The Lotus-Born Fox Prince
Characters
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Characters in this story
- Jayden — A cold-eyed Edo kitsune samurai who turns Yang water into speed.
Story transcript
Jayden's mind: The rain is wrong. It's flowing upward.
Jayden's mind: Yang water, settle down. Why are you pulling me toward that gate?
Jayden: Show yourself.
Jayden's mind: That is not Edo.
Jayden's mind: Why is there a palace below me?
Jayden: No. I refuse to die falling.
Jayden's mind: I have a sword. I have water. I do not have wings.
Mother: The child is due tonight... why is there a basket over me?
Healer: Lady, do not touch it. That is fire wrapped in river water.
Father: The ninth month. The Dragon year. The storm came exactly at midnight.
Jayden's mind: Midnight? Someone else is doing the screaming. This is going badly.
Mother: It opened... by itself.
Healer: Those are fox ears. Heaven preserve us, a yokai.
Jayden's mind: Excuse me? I am standing right here. No, wait. I am lying here.
Jayden's mind: Why are my hands the size of dumplings?
Father: Put the talisman away. It is only a baby.
Healer: Only a baby with a tail.
Mother: He is warm. He is looking at me.
Jayden's mind: I am looking at all of you. I am also trying to move one finger.
Jayden's mind: If anyone says cute before explaining the situation, I will bite them.
Jayden's mind: I was Jayden. Eleven years old. Kitsune. Samurai.
Jayden's mind: Edo, restaurant, old man, katana... then the gate.
Jayden's mind: So this is rebirth. I hate it.
Jayden's mind: Someone put me in a baby body and kept my memory. That is a terrible design.
Healer: The ward is burning!
Mother: His hand... the water is coming from him.
Father: That is Yang water. But a newborn should not command it.
Jayden's mind: I did not command it. It heard me.
Jayden's mind: Back away.
Diviner: Kneel. The storm has written his name in the clouds.
Father: You call this a blessing? He was born from a basket.
Diviner: The Third Lotus Prince, fox-yokai by blood, immortal by fate.
Mother: He is my son before he is anyone's prince.
Jayden's mind: At least one person in this room is sensible.
Father: Hide him before the court hears!
Healer: Destroy the basket before it opens again!
Mother: Stop. He is crying.
Jayden, aloud: Enough.
Diviner: The baby spoke.
Jayden's mind: Oh no. That was my old voice.
Mother: Are you a demon? A god? Or my child?
Jayden's mind: I am Jayden. I came through the storm. I do not know why I am here.
Jayden's mind: I would tell her if my mouth would stop making tiny noises.
Father: He is staring at you like he understands.
Mother: Then understand this, little fox. I will not let them hurt you.
Jayden's mind: The gate is still there.
Jayden's mind: Edo is on the other side of the water.
Mother: Why has the rain started circling the palace?
Diviner: Because the prince has not finished arriving.
Jayden's mind: That sentence is not comforting.
Diviner: Bow to the Third Lotus Prince.
Father: The whole palace is kneeling.
Mother: Jayden, what are you looking at?
Jayden's mind: The storm followed me.
Jayden's mind: Fine. I am a newborn, a yokai, and apparently the weather's new master. Bring milk. Then bring me a map back to Edo.