Abdicate (Lucian)

It had been three days since Kanzaki's return and those three days Princess Tehniyat had spent in deep thought and prayer. Her childhood septa had always said prayer was the answer, in meditation we find who we truly are and what we can truly be. And the last three days by Kanzaki's bedside, the nineteen year old had little to do but meditate as she helplessly watched healers bent over the tiny princess, staving off her nightmares with potions and chakra induced sleep. Never before had Tehniyat been made to see how ineffective and unnecessary she was to the morphing scene of Hoshigakure, a land where ninja now held all the power to make a difference as she sat by in prayer.

The City blessed by the stars had changed in the last few years, it was now Hoshigakure no Sato, and it had changed to accommodate people like Tehniyat less and less. No one was to blame for the natural evolution of the country, Queen Shiera had probably seen that. Perhaps that was why her royal aunt had welcomed shinobi, understanding the hard truth that without ninja, Haven didn't have a hope.

A Queen's duty was to her people and country, not to herself.

Leaving the princess's bedside for the first time in three days, Tehniyat made for the palace shrine, her beige gown sweeping behind her. No jewels adorned her today save the one symbol of royalty she was required to always sport, the small golden circlet on her brow. Behind her, Ser Atem followed at a respectful distance but as they apprehend the door, he stayed behind at a small gesture from the heiress. This was private.

The palace shrine was an homage to the entire country of Haven. Ever god and goddess worshiped within the land was represented here as a token of all religions being treated equal in the land. Whether the representation be an ornament, a wall hanging, a situate or the scent of incense, it was all here. Every registered faith that received benefits from the crown had a place at the palace, and in a world that seem to increasingly have no place for Tehniyat, this was the most comforting place to the blonde right now.

"Send for Ser Lucian, he should be able to walk by now," she commanded before entering the door and shutting it behind her. With slow careful steps, the young woman reached the alter and then sank gracefully to her knees in respect, golden head bowed in prayer once again.

Over the course of three days, Lucian had come to the conclusion that being a royal in the next life would not be all that bad. Food brought to him by servants, access to a vast library and a bed with more than one pillow were all things he feared he could get too used to. Alas, deep down, he had the sneaking suspicion that the road to enlightenment was not paved with extra pillows and all-you-can-eat buffets. So, when the inevitable summons of Tehnyat came he jumped at the chance to escape what had become a downward spiral of temptation after temptation.

Following the strangely silent Atem, Lucian found himself ushered to the palace shrine. The chamber was not unfamiliar to the boy as he had been there plenty of times before in doing errands for the royalty of Hoshigakure, namely Tehniyat. That said, he did find the concept a bit odd: keeping parts of other religions. It all seemed very political to the young Nazar. A policy of please everyone if you will.

Of course, as the heavy door of the room closed behind him all thoughts of politics faded away at the sight of Tehniyat deep in prayer. Perhaps had Lucian not been, well, Lucian he would have spoken up and tried to grab the young princess' attention. However, he was indeed Lucian, so he remained silent and waited for the woman to finish. Respect was an important aspect of any relationship and Lucian's relationship with Tehniyat was no exception.

The princess could sense her guest arriving despite having her back to the ninja, and she was quietly grateful at not being disturbed. Though the very fact that she had not been concentrating on prayer enough to sense his arrival spoke for itself. It seemed the Gods had already given her an answer, albeit a brief and vague one, and they were in no mood to elaborate. Tehniyat would have to work out the details herself and those could not become clear through prayer.

The royal let a few more minutes pass, finally raising her head with a murmured conclusion in the ancient tongue soft on her lips. Rising gracefully to her feet, she looked towards the bald male. "Would you like to pray as well?" If he expressed the wish to do so, Tehniyat would respectfully step aside to let him have his turn. Should he decline, she would simply study him, green eyes quietly questioning the decision to not kneel before the Gods.

"I hope I find you in good health," the princess would continue, coming to stand about four feet across from him, the distance accepted by most forms of royal etiquette. "I trust the healers saw to the injuries you attained in the line of duty?" It was true that the blonde had only realized how grievously the ninja was hurt a full day after he had shown up at the palace with Princess Kanzaki, but once she had made room in her mind for anyone other than her cousin, she had made sure the young male was offered the swiftest and most painless of treatments.

"I regret to recall not thanking you for your service when you returned with Her Grace, Kanzaki. But belated gratitude should account for something no?" It was the closest thing to an apology the princess would ever muster.

A few minutes passed and still Lucian remained silent and still, waiting. Then, with all the grace her upbringing had endowed her with, Tehniyat rose and turned to the blank faced monk. Her question, unfortunately, only served to wrinkle the boy's forehead ever so slightly as his hazel gaze matched the princess'.

"I will have to decline," Lucian replied, maintaining eye contact. "I have learned much of Hoshigakure's religions in my time here, but which god I am to pray is something I have yet to learn."

The Nazar boy had been raised in a spiritual community with no all-powerful deity nor even a pantheon to speak of. However, his elders had instilled in him the need to question everything and find one's own way. Perhaps one day the answer would become clear, but until then it felt wrong to pray when he did not know who his prayers would reach.

"Yes, I have never felt better," Lucian affirmed with a quick nod. "Thank you."

"Banish that regret." He continued with a kind smile. "You did what anyone would have done in caring for your family. No one, myself included, can fault you for that. Nonetheless, I appreciate the sentiment."

Indeed, a "you're welcome" may have sufficed if he had been talking to anyone other than a royal. Lucian figured it was better to simply accept the woman's gratitude as opposed to making light of what was clearly an aplogy. The smoother road was often the better one in situations such as these, after all.

At his admission of not knowing which God to pray to, the princess forgot for a moment where they were and who they were. The moment only lasted that long before her mannerisms returned to her side and her eyes lowered from their curious stare. "A monk who has yet to pray, I'm afraid I don't understand if your honesty is meant to compliment the crown or slight it." A truth for a truth if they were going to exchange it. "Such blasphemous thoughts don't suit you, Ser Lucian. I would be wary of repeating them elsewhere."

Waiting for his response, Princess Tehniyat would attempt to study the young Shinobi's body language. More than wanting to assure he was in good health, the blonde was trying to understand how sound of mind he was after what had transpired. The full report that had reached her had been brief, technical and devoid of human bias. It did however mention that there was just enough left of Ser Meryn for a disgraceful burial. And the harmless looking monk in front of her was the culprit responsible for Ser Meryn's current predicament.

"The team dispatched to retrieve Ser Meryn's remains commended you on a job thoroughly done. It is my personal understanding that Her Grace Kanzaki was a witness to the incident too. She has been given milk of the poppy to keep her asleep and safe from the night terrors." It was neither a question nor an accusation. She could hardly blame the man for doing what she had sent him to do, nor could she project concern for his mental well being any more than she was doing so right now. No what she wanted was to hear of the event in his own words.

"You did the crown a great service, no doubt. You may name any reward you wish and we will take it under serious consideration. Because of you, Princes Kanzaki - and Haven's future - is safe for the time being."

"Perhaps not," Lucian replied plainly with a thin knowing smile. It was true. He had been all over Hoshigakure, seen countless religions and talked to innumerable believers. Yet, who was he to decide which deity held the truth? No, he was not at that point yet, but he could respect the positive aspects of each while also understanding the negatives. That counted for something, right?

Of course, his smile was fleeting and his gaze quickly cast to the ground as the princess brought up Meryn. No, it was not an unexpected that the conversation should end up where it did now, but Lucian felt he would never be ready for it. Yet here he was and remaining silently removed was, regrettably, not an option.

"Indeed, the late Meryn left me little choice," He said with his gaze rising to meet Tehniyats again making the grimace his face had contorted itself into all the more apparent. "He died in a sea blades. I take solace in the fact that he died as he lived, as a warrior."

His words were hollow, an act. These were the right things to say, but they meant nothing to him. Whatever mad puppeteer controlled Lucian's near mechanical cadence forced him onwards. All he could he hear was the faraway sound of spinning blades and all too yielding flesh. In fact, he almost missed the princess' kind words implying the debt the royals owed the boy from Funkagakure.

"I have no real desires save to live a contented life and hopefully never have to end another life if I can help it. Unfortunately, I am afraid you cannot help me with either of these goals."

Perhaps it was time for the boy to move on from the village? He had once drifted in with no intention of staying for any length of time. Life was silly in that way; one never knew what to expect. Yes, maybe a continuation in his travels was in order...

"Are you certain?" the blonde asked, sharp green eyes raised to the monk's. "Wealth, creature comforts, a desk job, all these can certainly go a long way to "contentment"." If he chose that option, he would certainly never have to work again let alone kill, but Tehniyat had a feeling "contentment" meant something different to the young male than it did to her. "There is little the crown can't offer you, if you are willing to accept it."

She would let him think over his answer as she remained quiet, waiting for him to speak next. Once he had answered her, she would pose another question.

"Tell me Ser Lucian, how does one know one's purpose in life? If today I were to tell you that you are no longer fit for the role you have been raised from birth to fill, what would you response be?" Perhaps that was why she was here, and why she had summoned this shinobi. In losing her purpose, Tehniyat had lost more than a vocation. She had lost her sense of self and Lucian had a certain aptitude for finding lost princesses.

"It has lately become clear to me that Hoshi is changing. Whether we see it now and change with her or ignore it in hopes that it will stop, our winds are no longer the same, our sands do not hold the same texture and our people..." She trailed off, unsure how to express the shift in culture. In the end, the princess chose not to, hoping he would understand anyway.

"And when a country changes, so must her rulers. We hold traditions dear to our hearts in Haven, it is who we are. But our traditions can no more battle the eminent change than a drying well against the scorching sun. What is the well to do then? Simply concede?"

"Indeed, I have little doubt in the vast resources of the crown." Yes, it would have been nice to live out his days fancy-free and 'happy', but it didn't seem right. Something was wrong with simply taking the easy way out that, in the end, would probably lead to less contentment he otherwise might find. "However, there are some things material wealth cannot give nor solve. The attainment of contentment, for example, does not come from the external, but rather the internal."

He had paraphrased a mantra once taught to him, but he also believed very strongly in it. So, was it really stealing? Or was it repurposing?

A long pause of empty air followed Tehniyat's next statement.

"If I may be so bold, I would ignore you. Who are you to tell me what my purpose is?" Another pause, not as long as the last, but enough for Lucian to gather his thoughts and take a breath. "Purpose varies from person to person and too often we find it imposed upon us by others. I am of the opinion that, much like contentment, purpose is found within, not without."

A third pause, the shortest of all.

"I know it probably sounds as if I am dodging the question and, well, I might be." Who was he to lend counsel to royalty? "But it might behoove you to think of change as a process, not a battle. After all, when a well ceases to yield water do we slowly waste away and die from lack of water? No, we dig a new one and continue on with life."

"The world at large then," the princess rephrased her question, not offering him permission to be as bold as he was being but not commenting on it either. She supposed certain formalities wooed have to be dispensed with given the nature of their interaction. "What if every sign and indication pointed towards you losing a purpose? Would you simply move on and find another? What led you to Hoshigakure pray tell, what made you stay this long?"

Tehniyat would lapse into silence as he explained, not interrupting no matter how long or short his explanation., He didn't seem to believe in a particular God so he couldn't claim divine intervention. Or perhaps he could. It appeared this ninja challenged her concept of religion and piety just by existing.

"I was never meant to be Queen," the blonde admired softly, more to herself than the ninja standing across her. "After my Late Aunt Shiera, the crown would have gone to Princess Lissandra. Third in line was yet another cousin who met a similar fate and is now one with the stars." Saying it out loud, just how much death there had been in her family made it more real somehow. "I was only to maintain our long standing alliance with Bird Country. I was raised to strengthen our diplomatic ties through matrimony, not govern a group of ninja I knew nothing about."

Even as she said it, Tehniyat knew she was being the most honest she had ever been out loud. The heiress had tried her best to do everything by the book. Learn as much as she could about shinobi, try her best to make decisions that would cater to everyone's best interest, and yet, she was failing. "Perhaps with enough time, i could have been a good ruler. but the time it would take me to learn.. that time would mean my people suffering for my inadequacies. It has become clear to me that Hoshi has a bright future in store... even if it does not contain myself personally."

The recent attack on Kanzaki had showed Tehniyat one thing for certain, that she was in no position to protect anyone. If no one had come to her aid in rescuing her young cousin, Kanzaki too would be among the stars today. No the young princess was the future of Hoshigakure, not Tehniyat Bukhari.

"What of you, Ser. What do you see in your future?"

"Yes, I would," He shifted his eyes away for a moment. "And I have. I came to Hoshigakure by way of Kumogakure and Funkagakure before that. The Nazar clan has a tradition in which members are required to travel the world and experience it only to return once they are ready to re-join the clan."

A poorly veiled sigh.

"As such, Hoshigakure was meant to be a stop in my travels and yet here I stand. Truthfully, I could not tell you why I am still here. Perhaps it is the people, the land, the history or a combination of all three. I cannot rightly say."

Silence reigned then reigned until broken by Tehniyat's words. Lucian played his part as one might expect with a few attentive nods and open ears. From what he could tell it appeared Tehniyat was not looking for someone to tell her she was wrong, but rather to tell her that she was right. Her mind, Lucian figured, was probably already made up. Though he really did question the woman's reasoning behind a nine-year-old being better suited for the throne than someone who had been the de facto ruler since the family's unfortunate deaths. Then again, who was he to point such details out?

"My future?"

Now there was a thought.

"I haven't given it much thought. Thus, far I have lived my life day-to-day and I suppose I will continue to do so and take what comes."

Perhaps it came off as a cop out, but it was true nonetheless. Hopefully, the boy's earnest tone communicated such. The Nazar clan believed life was not something one planned out like clockwork. No, instead it was something one experienced. That said, there is a difference between thinking ahead and planning ahead.