The Asana Bond

His… fiancée? Ruki blinked as she stared at the small purple pony. Takato had never mentioned anything about her. Yet now that he was standing there close to her, he looked happier than Ruki had ever seen him. It made her wonder what else he had been hiding from her, if even such a happy thing had not been a thing he had felt he could share with her. Only a little while ago had she thought of how much she trusted him… and now, as she felt pain inside her take over, did she wonder if she really could trust him.

“It is nice to meet you.” The small pony said.
“Yes… it is nice to meet you, too.” Ruki replied, wondering if she really meant it.
Takato looked so happy… and it had nothing to do with her.
“Flora, do we have a spare room for Ruki?” Takato asked.
“Yes, of course. Let me show you the way, Ruki.” Flora smiled.
She walked into the house and Ruki followed her, silently.

She did not know what to say to the girl. She felt a strong urge to run away from here. She couldn’t even remember why she followed Takato here. Yes, maybe these ponies could help her with her search, but it seemed so useless now. She had managed just fine in the East, there was no reason to think why she shouldn’t be able to, here. Right, I should leave, Ruki thought. I have to go, there is nothing for me here in this forsaken place. She made up her mind that she would stay for one night, but she would leave tomorrow.

Ruki followed Flora trough the hallway. There were several doors on each side, and she followed Flora into one of the doors on their right. Ruki was surprised to find it led them into another hallway, with four doors on each side. Flora walked to the third door on the left and opened it.
”Here, I hope you find this room suitable.” She said. Ruki peeked inside and she saw a nice bed and a closet. Nothing more, and the room wasn’t very big, but it looked really nice after all the nights she had spend outside the past few months.

“It’s just fine.” She managed to smile.
“Great. The room next to you is a bathroom, please feel free to refresh yourself there. I was working on dinner, I will send someone to call you once it’s ready.” Flora smiled once more, and then turned away from Ruki.
Ruki wandered into the small room. It was really nothing special. The thin walls were made of nothing more than wood, and there was no window. The only light came from the candle Flora had just lit. Ruki put her bag on the floor and walked to the bathroom.

Once again, it was nothing special. There was a window and a large bucket with water with a smaller bucket next to it. She took out a small bucket with water and carefully washed her face. There was a small window here, Ruki noticed. She dried her face with one of the towels that were lying around, and washed the dirty water down the drain in the corner. She went back to her room, and just as she sat down on her bed, a pony appeared in her doorframe.

“Lady Flora asked me to tell you dinner is ready.” The older man said. His mane were starting to get grey, Ruki noticed, but his coat was still lilac.
 “Thank you.” She said, noticing only now how hungry she was for fresh food. She followed the man out of the hallways into another door, which led into a rather large room with two large tables. Ruki was surprised to see there were at least fifteen ponies there. Takato sat at the head of one of the tables. On his left side sat Flora, but the seat on his right side was still open and Takato motioned her to sit down there.

The smell and taste of the food almost made Ruki doubt her decision to leave. It tasted so good… after the dry food she had eaten for so long. Flora apologized for the simplicity of the food, after all it was only some fresh bread with vegetable soup, but Ruki didn’t understand what she was apologizing for. It tasted delicious, and for a few moments Ruki forgot all the things that she was worrying about.

Yet, unfortunately, the food was gone all too soon and Ruki was transferred back to reality. Flora and Takato… they were constantly smiling at each other. The other ponies at the table, Ruki realized, were almost all quite a bit older than they were. There were only two others of about Takato’s age, and they were both boys. The other ponies were at least as old as her father, and the only three women among them were even older. Their grey hair was tied in a tail and they were all sitting, Ruki realized, next to their partners.

“Will you join us for tea in the living room, Ruki?” Takato asked.
Ruki agreed. Takato got up and left the room, with Flora following him. Ruki noticed the others only got up the moment Takato had left. They seemed to respect him deeply, and Ruki wondered why. Sure, he was great and seemed to know a lot, but he was only a young guy. Wasn’t it common for the elders to leave first? Puzzling over this, Ruki followed the other ponies to the other room.

The large living room had a few basic couches and a large table in the middle. There was room for all the ponies, and there were even some spaces left. Ruki realized the walls were bare, here, too, as if there was no time or money to be wasted on decorations. Once again, there was a spot saved for her next to Takato. She felt uneasy, sitting so close to him. Now that she knew he was engaged, she didn’t want to be so close. It would only hurt, she realized. It was a good thing she had made up her mind to leave.

One of the elder women came in with a tray with cups, and another with a rather large kettle. The cups were filled with a tea that smelled like forest fruits and once everyone had received their cup, the ladies sat down, too. Everyone was staring at Takato, waiting for him to talk. Ruki saw he took a sip of his tea as if to prepare himself, so he had some time to think of what he would say.

“My dear friends and members from the Asano bond. As you all have noticed,” Takato begun, “I have returned from the east.” Ruki was surprised to hear his voice.
He suddenly sounded so strong, with a force she had not detected in his voice before. What was Takato for these people? Yet, she noticed, he was still Takato. He was still the serious guy who saved her from the snowstorm. No… He was the serious guy who saved her from the snowstorm who was apparently engaged to a sweet girl and forgot to mention it to her the months they were together.

“I was able to finish my research there, thanks to the girl sitting next to me. Let me introduce you all first to Ruki, a girl I met in the east who will be staying with us for a while. She has her own research to do, but I think after I explained everything tonight that we will all agree we can help each other out.”
Ruki had no time to object. One by one, the ponies introduced themselves but she forgot their names just as quickly. She realized this drinking tea was not only for fun but also where Takato would explain what he had found in the east. She wondered how the other ponies would react, but she was also curious to his explanation as she still felt she was missing some facts.

“Of course, you all remember what we talked about. The reason I went to the east was because we suspected the breach was losing its power to divide the powers from east and west. We thought this because we detected a strange force here in the west, and wondered if there was something at hand with the powers of the earth. We did not know why or how, at that time, but if the breach truly was at fault we were sure we would find prana on the surface in the east.

So I went out on my own, towards the east to see if I could detect any prana there. For a long time, I felt absolutely nothing. I could not even feel the spirits of the trees, the plants, the animals, like I can here because they are sustained by prana. My powers were blocked, just like it should be. I met Ruki while I did my research. She helped me, but even with her help I found nothing. I was almost sure we were wrong, that whatever it was that was happening here was not because of the breach.

Until, one day, while I was researching, I made a mistake. I did not recognize the trees in time. There were two trees, in an open field. They should not have been there, but what was more, their leaves shone with the colors of prana. I did not notice it because I did not feel it the way I do here. They were a bit away from where I was researching, but Ruki spotted them. Curious to their color she approached them. As she got close, I suddenly felt the prana rising. I felt its nature, it was aggressive. The trees did not want her to approach. I could not stop it as my ability to control the powers was still blocked, so the prana hit Ruki. It was proof enough for me. Prana has become visible and active in the east. Now we need to confirm one more thing. Have the powers of the heavens that the queens of the east can use also made their way into the west?”

Ruki looked at the other ponies in the room. Every one of them looked troubled now.
“My prince, how are we going to detect that? None among us have the ability to detect those powers. Should we ask the help of the queens of the east?” One of the elder ponies asked.
 Prince? Ruki blinked. Had she heard that correctly?

“There is no need to do that, Tanjo. There is another reason why I brought Ruki here. The moment we set foot in the east, I realized it. Ruki… Do you remember your mother?” Takato asked.
Ruki felt as if a knife was turned inside her heart. Her mother… was the only person in the world she did not want to think of right now. What did she have to do with anything, anyway? But she owed Takato an honest reply.
“Yes, but only a little. She left when I was still very young.” She did not feel like telling Takato about her recent encounter with her mother just yet. It didn’t matter.
“I thought so. And isn’t it true your father is of royal blood here?”
“Yes… he is the king of Batafurai.” She replied, wondering where this was going. To her surprise, Takato smiled.

“I thought so. Batafurai… your father is of royal blood, a descendant of the High King. He carries the power to control prana, and he used it on you, to seal something inside you. It is a simple seal, and I will lift it if you wish.” A seal? Ruki’s head spinned. Her father had sealed something inside her? Why would he have done such a thing? She couldn’t remember.
“What… did he seal away, then?” Ruki asked.

“He sealed away your powers… your royal powers. Ruki, you might have never noticed them as you were raised in the west where you cannot access them, but you carry royal blood from the east. Your father sealed these powers inside you, so you would not detect then if you would ever set foot in the east. I don’t know why he did, but I am sure he is the one who did this.

However, Ruki, with this, you can help us out. I will not force you to join us. It is up to you whether you accept this or not. I can remove this seal from you instantly if you wish. And I can train you to detect the powers given to you at birth. However, Ruki, with those powers you can help our research. You can help us detect these eastern powers here in the west.”

Ruki’s head was so full with questions she couldn’t even remember which one was the first. She felt empty, weird, betrayed. Takato had known so much about her and yet he had not told her anything. He waited to share everything he knew with her until all these other ponies were present. Why?
“Takato… Who are you?” She whispered while the rest of the room waited in complete silence. Oddly, it was Flora who answered.
“Takato, you did not share anything with this girl, didn’t you! If she is who you claim she is than you should pay her some respect! Answer her question.” Ruki was surprised to hear the strength in the small woman’s voice.

To her surprise, Takato smiled. “I know, Flora dear. You are right. I just wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want Ruki to worry needlessly. I thought it would be better if she was with you before I told her this, because I didn’t want to scare her with all the things I have to share with her. Well, Ruki… I do not think it is coincidence that we met. I think it was fate. You are an heir to the throne of the east, but to answer your question… My name is Takato du Larq, heir to the throne of the High King.”