Suima Princess [verified] (SIMPLE | 2027)

As she grew older, the Suima Princess became the object of desire for many suitors. However, she was destined for a life of duty and responsibility, marrying within the confines of her aristocratic circle. Her husband, a nobleman of great standing, was rumored to have been a cruel and jealous man, obsessed with maintaining his family's wealth and power.

"I will sit on your throne," she said. "But you will not eat my future. You will eat my stories. Every day, I will tell you one thing I remember—a taste, a touch, a name. And in exchange, you will tell me one thing you remember of what you were, before you were only hunger."

The Suima Princess was a beautiful woman of high birth, believed to have lived in the 10th century. Her life is a subject of much debate among historians, with varying accounts of her birth, marriage, and tragic fate. Despite the inconsistencies, one thing is certain: her legend has captivated the imagination of the Japanese people for centuries.

But when Suima was twenty-three, the hunger came early. The rivers ran backward at noon. The crops tasted of copper. And the elders were desperate, because the only soul who had volunteered was a boy of twelve. suima princess

"I am not offering to be a victim," Suima replied. "I am offering to be a queen."

Suima uncorked the black mead and poured it over the throne. The liquid did not splash. It rose , coiling into threads of shadow and gold, and she began to weave. Her mother’s hair leash became the warp. The mead-threads became the weft. And she wove a story.

She sang of a princess who had no army but her scars. She sang of a hunger that was not evil, only broken—a god that had been born wrong, with a mouth but no mother, a throne but no kinship. And then she made the hunger an offer it could not refuse. As she grew older, the Suima Princess became

The chief scowled. "You are a woman. A honey hunter. Not a princess."

The Suima Princess's story is not only a testament to the complexities of Japanese history but also a window into the society of the Heian period. During this time, the aristocracy was marked by strict social hierarchies, with women's roles largely confined to domestic duties. The Suima Princess, however, defied convention, choosing to follow her heart and pursue her own desires, no matter the cost.

Not a lie. A contract .

And on the throne sat nothing. But the nothing watched .

The hunger was eating her future first. She would forget why she came. Then she would forget how to leave. Then she would forget that she had ever existed at all.

She smashed the obsidian mirror at the foot of the throne. In the shards, the hunger saw itself reflected for the first time. It had no form, but the mirror gave it one: a gaping maw with too many teeth, and behind the teeth, an infinite loneliness. "I will sit on your throne," she said