by C. J. Anaya
He shook his head in surprise. “My wife and my son are alive. You should never apologize for saving lives.”
I fought back the guilt and plastered a smile on my face. I then considered something he had said. “Daiki, when did you ever fight in battle?”
I saw him grimace at what he must have considered a slight slip of the tongue.
“I suppose I should have told you, but it never felt right to say. Before Hatsumi and I married I fought with the rebels against your father. This was when the rebels first organized themselves with Akane.”
“Yes, I have heard of her. I must admit the idea of a female general leading a large army of Samurai into battle makes me feel as if anything is possible.”
Daiki chuckled softly. “Akane makes everyone feel as if anything is possible. I ended my fighting with the rebels after marrying Hatsumi. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I knew if I continued I would most likely be killed. The wound on my leg that you healed the day of our meeting…I had acquired it in battle. As soon as you used your powers, I knew I could never fight again, but I also knew I had found another way to fight against the emperor.” He pointed a finger in my direction.
“Me?” I wondered.
“You. I believe you are the answer to this war between the rebels and your father. I truly believe you can bring peace to this empire. It is partly why I encouraged you to stay.”
“What was the other reason?”
“You felt like my daughter, and I could tell Hatsumi felt the same way. We couldn’t have let you go even if we had wanted to.”
I smiled into my tea as I brought it to my lips, but before I could take another sip a thought came to me. “Daiki, have you been helping the rebels again?”
He was silent for so long I wondered if he would answer me.
“I’ll admit I have provided shelter and food for some of the men over the past few years. I’ve even sent for you to heal some of the more badly injured ones.”
I’d thought some of the men I had healed didn’t look like rice farmers. Their injuries had been severe, disturbingly so. I must have been blind not to see it. Many of the wounds had to be healed slower than I would have liked in order to avoid divulging my true identity, but several wounds were life threatening and had to be dealt with quickly.
“It was good of those soldiers to refrain from voicing any suspicions they may have had concerning my identity,” I said.
“They fight against your father, my child, but in many respects they fight for you. Most of the rebels believe that you are the key to harmony in this empire. The fact that you were willing to heal some of the men merely strengthened that belief and their morale.”
“Why do they feel they must fight against the emperor on my behalf? My father will give the throne to my brother Saigo, and I must go live with some obscure kami who is no doubt just as cruel and unfeeling.”
“Exactly. You are destined to leave, but the people need you to stay. You are capable of healing much more than the veil or the pains that life inflicts on its inhabitants. You could heal a whole nation if given the chance. The rebels are fighting to give you that chance.”
“I’m just a princess trapped in a palace. The situation seems a bit hopeless.”
“With Musubi joining the rebels, I think there is most certainly hope.”
My ears perked up at the mention of Musubi. “Who is he, Daiki, and how do you know him?”
“He is a close friend of General Akane. I’ve heard stories of his prowess in battle, but wasn’t aware that Akane had convinced him to come join our cause.”
“Perhaps his idea of having me heal his men isn’t so ridiculous.”
Daiki snorted. “A young, single woman on the battlefield would not survive.”
“No, but what if I learned to fight, and what if I only came when I was needed? It isn’t necessary to live with the rebels in order to help their cause. Perhaps we could spin a tale that I was married and widowed within a short time.”
“A very short time, considering your age,” he muttered.
“I could do this. I could help!” I looked at him with fierce determination and saw that he might actually be considering my proposition, but then he shook his head.
“It isn’t safe. I would worry about you, and Hatsumi would have my head if she thought I had allowed it. Even widowed, you would still be single. I’m not suggesting these soldiers are without honor, but without a man claiming you as his wife, I don’t see how you would be able to keep your identity a secret, and you would have to keep it a secret amongst the rebels. The ones I brought to you were men I trust with my own life, but there could be other rebels planted as spies by your father.”
I considered his arguments, and although I thought each one to be valid, I still longed to be a part of the solution.
“Maybe we could find someone you trust, someone willing to pretend a marriage with me. Claim me as his wife, and no one would be the wiser or look to unearth my background since the matter of marriage would be settled.”
Daiki chuckled. “I know of no man I could trust to take on that kind of role with you. He would have to be invincible on the battlefield in order to keep you safe, and if he were killed in battle, we’d be right back where we started.”
I sighed, feeling frustrated.
He tucked the cloth more firmly around his son. “Besides, I would worry about you. I may not be your father through blood, but my love for you as a father would rival that of any other. This war is best fought by those capable of doing so, and your job in this battle is to live long enough to pick up the pieces of this broken empire once your poor excuse for a father is finally out of the picture.”
I shook my head, knowing the rebels’ fight was futile. “My father is a god, a major kami created by our First Parents. He cannot die, he cannot be beaten. What do these samurai insurgents believe they will accomplish by fighting an immortal as strong as he?”
Daiki leveled me with a frank look. “Death is just one of many ways to overcome an opponent, and in my opinion a more merciful one. Once captured, there will be very little your father can do to stop the insurgents from handing the empire over to you.”
My eyes widened at that bold statement. I didn’t necessarily want the life my parents had plotted for me, the life they felt was fated through a prophecy given long ago by ancient kami, but ruling an empire as broken as this one also left me feeling overwhelmed and trapped. I was only seventeen, and though I wanted to heal everyone and everything, I couldn’t imagine being in a position where I might actually be expected to do just that.
My noble desires mixed with my feelings of total inadequacy made for an uneasy mind and a troubled heart.
Daiki’s son chose at that moment to let us know how hungry he was. His high-pitched cries reassured me that all would be well with him and Hatsumi.
“You had better take your son in to nurse with his mother. I should be going as well. It will soon be light outside.”
“Yes, you had better return quickly. I fear I may have kept you too long this time.”
I gave Daiki and his sweet babe a quick hug and headed for the door. As I stepped outside into the cold night, I thought I heard footsteps scampering to the left. I turned to look but could make out very little. Dawn would be here within the hour, but it was still quite dark outside. After standing there for a few seconds, I determined that I had most likely heard the rustling of some neighboring animal or possibly a small bird and quickly hurried to put distance between myself and the small village before any early morning risers ventured forth out of their dwellings.
Just as I was about to leave the road and enter the forest, I heard a small cry to my left and sensed another individuals fear mixed with worry. I looked and beheld a small figure lying upon the floor beneath a tree. I walked a few steps toward the cloaked mass, but I pulled back abruptly when a sword flashed from underneath the huddled cloak.
“Don’t come any closer.”
The voice was deci
dedly female but raspy. Her breathing was labored and heavy.
I lifted my hands up to show I held no weapon.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I just thought you might need some help.”
“Do you know the owner of that tavern, one, Daiki, by name?”
“I do. I just came from there.”
“I have heard tell of a medicine woman he uses to help people who are suffering. I need to get to his tavern, but find I am too injured to move.”
“It would seem fortune has smiled upon you. I am the medicine woman you are in need of.” I walked over and bent down next to the woman. She shielded her face at my approach, something I found odd. She tried to lift her sword again, possibly hoping to defend herself against an attack, but the weight of it pulled her weakened arm to the ground. She released it and sucked in air. I gently took her hand and connected with her before she could stop me.
I gritted my teeth at the pain and explored her injuries. Broken ribs, broken pelvis, broken hip, fracture on her lower spinal column. I had already gathered that this woman must have been a warrior, but I couldn’t understand what would have caused such extensive damage.
“How were you injured?”
She took in shallow breaths. “Horse…spooked…by something in the forest…rolled on top of me.”
I couldn’t believe she had managed to drag herself to the edge of the forest with the type of injuries she had sustained. I was sure she must have damaged her back further due to the exertion. As a result she would never walk again, and now I was faced with a serious dilemma. When Daiki had me heal people who were injured, I could teach their bodies to heal slowly so it didn’t look as if I had anything to do with it other than administering to their needs with herbs. I couldn’t instruct this woman’s ki to heal slowly and then leave her here for the next few days with no food, no water, and no shelter, and since the fracture and subsequent damage to her spine left her no option of mobility, she would stay trapped on the ground just inside the forest until she slowly healed or perished from dehydration.
Moving her to the tavern was out of the question. With the way her ribs had broken, her lungs would easily be punctured and she could bleed internally, expiring before we arrived. Besides, I knew for certain I would never have the strength to carry her dead weight. If I wanted to save her I would have to heal her immediately and risk my identity in the process. I could only hope I hadn’t inadvertently run into one of my father’s spies.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“That’s my business and has nothing to do with your taking me to the tavern.” She inhaled sharply and let out a small wet sounding breath.
I smiled at her guarded and suspicious behavior and decided I liked her. “I’m afraid moving you is out of the question. Your back is broken and prevents you from moving your legs. No…don’t even try. This will only worsen your situation.” At my words the young woman paused any movement she might have made and stilled. “Your ribs are broken and will puncture your lungs if you are moved.”
“I don’t understand…how you could know…the…extent of my injuries?”
In answer I let go of her hand and placed both of mine on either side of her head. She sucked in another shallow, wet breath in surprise, but I had already connected again. I instructed her ki to fix the ribs since one had punctured her lung in the few moments we had talked to one another. That accounted for her breathing.
We both screamed out in pain, and I realized that I had not anesthetized the area before instructing the mending of her bones. I had been so concerned with the amount of blood filling her left lung that my only thought was to remove the jagged end of the lower rib, assemble the break and redistribute the pooling blood.
I quickly instructed that her pain be blocked, but her screaming had already subsided. She had passed out from the shock of it. I continued on, feeling guilty that I had allowed her even a moment of such excruciating pain.
Once this life-threatening injury had been dealt with I focused on the small break in her lower spine. This particular break was very delicate in nature due to its position, and it wasn’t as if the intelligences within the cells knew exactly what to do. I always had to be so meticulous when giving directions and mental images to anyone’s ki, but especially when it came to injuries along the spine or within the heart and brain.
I could feel tiny droplets of perspiration beading along my hairline as I instructed the fusing of the fracture as carefully as possible.
This woman was a warrior, and though I had no idea if she fought for or against my father, at that moment loyalties and sides made little difference. When you stripped away titles and groupings, in the end, we were all human, and she deserved a chance to live. Without the ability to use her legs, she would never survive on her own, and I would never allow that to happen.
Not when I could help her.
It took about fifteen minutes to heal the fracture to the spinal column. Had the break been any worse, I most likely would have been missed by my father. Once I accomplished that tedious task it was only a matter of seconds for the break in her hip and pelvis to be remedied. I’d had plenty of practice mending such injuries with my father’s soldiers. Of course, he would have me heal them only to break them again; one of his favorite torture methods.
I sickened at the thought and became more determined than ever to crawl out from under my father’s tyranny and find some semblance of a life for myself.
Once I finished healing the most debilitating injuries, I read her ki again to make certain I hadn’t missed anything that might significantly impair mobility. Other than some bruising, her body had healed perfectly. I let out a happy sigh and pulled my hands from her head. I felt the dusky light from the early morning dawn shift just a bit, and I almost lost my balance. Closing my eyes, I waited for my ki to correct the weakness in my body.
I had pushed myself to the limit within the last few hours. Upon opening my eyes again it seemed as if the sun had risen an inch in the last few seconds. I panicked, knowing I was pushing my time limit. My disappearance would be noticed within an hour. I knew I couldn’t leave the poor woman on the outskirts of the forest for any traveler passing by to see and possibly attack her. I stood up and positioned myself behind her slumped over frame, then bent low, wrapping my arms around her mended chest and dragging her backward deeper within the forest.
After making sure her cloak covered her completely, and then covering her with a blanket of fallen leaves for good measure, I stood up, gave her ki a blessing of protection and continued my hurried journey toward the palace.
If I hadn’t been the emperor’s daughter, I could have watched over her to make sure no one disturbed her while her body recuperated. As a normal peasant girl, things could be different…easier…less complicated.
It took only a few minutes to reach the marked trail and begin my familiar journey down the path toward the palace. It was important that I reach my room before Aiko came to wake me. Even though she knew about my excursions, and sometimes accompanied me, it was her responsibility every morning to wake me and ready me for the day’s events. If she could not find me, she would most assuredly be blamed for it. I quickened my pace at the thought of Aiko receiving punishment due to my tardiness.
Aiko had been my companion since I was a baby and she sixteen, a nursemaid and mother of sorts, and then trained as my handmaiden as I grew older. She was a bright light against the constant darkness within the palace walls. I never wanted to lose her, but our permanent separation was inevitable once I was united with Katsu.
She would not be allowed to come with us, and though it pained me to consider never seeing her again, I certainly didn’t want her to ever face the same fate as myself. She would be able to have children when she married. Once I became a full kami, that option would no longer exist.
At least she would be free to leave the palace and make a new life for herself. With my father ruling the empire with his iron fist, there was scarcely an oppo
rtunity to experience joy or happiness. His presence always seemed to snuff out such things.
The empire of Kagami was a part of Japan within the island of Okinawa, but cloaked in a way that prevented the rest of the inhabitants of Japan from finding it. In other words this vast empire existed in a different sphere in order to keep the land of our kind hidden from the rest of the world.
All the inhabitants of Japan knew of this empire, and revered and respected its sacred purpose as a home for their gods, but very few were able to find it. The humans who lived in this empire had been brought here thousands of years ago to cultivate the land and keep it safe from outside influences.
For centuries, Kagami had been a home of peace and prosperity, ruled by Hachiman the god of war, agriculture and farming, and the divine protector of Japan and its people, until it was time for the preparation of my birth. The empire was placed in the keeping of my father, Fukurokuju, the god of health and longevity, whom it was prophesied would unite with a human empress, Chinatsu Mori, from another region of Japan, and together they would prepare the empire and its people for the birth of their savior, The Healer.
When my mother was brought to live at the Ivory Palace, she was immediately accepted by the people and loved for her role in giving birth to their savior. My tutor, Kenji, told me the events surrounding my birth were filled with happy days of prosperity for the empire and the inhabitants that dwelled therein, but soon after my birth, my father began to grow suspicious and paranoid of other kami, worried that his position as emperor would be challenged now that his duty had been performed and a daughter born.
According to Kenji, the relationship between my parents disintegrated, if there ever was one to begin with. Arranged marriages were not known for giving consideration to the preferences or personalities of the parties involved. My father became obsessed with power and greed, and the empire slowly dwindled to what it was now—a province full of repression and injustice, ruled by a tyrannical emperor.
