Kumari's Kitsune

Chapter 3: It's Time

Instead of her Commencement, she was attending her mother's funeral. However, the Commencement was not something that could be postponed, now more so than ever before, since the Realm was without a Queen. Waiting wasn't an option, not if they wanted to maintain peace. But more than that the magic's demand could not be ignored.

She could feel it in her bones, her magic was more potent than she'd ever known it to be as it called out to the magic of her mother in the earth around her. Her mother had told her countless times what would happen if her Commencement did not take place on her eighteenth birthday. It was usually a conversation that was started with her complaining that she didn't want to be Kumari or that she didn't want to have to undergo the Commencement ceremony. She had grumbled about it quite a lot as a child. If the Commencement were to happen even a day late, it would not simply result in the upheaval of the realm on a political level but rather the control that the Ren had over their magic would be lost, resulting in an imbalance of all that was natural and pure. Magic would be lost to the Ren for all future generations and they would be lucky to survive the loss. It could potentially result in the destruction of the Ren altogether, something Bae did not want to be responsible for.

"It's time," she said more to herself than to her brother, her thoughts a gentle reminder that even in her grief she was the Kumari - the only Kumari - and her duty to the Ren must come first.

Kael smiled sadly at her. Today was supposed to be a celebratory occasion but the loss of their mother overshadowed that. He got to his feet before aiding his sister up off the grass.

"Have the delegates arrived?"

Her Commencement was to be witnessed by three delegates from each of the tribes within the realm. It was essential that all was done correctly to ensure political stability.

"They have been waiting for some time." There was no censure in his tone; his words were simply fact. His eyes darted towards her briefly before returning to their task of scanning the area. "Be careful, Kumari." Kael had returned to his role as her Chief Protector. "We don't know who we can trust."

"We can't trust anyone," she replied, using the words her mother had drilled in over the years. Trust was something the Kumari couldn't afford. Not with friends, not with her siblings, not even her children. There were only two things a Kumari should trust; the magic that ran through her veins and the love of her bonded mates and that love could only be trusted because of the magic that entwinned them together.

"I'm glad you know it." His words lacked any emotion at all. It was not the Chief Protector's right to show emotion. He walked a step behind her as they began to make their way back to the castle, the other protectors falling into place a few metres behind them.

She considered asking her brother to walk her through the Commencement one last time, except she didn't want him to think her weak. She knew what it entailed. She knew better than he did. It would all go according to schedule, the only deviation from the plan being that her mother would not be the one to place the crown upon her head. Instead, it would be Bae's father, the late Kumari's Kumaian bonded mate.

The differences between the Kumari and other Ren had always been a stumbling block for Bae. She couldn't understand why the Queen had to have so many bonded mates when the other Ren had only one and coped just fine. Her mother had explained it many times to her but she had yet to comprehend it. She couldn't help but simply think it was a little bit on the greedy side to have seven where others only had one. She'd equally never been able to comprehend how her mother could love them all... but what was more she didn't seem to love them less.

Her mother had laughed at her when she asked her how that was possible.

"It's not like love is a finite thing." Her voice had had a lilt to it. "Because I love your siblings, it does not make me love you less. I love them each in different ways and for different reasons."

"Why do you love father?" she had asked.

"Your father is unlike any other Ren I've known. He would rather die than watch me hurt."

Her words rang true perhaps now more than ever. The Ren had lost their Queen and the Seven had lost their mate and would in time all lose their lives. The Seven would not outlive the Queen for long. Her magic would call to them and one by one they would die. Bae's mother had always said it was magic's way of guaranteeing the stability of the realm. The Seven would live long enough to witness the transference of power and would perish with the risk of war, if their mate was no longer living.

The prospect of the death of her father was enough to make Bae wish that she could put off her Commencement even if only for a day. He would never allow it, however. Duty first, self last, that was the Kumaian way. It was her duty to ensure the seven lines continued so that each of the seven tribes would continue to thrive. Her father's tribe was found to the north in Kumai, a place that Bae had never been allowed to venture to but soon she would have to. Soon she would have to visit each of the tribes to find her own seven mates just as her mother once did before her. She had heard countless stories about her father's homeland and perhaps more than any of the other tribe lands, Bae was eager to visit Kumai. Her father had told her countless times about the insanely tall trees that towered above you as you walked through the forests and how the waters of the lakes were a sapphire blue. Her mind wandered as she began to imagine what amazing things would await her there and for the first time since her mother's death she smiled.