She found the third held an intricate golden scepter. The symbol of command.
Fear spread throughout Ren’s chest, solidifying what she already knew: She didn't want to be here. She didn't belong here. She was no ruler.
Ren swallowed heavily and turned to the High Priest with a grateful nod. One by one the Dasyas slipped the jade necklace over her neck, placed the ring on her middle finger, and set the scepter in her hand.
"Repeat with me," the High Priest intoned, "the Sacred Oath to serve the Empire: ‘I vow to serve the Empire with all my heart. To give my time, my will, and my life to their service.’"
Ren repeated the words, but they came out halting. Terrified, even, lined with a hesitation she could barely control. Did she sense a flicker of disapproval in the priest's gaze? Annoyance in his eyes?
Once finished, the High Priest straightened. "You are now the new Ruler and Empress of Marugan."
The Sevakas lit powder in glass jars, then connected the jars to long shoots of bamboo that trailed outside. Green smoke curled in the glass jars at first, then drifted higher into the shoots. From the shoots the smoke was released into the sky.
The appearance of the smoke announced Ren’s anointment to all outside.
Cheers rang through the city.
Led by the Dasyas and two Sevakas, Ren followed them back out of the hall to the double doors. They opened, revealing Yuna standing just outside, a wide smile on her face.
"Ren," she murmured. "This is wonderful."
Azuma and Bramen Qin flanked Yuna on either side. They were also smiling.
"Come, sister," Yuna murmured. "It's time to meet the people. They have lost much recently, and we need to start out your rule by serving them."
Ren accepted Yuna's gentle tug down the stairs. She stared at the people as she passed by them.
A Hiwan scrivener scrambled along in the street ahead of Ren, a heavy parchment in his hand. As Ren began to walk through the city, he began to call out names.
"The names of those lost," Yuna murmured to Ren. "That is the Karensi with him, the Hiwan treasurer."
Some spectators shifted their eyes away as Ren walked past. Several scowled. Many glared at her with cold expressions and dark, soulless eyes.
After a while Ren clenched the scepter even tighter. The jade beads hung heavy on her chest.
Ren eyed the crowd with increasing discontent. She forcibly swallowed back fear.
After a time Ren noticed that the Karensi and several servants had started to drag bags of rice and Hana, the bronze coin of the Empire, behind them. Although Hana could be used to buy anything, in some places, bags of rice were as good as Hana, if not better.
"Here, Ren," Yuna said, pressing several Hana coins into her palms. "Give these poor people some condolences for all they've lost. We need to show them that we are here to lead and will help serve them."
Ren reached out, distributing coin after coin to those lining the street with murmured condolences, apologies for what they'd lost. She looked at what stood behind the people: broken buildings, caved-in ceilings, missing glass windows panes, broken doors. It seemed everything had burned.
These people, her people, were suffering. Scared. Tired.
None of them seemed happy to see her there, although their expressions brightened when she passed them rice or Hana.
They don't trust me, she thought, passing a bag of rice to an old woman with dirt on her cheeks and hunched shoulders. I don't blame them. I wouldn't trust me either.
Ren and her entourage continued their slow pace through the streets, meeting the people, and handing out food, coin, and condolences.
Some women sobbed. Children stared at her through distrustful eyes. Ren had a knot in her throat; she just wanted to be done.
Ren approached a woman in the Artisan District who was not much older than she was. The girl had tears streaming down her cheeks.
Ahead of Ren, the scrivener continued to call out names in a low sing-song.
Ren stopped, arrested by the sight of the woman's pain. "What is your name?"
The girl put her hands behind her back. "Reiko," she murmured.
"Your house has been damaged," Ren said, passing her two Hana. "Please, take this to help repair it. I'm so sorry that this happened."
Reiko pressed her thin lips together. Her entire body shook. She wants to hit me, Ren thought, taking in Reiko's flaring nostrils and cutting gaze.
"I cannot accept this," Reiko said.
"Reiko, come inside," called out a voice from entrance to her home. Its owner didn't step outside, but peered out at Ren through a crack in the door.
Ren tilted her head in curiosity. Something about Reiko's intensity, the livid rage bubbling within, sent a sharp pang through Ren. Reiko turned away from the Hana, leaving it untouched in Ren’s hand. The girl sent Ren one last scathing look, turned around, and disappeared inside her home.
Something overhead caught Ren’s gaze. She glanced up to see three crows. Mourning, she thought. Even the birds are crying.
"Come, Ren," Yuna murmured, putting a gentle hand on her arm. "Let's go."
Ren continued forward until they stepped into the central square of the city, the Cadra Muk, where tens of thousands of people congregated. There Ren climbed up onto a wooden stage set high above the crowd.
Ren gazed out onto a sea of faces below her. Yuna, Azuma, and Bramen Qin stood next to her. Yuna gave her an encouraging nod.
Ren moved her gaze to a building where she couldn't see any faces staring out at her. Her courage nearly fled her, but she forced her mouth to open.
"In the wake of the travesties and horrors of the past several days, I am here to be your new ruler. A strong Princess. The woman who will lead you out of the wilderness and back into better days. I will do everything I can to bring to justice those who have wronged us. Have betrayed and murdered us. Together, we can reestablish the balance within the Empire, support each other, and punish the traitors who would take our lives. I – "
"Lies!" someone shouted from the back of the crowd.
"Boo!" called out several voices in unison.
"The Hiwan are the true rulers."
"Down with the Nari!"
"This is nothing but a new regime. Maybe they stole the crown!"
Ren paused, sucking in a sharp breath. She'd known the people wouldn't support her at first, but this blatant disapproval and blind hatred robbed her of breath.
"Keep going, Ren," Yuna whispered over to her. "You can do this."
A number of Hiwan guards moved through the crowd, seeking out troublemakers to bear away to prisons.
A sense of overwhelming guilt welled up in Ren's chest. This was all her fault. If she would just be a better person, maybe they wouldn't feel that way. She tried to force strength into her voice, but it still wavered.
"Together,” she called, her voice ringing through the crowd, “we'll form a better, stronger Empire."
Ren stepped down amidst a chorus of angry jeers and celebratory cries.
"Come, Ren," Yuna murmured, wrapping a protective arm around her. "Let's get you out of here."
She and Azuma whisked their sister away, out of the crowd.
Ren was grateful to be taken away.
Evening descended as Ren, back at the imperial palace, walked slowly down a hallway, ruminating on all that had passed that day. For being the most important leader in the Empire, she felt no different. She still felt small in her own body. Lost in her own world.
The tinkle of plates and silverware sounded in the distance. Ren knew the servants were bustling around, preparing for the dinner to celebrate the Empire’s new leader. She swallowed at the thought.
After the dinner, everyone would go into the courtyard where the bodies of Saemon and Isao lay. All would watch the funeral rites, see the corpses of the Prince and the Sheng burn in the flames.