Name Day Surprise (Shouhei)

The throne felt... odd. As the Royal Princess Tehniyat, daughter of Princess Azra and Lord Bukhari, first of her name, walked into the opulent chamber, it felt more empty somehow. Just knowing that her Aunt Shiera now shone with the stars above made the place feel too big and too hollow, a space she herself would never be able to fill or do justice to in the late Queen's wake. The glittering throne her Aunt had once occupied looked just as large and intimidating as it had to Tehniyat when she was four years old and had sneaked down here in a fit of rebellion to see what all the grown ups did. The room had scared her then and it didn't seem particularly welcoming now.

Sweeping into the room with her personal guard in tow, the nineteen year old blonde made her way to one of the ornate crystal chairs beside the throne for lesser royals like herself. Even if news of the Queen's death had been made public, Tehniyat would never have dared fill the seat she knew would never belong to her. Arranging her long white gown trimmed with gold around her, the princess took her seat, Ser Atem to her right a few feet away. He was getting very good at his etiquette, she would have to tell him one of these days.

Most days the princess spent in her library office, seeing to the administrative work that went into keeping a nation running. She had even used the smaller audience chambers to hear members of the court and common folk alike speak, preferring to hold court from there than use this room but today warranted the formality. Today the palaces were expecting a visit from one of their oldest associates, the clan who was in charge of the hundreds of beautiful tapestries that hung around the vast places of the city. One of the clan's very work occupied the space behind the throne, depicting a Queen being blessed by the Gods as a crown settled on her golden head. The clan deserved respect and Tehniyat was not one to deny it.

So the princess waited, vibrant green eyes flickering across the room taking in the evidence of all the clan had already done. The idea of a new tapestry was not the most original but she had to admit it would clearly serve the intended purpose.

"Your Grace... A tapestry, at a time like this..?" Ser Atem asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Indeed," the princess replied, no hint of a smile on her face. "A tapestry at exactly a time like this."

‘The palace was splendid as always,’ Shouhei thought to himself as he walked through the gardens towards the main building of the palace itself. It was another one of those times where his family had been called to the royal family to sew or weave them something – usually a set of clothes or a tapestry. Seeing as he was of a responsible age (or he should be at least), he was only being sent there with his father, and he was only there because Shouhei wasn’t old enough to negotiate the price on behalf of the clan.

“Yer nervous boy?” his father asked him.

Shouhei turned his face to see a man that probably was more ginger than he was. Not that the sun would punish him that much with the formal headdress he wore to compliment the rest of his formal wear. Shouhei was fortunately spared the headdress, as he had to wear his forehead protector since he graduated from the academy. The rest of his clothes also had less flare so it didn’t outshine it, which were also the reason he was less annoyed with things today compared to his usual self.

“My answer shan’t change, father” he responded as he turned his head back. “If I would be nervous about meeting the royals after having done so three times before, I should stop being a ninja.”

It was then they were lead through the palace doors and into the throne room. Upon meeting the princess, they bowed as per protocol. “Your Royal Highness, we are honored that you have called upon us today,” his father said as they stood up, “May I request that you talk to my son Shouhei about the tapestry you wish for, then allow me to talk with the chamberlain when we have settled on a design?”

Notes wrote:Word Count: 305

As the royals weavers entered the throne room, Tehniyat rose to her feet. Waiting for them to commence with greetings first as was protocol, she in turned performed a neat curtsy as was due and allowed a small, polite smile to grace her features. The older gentleman she had known for many years now through his trips to the palace. To his credit, he addressed her just as formally now as he had when she was four and met him for the first time. His son however was not someone the priceless had had the pleasure of getting acquainted with yet.

Still, a request was a request, and thee was nothing to be gained by denying it. The young man looked to be about her age, give or take a few years. His most interesting feature however was the Hoshi headband. It seemed ninja had even grown thick amongst the rank of the palace workers and servicemen.

"It does me great honor to receive you in our throne room," she began, her smile still in place as her green eyes turned to the young shinobi weaver. "As I'm sure your clan is already aware, the little princes Kanzaki turns nine in a week. She has lost her mother recently and her lord father - also a shinobi - has taken missions abroad. Princess Kanzaki has been so busy with her own training that I doubt she would remember her own name day soon approaches."

Carefully motioning for the son to follow her to an empty spot on the wall to the side of the throne room, Tehniyat made a delicate gesture to the space. "I would like to request a tapestry be made with the express purpose of lifting her spirits. Perhaps something that incorporates aspects of her late Lady Mother and her father, as well as something to do with Shinobi culture." Pausing for a moment, she added. "You would know more about that than myself, being a shinobi. The Princess Kanzaki is fond of bright colours I'm told... And we could all use a little more brightness in our lives right now."

The statement could be interpreted any way though most likely to a bystander it would be seen as the princes alluding to the recent passing of Kanzaki's mother.

While before she would have found herself irritated at the lack of preparation with which this young ninja had dared appear in front of her, today was different. The aura of sadness followed her wherever she went, making the princess realize she had never truly been bereft before, how could she be when this feeling was so alien to her? Today she sympathized with the young weaver. "You and I both," she offered generously to his remark on barely being introduced to the shinobi world. The blonde too had a lot of learning to do in that regard.

When Shouhei displayed the two color pallet for her to choose from, a look of confusion entered the royal's green eyes. Beyond the simple detail she had already recounted to the weaver, Tehniyat had no idea what her little cousin preferred. What would her aunt have done in this situation? Giving herself time to think, the nineteen year old averted her gaze from the color selection to look around the room. "The more somber pallet would suit the decor of the room, I suppose?" she stated, making sure the question was obvious. A princess never admitted to not knowing something. She was however allowed to take counsel.

"And yet it would fit in so well that it may as well have been made for one of our ancestors. I would prefer the Princess Kanzaki view it as uniquely hers. So how about the brighter selection? Could it be done so that it stands unique without offending the rest of the decor in the throne room?" she asked, emerald green orbs back on the young man.

"If it helps, Her Grace is studying to be a medical ninja, Like Lady Akihana I believe. So perhaps a theme of growth or healing or rejuvenation could be portrayed?"

Shouhei understood that a princess couldn’t admit wrong in front of such a simple man as himself. Maybe to an advice or someone in trust, but definitely not to a simple weaver who just happened to be a ninja. Judging the options she raised he got an idea.

“We might be able to do both with that theme, your grace.”  Shouhei took some colors from his pouch and added it to the pallet. “The majority of the image will be somber, but on the golden ration we will have a more colorful image of Lady Kanzaki and her dearest father heal the heartache of the Lady’s mother with her padding her on the head as a goodbye,” he handed her the new pallet he had made. “With a color pallet like that, the image want stand out as you look throughout the whole room, but should you look at the image yourself up close, you will notice the warm story of a farewell.

Notes wrote:Word Count: 163

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," the princess intoned generously, glad that at least he was open to incorporating as much of her idea as he was his own. Not that Tehniyat demanded artistic representation, the odd thing about this whole project was that it was for her cousin's pleasure alone.This room was a representation of the young weaver's family as much as her own, any tarnish in theme, color or quality would reflect purely on the young man's familial craft.

The two spent a few more minutes going over the details before heading back to the young shinobi's father, a final theme and color pallet in mind. "Your son has been most helpful in choosing the latest addition to this room," the princess complimented the boy generously to his father. "I see being a shinobi has not taken anything away from his craft, and I hope it never does."

”Very well, your grace.” He responded to the princess when they concluded on the design, and eventually when they got to the topic of payment. “It was an honor to be of service,” he said and he bowed with his words just before she left to talk with his father.

If there was anything Shouhei was glad about for this exchange between him and the princess, it was that the princess definitely wasn’t insane. Okay that was more an aside; a thought that you have in the split moment then question yourself when you have it. Kind of like when you kick an old lady down a set of stairs. His main relief was her gentleness, and the fact that he wasn’t the only person who had to work on the tapestry, but that it was a family endeavor. He might actually only have to do very little this time around now he had other things to think about as a ninja of the village.

In any event, as she walked away, he had to admit she was quite gracefully from behind, but his eyes quickly went to the whole scene of the princess and his father, rather than the princess. At least she said something that covered up his awkward stare from before with a blush.

The princess mentioned his family’s craft, and Shouhei wasn’t sure why she saw that as important however. Well on one level, he could, but his questions were more along on the levels of politics like she was against the establishment of a ninja academy. However, maybe it wasn’t about politics. Maybe she was one of the people that thought people needed a severe balance not to become a killing machine.

Shouhei got the arguments in such a way that didn’t go over his head, but it was all too deep for him, and he could quickly become apathetic about the idea of ethics. He knew as much that in civilization, it was easy to be ethical unless people are rewarded otherwise. Meanwhile, it was impossible in war, and in nature one needed to be flexible or you would be eaten and not pass on offspring. Man, all these thoughts made him rather want to go back to mechanical topics or practice the art of explosions. That reminded him that he really needed to get a place where he could practice where people wouldn’t complain about property damage or the noise.

“Hahaha,” Shouhei’s father gave a proud but at a respectable volume laugh, “I appreciate your kind words, your grace. I am sure Shouhei does too.” At a lower volume he followed up so that the whole hall couldn’t hear his words like before. “I respect his choice to be a ninja as well, however. I never expected my song to be beyond his years at twelve wanting to study the art of war so his children doesn’t has to. I shall make sure he doesn’t forget our family’s craft that much I will promise you.”

Shouhei could still hear the conversation, but he was glad his father wasn’t that embarrassing in his ways of showing his proudness over his son. As for what he had left out; another reason Shouhei became a ninja was that he no longer had to hide his ability to manipulate chakra. That was a fun thing about Haven until the academy opened.

In any event, his mind had almost faded into itself and forgotten time when his father came back from having talked to the princess and the chamberlain. Shouhei only noticed him when he placed a hand on his shoulder and said: “You did a good job today. However, it’s time to wake up Shouhei, we have a job to do.” Where after they walked out of the palace towards their manor.

[EXIT]

Notes wrote:Word Count: 635
TWC: 1416
Stats: 7 (1400 / 200)

A few more quiet words were exchanged, the sese of familiarity calming Tehniyat as the older weaver spoke. There was something infinitely soothing about tradition being maintained despite the changing times.

"I thank you for your time and effort," she finished, performing a neat curtsey accompanying her words. "May the Hand of the Father and Smith guide your endevours. I find myself assured that Princess Kanzaki will be pleased with her name day present."

As they left, Princess Tehniyat bid Ser Atem see them out, affording the two men the respect they rightly deserved.

(Exit Tehniyat)

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