by C. J. Anaya
The soldier looked relieved and bowed again. It wasn’t his head on the chopping block this time.
“I also need two of your men to accompany the princess back to her quarters and guard her doors for the rest of the night.”
I panicked, wondering how I would ever be able to receive the message from the samurai commander if I had two guards listening outside my door. I wanted to argue but had not been given permission to speak. Undermining his orders would have been terribly rude and disrespectful, so I remained silent by biting the insides of my cheeks.
“Is the princess injured?” one of the guards asked, directing his comment to Katsu and completely ignoring me.
“I believe she sustained a small cut to the face, but it has healed since then,” said Katsu. “Return the princess to her rooms immediately, and I will help take up the search for the missing maid.”
Katsu left my side without a backward glance. I knew it wasn’t seemly to speak with me in front of the guards, but I expected some kind of farewell from him instead of being summarily dismissed. Disappointed with myself for feeling anything for him, I continued biting the inside of my cheeks. My betrothed gave orders like a seasoned general, expecting immediate obedience, accustomed to getting his own way. I should have known better than to think he might be a different kind of deity.
Chapter Five
Two guards flanked me on either side and silently escorted me to my quarters. They weren’t allowed to speak with me, let alone touch me, but I found myself wishing to interrogate them about the maid who had sounded the alarm, too late to be of help to anyone.
I entered my room and closed the doors firmly behind me.
“Sister.” I heard a soft whisper. I spun around quickly and clamped a hand over my mouth. Saigo stuck his head out from behind my mirror and gave me a mischievous grin.
“Saigo, what on earth are you doing here?”
“Did you forget about our pact to protect you from a possible assassination attempt?” Kenji whispered as he walked out of my large bathing room.
“I think it a little late for that, considering three more nekomata just tried to kill me and my betrothed.”
“What are you talking about?” Saigo asked.
I quickly explained to them my meeting with Katsu and the three nekomata that had attacked us in the garden. I left out the part where he had defended me against my father. I still didn’t want Saigo knowing about the abuse I had suffered all these years.
“Incredible,” Kenji said. “The demon god must be getting very nervous to have sent out four of his assassins in one day. I’ve heard it takes quite a bit of power for him to send any assassins through the veil, let alone four. He would be virtually powerless as of this moment.”
“What a shame we can’t enter the land of the dead and take advantage of his weakness.” Saigo enthusiastically brandished his sword.
“Saigo,” I said in a stern voice, “I never want to hear of you making plans to enter the land of the dead. Do you understand me?”
“Nonsense, sister. Did you misplace your desire for intrigue and adventure?”
“It vanished in the wake of the decapitated nekomata.”
“That would have been truly exciting. Why do you always get to have all the fun?”
“Fun?” Kenji shook his head. “Your sister was almost murdered by the most deadly assassins of all creation, and you think she was having a party in the midst of it?”
“Knowing Katsu was present makes it a less perilous situation. I’ve heard the warrior god is fierce and merciless. How did you two get on, by the way?”
Saigo’s abrupt change in subject had me snorting in a very unladylike manner.
“We got on just fine. He clearly felt it was an honor to have the chance to risk his life to save The Healer.” I’d meant it sarcastically, but Saigo didn’t catch on.
“Yes, these days who wouldn’t? You’re quite famous, you know.”
I tsked loudly at my brother. “What is the hour, anyway? I’m rather anxious to get this meeting over and done with.”
“We have about an hour before it is time to meet this commander,” Kenji said.
I heard a brisk knock on the door.
“Princess,” Aiko called from the other side.
“You two need to hide, quick,” I whispered.
Saigo and Kenji hurriedly dove into my bathing room and shut the door tight just as Aiko came scurrying in.
“I’m sorry to not have been here sooner, but I thought you would be out much later with your father and your betrothed.”
She didn’t seem too alarmed, and I wondered if the news of the assassination attempt had been covered up. I probed her emotions, but she merely felt flustered, no doubt disturbed at the thought of keeping me waiting.
“It’s fine, Aiko. I simply tired much sooner than expected and was allowed to return to my room.”
“I’ll fetch your sleeping gown and help you prepare for bed.”
“I’d rather sleep naked,” I mumbled. I felt smothered by so many layers and yards of fabric. My thin, cotton gown for sleeping was infinitely better than a ceremonial kimono, but the sudden stifled and boxed-in feeling that descended upon me made me wish I could be free of everything, including sleeping gowns.
“What was that, mistress?”
“Nothing. Thank you, Aiko.”
As my maid rummaged in my closet for something suitable to sleep in, I checked the lock on the window and saw that it was secure. As soon as Aiko left the room I could unfasten the window and then wait.
She returned swiftly and began unwrapping the endless amounts of silk surrounding my body. Once that monumental feat had been accomplished, she brought the sleeping gown over my undergarments. She then lifted the thin cover upon my matted bed and bade me goodnight. The moment my door closed, I anxiously sat up while Saigo and Kenji ran out of the bathing room.
I went to the window and unfastened the latch, but I dared not open it even a crack lest some guard from the outside see it and report it.
“How much longer, Kenji?” I asked.
Kenji screwed on his spectacles and eyed a strange looking contraption hanging on his sash. I still couldn’t understand how he managed to read the hour from it.
“I believe we have less than thirty minutes.”
“So, now what?” Saigo whispered impatiently.
“Now we wait. No falling asleep, young man.”
“You’re in more danger of dozing than I am, old man.”
I smiled at their playful banter and settled myself on my bed, anxiously awaiting the commander’s arrival.
* * *
My eyes flew open as I heard a soft tap at my window. I turned my head and noted that I was in my bed and must have dozed a bit. The candles had been doused, and the only light spilling into the room came from the full moon through the cracks in my window. I watched as it swung open slowly and a lithe, decidedly female figure nimbly climbed in, closing the window behind her.
“Princess.” I heard her whisper.
“Yes,” I whispered back. “I am here.”
The figure crept slowly over to my bed and then sat down beside me. I wasn’t afraid, even though I probably had good reason to be. I thought I found it more fascinating that someone was actually sneaking into my room without my father’s knowledge. I nearly let out a wicked laugh.
The figure struck something sharp and the room filled with a soft light. She set her candle inside a ceramic holder and placed it upon the night stand next to my bed. I looked upon the true form of the general for the first time.
She was strikingly beautiful with stunning red hair that could have rivaled the shade of the setting sun, and her coloring resembled that of Musubi’s. I couldn’t account for her parentage, but I was fairly certain she hadn’t been born in Japan. Her clothing appeared dark and nondescript. A man’s fitted robe and small trousers hugged her slender form.
The idea that this woman led men into battle baffled me. She seem
ed so slight. I felt an unwelcome wave of jealousy momentarily overcome me, thinking how often I would have liked to have asserted myself and ordered a few men here and there. I may have been a princess, but I was still just a woman.
She sat down on the bed next to me and gave me a respectful bow. I gave one in return. Though etiquette dictated I wait for her to speak, I worried about the soldier I had tried to save.
“General Akane, I must know how your soldier fared. I tried to save him, but I have no idea if he was able to escape before the guards realized he still lived.”
The female commander’s eyes shone brightly.
“He lives, your highness. I will forever be in your debt for saving my…soldier’s life, and mine, to be perfectly honest with you. It was good of you to stop and heal me when you didn’t have to.”
I noticed her hesitation when she referred to the young man I had saved, and I noted some strong emotions climbing to the surface, emotions she worked hard to push away. She must have loved him very much. It astonished me, her willingness to allow him to sacrifice his life simply to pass on a message, considering her strong feelings for him. The general seemed to have read my thoughts.
“It wasn’t my idea that he be discovered and captured. I needed a volunteer within the emperor’s ranks, and he blew his cover, revealing his true loyalties before I knew what was happening.” Akane gave me another slight bow. “You will never know the joy I felt when I saw him entering our camp after hearing he’d been taken to the palace to be tortured.”
“I am truly happy the ruse worked, and he was able to survive his ordeal. I worried I might have failed him and had no way of knowing until now. Thank you for putting my mind at ease.”
“It is I who must thank you. I never dreamed that you would risk yourself at that moment to save another’s life. It fuels my confidence that perhaps I might persuade you to use your gifts to accomplish even more good.”
She paused for a moment, and I nodded she should continue.
“Princess, my name is Akane. I have come to you hoping you might consider helping our cause. The people in this land cannot survive much longer under your father’s rule. There is no food for the villages because the soldiers take what isn’t theirs and destroy the rice fields we have worked so long to cultivate. The emperor will not listen to reason and cannot be made to understand the severity of the situation or the fact that soon all who live within the empire will succumb to this famine brought on by the emperor’s maltreatment if current practices do not change.” She hesitated.
“Therefore, your only option is to fight,” I said.
“Yes, Princess. Regrettably it is the only thing we feel we can do, and we have been doing it for quite some time.”
“What is it that you want me to do?”
“There are two things I would wish for you to consider. First, I have no doctors, but I cannot afford to lose any more men. Simply put, I need The Healer.”
I thought about that for a moment, letting the idea sink in. I had always wanted to use my gift to help and serve people, yet it was mostly used to torture and kill. Helping to heal soldiers who were battling against my father seemed like a dream come true for me, but even as the thought crossed my mind I realized how impossible it would be.
“I would like to join your cause and help you, but the minute I am missing, my father will hunt me down and destroy anyone who stands in his way. I would be more of a liability than I would a help.”
Akane shook her head. “With respect, highness, I disagree, and I have already thought this scenario through. We do not wish for you to join us in the field permanently. You would still live in the palace, but we would send you messages whenever we might need your help.”
“I would still be required to sneak away from the palace which is impossible to do. I am never allowed to leave the palace walls. My visits to the village to heal people are a difficult undertaking.”
“We have recently placed guards within the palace to accompany you to our meetings. The two men outside your door even now are part of our group.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“All right. Well, that takes care of the guards. Now how will I explain all of these outings to my father?”
“I think I can help with that, Princess,” Kenji said as he walked out of the bathing room.
Akane sprang to her feet. I barely had time to register the sword in her hand before she was upon Kenji. Kenji surprised me by deftly deflecting her thrust with his cane and circling round toward my bed.
“Akane, all is well. This is my tutor, Kenji.”
“I specifically requested that you be alone,” Akane hissed.
“You didn’t really think we were going to let my sister talk to the general of the samurai insurgents without our protection, did you?”
Akane spun around quickly only to be met with the sharp end of Saigo’s sword.
“Saigo, put the sword down. Akane means me no harm.”
“Oh, I know. I was just getting ready to defend myself in case she threw that sword at me in the same manner she did with Kenji. Lucky you had that cane with you, old man, or we’d be preparing your body for cremation.”
“I never throw a sword,” Akane scoffed, “and I highly doubt you’d be capable of defending yourself against a warrior like myself.”
Saigo lowered his sword to the ground, and by the small light of the candle I could have sworn he was smiling at her.
“Do you think you could teach me to fight like your samurai insurgents?”
I thought I could hear Akane chuckling.
“Saigo, under no circumstances will you ever fight with the samurai insurgents,” I whispered. He sighed heavily and came to sit down on the bed beside me.
“You’re really no fun sometimes. You’re aware of this, right?”
“You said you might have a suggestion, old man?” Akane asked.
“My name is Kenji, and yes, I think I might be able to convince the emperor that her highness’s training for healing the veil would best be served by studying books written about the veil, and it just so happens that these books are not found within the palace walls.”
“I didn’t know there were specific books written about the veil,” I said.
“Oh, there aren’t, but I doubt Emperor Fukurokuju will know that.”
I looked to Akane to see what she thought of the idea.
She nodded. “This could work. We send you messages letting you know when and where we need your help, and your friend Kenji gets you out of the palace with the emperor’s permission.”
“I have one stipulation,” I said.
“And what is that?”
“No one can know who I am. As far as your soldiers are concerned, I am simply a woman of medicine and nothing more. I don’t want anyone aware of my title or my position.”
“I think that is a good idea. However, the fact that you are a single woman will cause problems amongst the soldiers. If we don’t want any of them pursuing a possible interest in you, and in the process uncovering your identity, it would be best if you were said to be married,” Akane said. “The emperor’s spies are everywhere, even within the ranks of my samurai.”
I shivered at the thought. I hated the guards that were constantly keeping watch over me, but I was aware that father had his spies following my every move. We would have to be very careful.
“Does that mean you are agreeing to this plan, Mikomi? I thought we were going to get you out of here as soon as possible,” Saigo said.
Akane walked over to the bed and raised a questioning brow.
I considered how dangerous it would be to join sides with the samurai insurgents against my father, but in the end, I didn’t really care. My plan for escape, born from a desire to change my current circumstances, had guided me to this exact moment. This path achieved that for me and afforded me the opportunity to help and heal many others in the process.
I also loved the idea that a woman was running the show.
This commander was proficient with the sword, and her situation intrigued me. I wanted to know more about her, and if I were being honest with myself, I wanted to feel as if a woman could have some kind of control over the events happening within her life. It looked as if Akane had somehow managed to be her own person, her own master. I wanted to know what she knew. I wanted the confidence she carried with every step she took and every gesture she made. If freedom was my main desire, I couldn’t think of a better figure to emulate.
“Yes, I will do what you ask, Akane. There is one thing I would ask for in return, however.”
“Name it,” she said without blinking.
I leaned forward and eagerly took hold of her hand.
“Please teach me how to fight like you. I’m not eager to hurt anyone, but I would like to learn how to defend myself.”
Akane looked at the hand I had placed on hers and her mouth seemed to drop in awe. She may have been a seasoned soldier, but it must have been a bit disconcerting to have royalty behave so informally. When one considered how she arrived in my room, it seemed silly to think that simple hand contact might surprise her.
She covered my hand with her other one.
“Princess, you will have my soldiers with you defending you at all times, and I will defend you with my life.”
I was so touched by her bold declaration that I almost let go of my wish to learn, but defending myself was one more step toward becoming like Akane and gaining my own personal freedom. I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by without at least fighting for it.
“Akane, I have no doubt that you and your soldiers are more than capable of protecting me, and I am very grateful for your willingness to sacrifice your life on my behalf, but I never want it to come to that. I want the knowledge necessary to protect myself if the need should ever arise, and what if I need to protect someone else?”
“I think it a good idea, child,” Kenji said. “Heaven knows neither your brother nor I will prove effective in defending you. We may not even be present at times, and I would feel easier about this dangerous escapade knowing you can take care of yourself.”
