The second messenger would be sent out into the west wing of the imperial palace; but not to seek out his father or even one of his brothers.... While the emperor was fortunate to be given with three sons;  however at the cost of this third he would lose the woman he had grown to cherish; but as a result the third child would not know the love of his mother as she passed shortly after childbirth. However in the end the youngest son would still learn the mother's touch in the form of a tutor; to whom now in his maturing years remained, but more so as a counselor, working in right where most of the emperor's advisers would fail... As such Hitomi was a rather high ranked woman among the servants; although not born into noble blood, nor being a man she would never be a true adviser to the royal family, but it most certainly gave her a strong place within the palace...<br/><br/>Hitomi herself was roughly the same age as Ryou's eldest brother; having started as a simple nanny it wasn't much of a surprise to see the woman had never married as she progressed in her importance among the servants. However it did not stop a few from trying to court the prince's tutor, not only from social status it would bring, but the fact her voluptuous beauty was well known among the servants and nobles alike. However while her title, looks and grace did well to give her a good image; in all it was only a mask to cover something far more sinister...<br/><br/>It wasn't much of a surprise to receive the message's notice about her presence being requested; after all the word was already spreading rather quickly, and with the eldest brother away, and the middle brother having passed due to a accident a few years earlier; a mild panic was actually starting to rise within the walls of the palace... Ryou would be unaware of the reasons behind this until he would step into the main royal hall, but not see a single sign of his father, only his advisers who awaited his arrival... But yet the tension would slip away the moment Hitomi would join them among the collection of faces.<br/><br/>Hitomi would approach and bow to the prince; waves of her blue silk kimono would follow her as she did so in a proper yet elegant way. But yet she would not speak yet; it was improper for a woman to typically be in these places, more less speak.. But her status easily allowed her to slip into these events, more so to the fact she was summoned there... But for good reason as the reason behind his summon back to the palace would be something none of them where expecting, more so as the guards would tense up suddenly. The emperor had suffered an sudden attack to his heart; and as such passed away just hours ago. Leaving a tension that would quickly build as the eldest brother was away on political business and there was no middle brother to fill the gap...<br/><br/>It was easy to assume the king had possibly been poisoned, but it was just as easily regarded as the man had not been well with his heart since the death of his wife and worse yet the death of his middle son in resent years... But it would seem that much more troubling though as it came suddenly, and with little warning.... The advisers would explain that he would be the one to take the place until his brother returned to take the throne, as it would take a few days for the message to reach his brother and return to the palace...<br/><br/>Mild Character Reference:<br/>http://th00.deviantart.net/fs25/PRE/f/2008/182/b/f/bf79969afbc8c0d207c2ca5a8dd0d58c.jpg