname grinned at Ukyo's expression before explaining, "I think our dear brother is Ema's maid of honor for the wedding."

Yusuke looked horrified, though Tsubaki laughed.

"I bet he'll look beautiful," Wataru said, completely sincere, which made Tsubaki laugh harder.

Louis slipped into the bench at that moment, having been helping Ema with her hair and dress. "Hikaru does look beautiful," he told them. "But not as beautiful as our new sister."

"No fair that you already got to see her!" Tsubaki complained.

"Don't be gross, Tsubaki," Fuuto said. "What kind of a guy wants to see his sister all dressed up? Unless you're still foolishly hoping you have a chance to steal her away from Masaomi?"

Fuuto smirked as Tsubaki tried to hit him, despite the fact that Azusa and Ukyo separated the two from each other.

At the end of the bench, Natsume watched his brothers as he said, "It's kind of nice to see everyone getting along like this, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Subaru agreed, feeling awkward, but wanting to make an effort with Natsume.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Natsume said, "I'm really proud of what you've accomplished as a knight, Subaru. You're amazing and Koukidan is lucky to have you."

"Th-thanks," Subaru said, looking at Natsume in surprise. "I-I'm sorry I called you weak and cowardly. You definitely showed that you're neither of those things in Istain. I was really impressed."

This time Natsume looked surprised, though he returned Subaru's smile.

"Maybe," Subaru began awkwardly, looking at the floor rather than Natsume, "we should both come by the palace more often. It'd be nice for our family to be close again. I can barely remember when we all used to spend time together."

"Things have changed a lot around here, haven't they?" Natsume asked. "All because of Ema. I kind of wish I'd been here to see all the changes taking place. But, like you said, we could be around a bit more often and find out for ourselves what will happen next."

The crowd hushed as music began playing. All the princes turned to see Ema walking down the aisle. As Kaname said, Hikaru was with her. Once at the alter, Ema and Masaomi faced each other, their faces radiant with love for one another.

Behind Ema stood Hikaru, his face beaming. He'd had a hunch these two would be the perfect match for one another. That was why when he'd found Ema lost in the village he'd taken her to the orphanage to meet Masaomi. He'd wanted Ema to see how Masaomi spent his time and planned to just let things fall in place from there. Even he couldn't have predicted all that happened next, but, he'd been right. Of course, he usually was.

End

A/N: Thank you very much to everyone who favorited and followed this story! And thank you for the many lovely reviews I received