Snippet #1971218

Fa Sheng reined his horse in, pausing at the crest of a rolling hill to gaze at his brother. His face was pensive, expression unreadable. He forgot sometimes that his brothers had known their Father for a much shorter time than he had. He wondered if Kisei was even old enough to recall the late Emperor's face, his deep voice, the rolling thunder of his laugh...

Thoughts of their father cracked his emotionless mask, and he was forced to turn his face away from Daiki's. Tears burned at the back of his eyes, but he would not permit them to fall. No Emperor cried.
"I will... consider it," he whispered. "Discuss it, perhaps, with Hatsue. But not until after the wedding. There will be too much to do..."
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For one long instant, at the end of Kazumi's speech, Kisei was silent. He stared straight ahead, back turned to her, thoughtful. How much could he afford to tell her? He had never experimented with dropping his shields around someone other than his brothers - even with Fa Sheng and Daiki he was guarded, easily provoked, not an easy person to get along with. He did not want people to get along with him. He knew how much it would hurt them when he died, if they loved him. He had seen it when their father died, in Fa Sheng's eyes.

He had saved her for a reason, however, and Kisei knew that he could not afford to betray that reason. He reached out behind him, caught hold of her sleeve and held her in place. For someone as frail as he, his grasp was remarkably strong.
"I saved your life," he whispered, "because I do not believe the theft was wrong. I have no use for these trinkets. You did." He took a deep breath. Partial truth... not the whole. She deserved the whole. "And because... I had hoped to have... one good friend before the end."