WARNING!

**MASSIVE SPOILERAGE AND GENERAL PLOT-SPILLING AHEAD FOR:**

Ranger's Apprentice book 10: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

**READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK**

A/N: Right. Now that that's over with, I can tell you what this story is about. So, here's a quick summary:

Finally headed home from Nihon-Ja, Horace, Cassandra, and the rest of their faithful friends soon find themselves back in Araluen. But with everything that has happened, to Horace especially, things can never go back to the way they were. How will they cope with such a shift in their lives? Will Horace be able to re-adjust to life in his native Araluen culture? Will Cassandra and Alyss continue to be friends? And most importantly, how, exactly, will Horace and Cassandra explain their surprise engagement to Cassandra's father, King Duncan?

Hope y'all enjoy!

Chapter 1

Between Heart and Head

Horace sighed out into the cold air, his breath hanging for moment as a white cloud before fading away into the dusk. From his position leaning against the railing of the Wolfwill, Horace could see the sun burning from behind an overcast screen, and knew that it would set within the hour. He gazed absently back towards where he knew Nihon-Ja lay, four days out of reach. He hoped that Emperor Shigeru had made it back to his palace safely. He hoped that Arisaka's former troops didn't decide to go on with the warlord's former plan. Of course, the prospect was highly unlikely, but one could never be sure. Maybe if the Emperor was having trouble, Horace could-

No, Horace scolded himself, stop it. He's not your Emperor. Nihon-Ja is not your home. As he thought the words, Horace winced involuntarily. He knew in his head that his loyalties would always lie with Araluen. But somewhere along the way, he'd left part of his heart in Nihon-Ja with her people, among the steep mountains, strong-hearted Kikori and their gentle-hearted emperor. When he'd first arrived in the strange country, Horace had been apprehensive at every turn, overwhelmed by a mass of things to learn and do. But over the months, he'd come to love everything about the country, from the Nihon-Jan's miss-pronounced version of his name, to the warm ryokans, down to the walks through the Emperor's well-kept garden. He smiled at the thought of Emperor Shigeru, and it was here that Horace recognized the reason for his heartache.

It was hard to say exactly how it had happened, but since Horace's arrival in Nihon-Ja, he had forged a deep relationship with the Emperor. In many ways, Shigeru reminded Horace of King Duncan, who was ruler of his own homeland of Araluen. Both were wise and thoughtful leaders, mindful of their subjects and humble at their cores. But while Horace had always known King Duncan somewhat from a distance, as a knight to his leader, Horace had depended almost fully on the Emperor for guidance in Nihon-Ja's foreign ways, and likewise, Shigeru had depended fully on Horace's military training and judgment through the trying civil war. It was in this way that their bond grew, forming first a diplomatic respect, and then an admiration of character, and finally, they had ended up in a relationship something like that of a father and son.

Horace recalled the way Shigeru had addressed him as 'son' right before he'd left, and had to swallow hard to keep his throat from tightening momentarily. Horace had been an orphan for as long as he could remember. And while he had a few vague memories of his mother, he could not remember any time in his life when he had a father. He'd never really had a father figure in his life, growing up.

There was Baron Arald, maybe, but he was more of a leader than a father. Sir Rodney had always been fair with him and taught him well, but he was Horace's teacher. MacNeil had served as a great inspiration and encouragement to Horace while the young warrior trained under him, but MacNeil had always maintained a definitive mastery over Horace – not like a father would. Finally, there was Halt, with whom Horace had traveled around the world and back again, but Halt had always been something more akin to an uncle to Horace. A very close uncle, perhaps, but their lifestyles were simply too different to reconcile into a father-son type relationship.

And then, there was Shigeru. Shigeru had been a teacher, mentor, guide and companion to Horace the entire time he was in Nihon-Ja. Horace respected him greatly and was fascinated by his unshakable good humor. And, in time, Horace had found that he'd come to love the wise old Senshi, with his richness of character, judgment and humble heart. Without even realizing it, Horace had begun to regard Shigeru as something of a hero, a role model, and a father. And, by a kind of unspoken approval, Shigeru had taken Horace under his wing and taught the younger man many lessons, whether they were recognized as 'lessons' or not, in manner very suited to a father's role. In many ways, finally realizing just what Shigeru's companionship had meant to him made Horace feel incredibly sad, rather than grateful. He'd just found the father he'd never had, and now he had to leave him thousands of kilometers behind in a land me might not see in many, many years. The knight sighed to himself sadly.

"Penny for your thoughts," A soft voice appeared to his left, and Horace looked around to see Cassandra approaching him hesitantly. He smiled at her and moved slightly to one side to allow her to come up next to him. She looked up at him as he gathered his thoughts.

"Oh… Just a lot to think about, is all." He said at length. She nodded, looking out to sea as the sunset sent rays of brilliant red stretching across the wavering horizon.

"I'll miss the sunsets," the Princess said. "Nihon-Ja definitely has some of the greater views in the world." She smiled, and glanced up at Horace. He didn't meet her gaze, but stared out to the setting sun instead.

"There're a lot of things I'll miss," He murmured sadly, his voice unintentionally thick. He turned away and clenched his jaw, wishing she weren't there to see him getting so darned sentimental. Cassandra frowned and gently laid her hand on his arm to coax him around. He eventually turned back around when he thought he'd gotten a hold of himself. But she could see the tears glistening in his eyes, and decided to spare him the embarrassment of her gaze by wrapping him in a tight hug, pressing her cheek against his chest so she couldn't see his face. He stiffened at first, but eventually settled down and put his arms around her in return.

"Tell me about it," Cassandra prodded gently, "about Nihon-Ja. When it's not just in the cold mountaintops and ancient fortresses, that is." She smiled when this elicited a laugh from him, and listened carefully when he began to talk.

"It's a beautiful place, Cassie," He told her, and she inwardly warmed when he used her nickname. He'd only started to call her that recently, but she enjoyed it immensely. "The people are so interesting… and so kind. They are true geniuses of ingenuity, the Nihon-Jan. They have devices and designs that I never would have thought of. The landscape is beautiful as well, if not a bit trying at times. And the architecture – well, you saw some of it, didn't you? It's amazing." He told her.

"That it is," She replied in kind, and he continued without further encouragement.

"It's so functional and so beautiful. And those paper sliding doors – oh, those silly doors. Did I tell you that I broke at least five of those within my first week?" He laughed sheepishly at the embarrassing fact. She looked up at him from where she was.

"No, you didn't! Oh, Horace…" She shook her head against his chest. "Oh, you would. But I'm sure they forgave you?"

Horace smiled. "That they did. They're very gracious people, the Nihon-Jan." Horace said, "Very kind, honorable people. Especially Shirgeru; he was always the first to reassure me that I was forgiven…" Horace voice quieted somewhat. "Shigeru was always incredibly gracious to me, ever since I first arrived…" Horace trailed off at the mention of the Emperor, and Cassandra's smile was silently replaced by a frown as she sensed they'd reached a soft spot of conversation. On an impulse, she hugged him tighter, not saying anything. He embraced her back, and after a while, his voice cracking with emotion, she heard him say:

"I'll miss him most of all, I think."

Cassandra closed her eyes, feeling sorry for her friend.

"I'm sorry you can't stay, Horace," She told him truly, "but you're needed back home. Your country needs you; I need you." She drew back to look at him now, and was unsurprised by the tears running down his cheeks. She thought he might try and wipe them away, but instead he just looked at her, a pleading expression on his face. Help me, it said. Cassandra had to blink back her own tears as she realized that for once, she was not seeing Horace, her champion and Araluen's finest knight, but instead, she was seeing Horace, the lost little orphan boy of Redmont.

Horace had accepted his parentless state early on, never finding attachment enough to feel the pain of separation. But now, having gained something of a father in Shigeru, he was feeling for the first time a deep-seated homesickness that he couldn't hold back. He'd managed to keep the tears at bay for four days, but now that the full reality of returning to Araluen had set in, he was too tired and too tormented to keep it up much longer. It had to come out.

And so, trying desperately not to cry in pain for her friend, Cassandra silently drew him back into a hug and let him cling to her, crying into her shoulder quietly. It had been a long, hard, trying journey for all of them. But for Horace, it had been longer, harder, and infinitely more emotional and life-changing. And now that it was all over, the man had to come to terms with a whole barrage of gains and losses, joys and pains all at once. Horace was the strong and silent type, as Cassandra had often noticed. But even the strong and silent experienced human emotions, and just like any other person, sometimes, it just had to come out.

Cassandra didn't say anything or make any noise. She simply held her crumpled knight and let him weep, weep for the land he'd come to love so much, for the people he'd befriended so dearly, for the man he'd grown to know as father. They weren't gone, they both knew, but they were so incredibly far away. Gently, she ran her hand up and down his back in a soothing motion, listening to his raged breaths as he calmed down.

"They're not gone," She told him in consolation, "it's not forever."

"I know," He said miserably, "but it sure feels like it is."

She didn't reply. How could she? Eventually, she drew back completely, and took out a square of cloth from beneath the sash of the kimono that she'd been given by the Nihon-Ja and wiped at Horace's teary face. Though unused to the mother-like treatment, Horace didn't object, and simply watched her as she dried his tears. Eventually, she tucked the handkerchief away.

"It hurts to be separated from family," She said, and he looked a little surprised at her use of the word. She smiled at him. "because I know that the Nihon-Jan will always be your extended family, especially Shigeru." She told him, "But I just want you to know that they're not your only family. You have a whole host of people around you and back home who love you very, very much, Horace." She said in a soft voice.

Now composed, if not for a bit of redness around his eyes, Horace looked down at her, unconsciously taking a small step towards her as he did. "And do you love me, Princess?" He asked, his voice especially low. She blushed, though the color was unclear in the dim evening light. She looked down at her feet before coyly whispering,

"Yes, I'm quite sure that I do."

Green eyes met blue for half a second, and a new understanding was reached. Then, Cassandra reached up and kissed Horace sweetly on the cheek, and grasped his hand briefly before turning away.

"Goodnight, Horace," She said, casting a glance at the rising moon, "Sleep well."

The knight remained standing there for several moments, staring after her with a half dumfounded, half comforted look on his face. "Good night," he murmured, long after she was too far away to hear, before he turned towards the open field of stars above, a thoughtful look on face.

But this time, he wasn't thinking about the past. Rather, he was thinking about the future.

A/N: Yay! Sad emotional outbreak is over! Next chapter will be more interesting, I promise. Though I doubt many people will read this, because of the spoilers.