L5r - scroll 01 - The Scorpion

by Stephen D. Sullivan

  On the third day after assuming the throne, Toturi stood in the high tower of the palace and looked out over the Scorpion districts, where the fires of retaliation still smoldered.

  Ikoma Bentai entered the room and bowed; Toturi bowed in return.

  "Majesty, I have news of the Phoenix," the Lion General said. "They have gathered a great army and are even now marching on the city."

  "What?" asked Toturi, genuinely shocked at the news. "How far?"

  "Two days at most."

  "Why did our scouts not spot them previously?"

  "We suspect powerful magic, great lord."

  Toturi nodded grimly. He had hoped not to have to defend the throne so soon.

  "There is more, my lord," Bentai said. Toturi gestured for him to continue. "People are saying the Hantei heir is among the Phoenix retinue," Bentai added.

  Toturi's mouth dropped open. "How is that possible?"

  "I do not know, great lord—but that is what our scouts say."

  "He is dead! Shizue confirmed it. I never would have . . ." Toturi's sentence trailed off. Already the possibilities played over in his mind. Perhaps Shizue lied, knowing the embarrassment it would cause him—embarrassment he richly deserved, if not for taking the throne, then for stabbing Shoju in the back.

  Or perhaps it was some kind of mistake or ruse. The Phoenix had withheld the main part of their army from the assault to retake the city. Perhaps they had their own designs on Otosan Uchi. Perhaps they were in league with the Scorpion. Certainly they had been little help in overthrowing the coup.

  Bentai cleared his throat. "There is more, my lord," he said. "Your fiancee is with them."

  "Kaede?" Toturi asked. "I thought she had been killed in the coup."

  "So it was generally believed, though her body was never found."

  Toturi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He felt relieved Kaede was not dead, but terrified at what her return might hold for him. True, Hatsuko was no longer a factor in his thinking, but Toturi had treated the Phoenix Mistress of the Void badly. Would she hold it against him? Would anyone?

  Fighting down the fear gnawing at his stomach, Toturi said, "Make all necessary preparations. Their intent may be peaceful—though it may not. If the Shining Prince is with them, we must be ready to give him all due respect."

  Ikoma Bentai bowed and said, "Hai!"

  xxxxxxxx

  Two days later, Toturi stood before the Emperor's Gate, dressed in his most formal kimono, ready to greet the Hantei heir.

  The Scorpion districts had been swept clean—the houses nearest to the road razed—as soon as they confirmed that the Hantei was among the Phoenix. The heir would want to enter the city by his father's sacred road.

  With Toturi came the other great lords who were present in the city: Hoturi, Kisada, and Yokatsu, along with Tsuko and representatives of all the other clans, both major and minor. The retinue that turned out to greet the heir looked impressive indeed, though a late afternoon shower threatened to dampen the ceremony.

  The great gate swung open, and Toturi gazed out over the Phoenix host. At their head came the young Hantei, carried on a large, open litter by a dozen bearers. He was dressed in the robes of an emperor and wore a circlet of jade on his head. There could be no mistake—he truly was the heir, not some impostor.

  Seppun Ishikawa, the captain of the guard, rode at the boy's left, keeping a watchful eye on the crowd.

  To Hantei's right, Isawa Kaede rode on the back of a Unicorn-bred steed. She looked proud, powerful, and even tall in the saddle. She was beautiful enough to break Toturi's heart. The Lion emperor felt his chest grow tight at the sight of her.

  Suddenly, the world dissolved around him, and time stood still. A white, cloudlike dragon danced in the sky, behind the advancing retinue.

  "So, Toturi," it hissed in a thunderous voice, "you have placed yourself on the throne."

  "Not by choice," Toturi replied quietly, unsure if anyone else would hear him.

  "We all have choices, Akodo Toturi, and yours have brought you to this."

  "I did not seek the throne," Toturi said.

  "Yet," said the dragon, "every choice you made has led you down this path. Your quest for love, for glory, for respect, all are now culminated in this most logical outcome. You are emperor."

  "No," Toturi said. "The boy before me is emperor."

  "Have a care," the dragon said, its words buffeting Toturi like the wind. "You have not yet paid the full price for your hubris and, sadly, neither has Rokugan."

  With that, the dragon disappeared and Toturi turned to face the new emperor.

  THE JUDGMENT OF HANTEI

  Akodo Toturi," the young Hantei said, looking down his round nose at the Lion General. "We understand that in our absence you have declared yourself emperor." He fixed Toturi with his dark eyes and scowled.

  Toturi bowed. "It was beyond our hope that you lived, my prince...."

  The boy cut him off. "Your Majesty" he said testily. "We have been crowned in Phoenix lands, following the death of our father."

  ". . . Your Majesty," Toturi said, correcting himself. "I took the throne only to maintain stability until proper succession could be determined. I renounce it now, gladly." He bowed low, nearly touching his head to the ground.

  "We take the throne from you, Toturi," the boy said, sitting in the golden chair upon his litter. "Though we maintain that you, indeed, never held it any more than did the vile usurper."

  The comparison to Shoju stabbed Toturi like a knife, but he remained bowed and showed no emotion on his face.

  "Indeed," the young emperor continued, "we would ask you by what right you claimed the throne when, previously, you had failed so grievously to protect the man who sat upon it?"

  "I apologize for my shortcomings, Majesty," Toturi said. "I only did what I thought best for the empire."

  "Best for the empire?" said the boy, his voice growing more shrill by the moment. "Best for the empire! How is it best for the empire that you cavort with geishas, with whores, while my father is being assassinated?"

  The knife in Toturi's gut grew cold. He glanced up and found both Kaede and Shizue looking at him. "Your Majesty, I..." he began.

  Emperor Hantei flicked his fan open and waved it dismis-sively. "We will hear none of your excuses, Lion," he said. "Our loyal servants have told us what you were about while our father died. We do not care what you have to say. There can be no words to defend what you have done.

  "We have even heard," the boy said, leaning forward in his chair, "that perhaps you and the Scorpion betrayer were secretly allied—and that is why you were not in court the night my father died!"

  Toturi scrambled to his feet, his heart fluttering, the dagger in his gut twisting tighter. "Majesty, that is not true!"

  "Silence!" bellowed the boy emperor. "You will bow and hear our judgment, or we shall have you slain where you stand." He glanced to one of his guards, and the man stepped forward.

  Toturi dropped to the street and bowed once more.

  "If he gets up again, kill him," the boy said to his guards.

  "We think," the emperor continued, "that perhaps you were in league with the usurper. Why else were you not here? But perhaps you and the demon Scorpion had a falling out. You returned to the city and betrayed him, only to claim the throne yourself."

  Hantei stood now and glowered down at Toturi from his litter. "But you did not know that we still lived," he said, his lips drawing into a cruel smile. "You did not know our faithful servants had smuggled us to safety." Here he turned and looked at both Kaede on his right and Ishikawa on his left. They nodded, though it seemed to Toturi that both of them looked increasingly uncomfortable.

  "I should have you executed right now," the emperor hissed.

  "Majesty, no," Kaede said in a soft voice.

  From the other side, Ishikawa supported her suggestion. He leaned on his long spear, looking uncomfortable as he spoke to the new emperor. "It is true he has much to ans
wer for," the captain said, "but you can not wring the truth from a dead man."

  "And," Kaede added, "he gave up the throne willingly."

  "Very well," the emperor said, flicking his fan shut and sitting back down on his golden perch. "Lion, we strip you of your rank and title as our general. Any further punishments will be decided later."

  The boy paused and rubbed his head as if to chase away pain. "You should know, however," he said, "that your Scorpion friends no longer exist. We have ordered the clan disbanded. Even now, our forces march to strip them of their homelands."

  Toturi looked up, unable to believe what he had heard. He noticed that many of the others present looked shocked as well.

  "Otennoo-sama," Toturi said, choosing his words carefully, "surely you cannot punish the children for the actions of their fathers. I'm sure many Scorpions remain loyal to the Hantei."

  "It is already done," the emperor said, continuing to rub his forehead. "Even now, our loyal supporters are rounding up the traitors. They shall be brought here to face our judgment. Leaderless and in disarray, they are no match for our might."

  "But destroying a Great House," Toturi said, still feeling his betrayals, "surely it will upset the balance of power." In his mind, Toturi saw the man he had slain, a man willing to give up his life and clan for the good of the empire, a man Toturi had stabbed in the back. "Bayushi Shoju ..." Toturi began, but the new emperor cut him off.

  "We shall never hear his name again!" Emperor Hantei snapped. "Anyone who speaks it shall be killed! We order that Bayushi Shoju's name be excised from all records. His line shall be utterly destroyed; no trace of them shall exist, now or ever more! As for you, Lion ..."

  Before Hantei could finish his judgment, a breathless man ran through the gate and knelt before the emperor's litter.

  "We have her, Majesty," the man said, bowing low. "She is on her way here even now."

  "Who?" the boy emperor asked impatiently.

  "The Mother of Scorpions," the man replied. "Bayushi Kachiko. Our patrols caught her on the way to Beiden Pass. She fought fiercely, but she is subdued and unharmed."

  The crowd gasped at the news. The boy on the golden perch merely smiled a cruel smile.

  "The Lion can wait. Bring Kachiko to our throne room," he said. "We shall see her bow before us, and then we shall see her executed."

  WORDS BETWEEN WOMAN AND BOY

  Emperor Hantei the 39th gazed down from his sundered throne as the guards dragged Bayushi Kachiko into his presence. A hush fell over the blood-stained hall, and the great lords glanced at each other from where they sat on the smooth wooden floor.

  Kachiko looked anything but the former empress of the Emerald Empire. Her kimono was dirty and torn, her hair unkempt, and her delicate mask missing entirely. Still, as she struggled against the ropes that bound her, she exuded an aura palpable to everyone in the room. In this most humiliating condition, the Scorpion mistress was still a woman of grace and power.

  Miya Satoshi, the young herald, looked at her and thought of his father, still lying in bed, recovering from the coup. His lips grew tight across his teeth, and he announced, "Kachiko, formerly of the Scorpion."

  "Majesty," Kachiko said with her nightingale's voice, "I regret that I cannot make proper obeisance before you, but these ropes restrict my movements." As she said it, she turned her face up and looked into the emperor's eyes.

  The boy gazed deep into Kachiko's black orbs and saw the dancing sparks of green within. For years he'd watched her at his father's court, admiring her beauty. There was no other woman in the palace to compare with her, no other woman in Rokugan. Despite the grime, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world.

  The moment lingered, but then the boy's face grew stern. How it pleased him to have her prostrate before his throne. "Bayushi Kachiko," he said, "you are a traitor. It will give us great pleasure to see your head hung on the palace gate."

  "If that is your wish, Majesty," Kachiko said softly. "But first, I request my right as leader of the Scorpion Clan."

  "Your husband was daimyo," the boy replied. "And he is dead. Your clan has been disbanded."

  "According to ancient tradition," Kachiko said, keeping her demeanor humble, "a clan cannot be disbanded until its daimyo is either executed or tried and stripped of power. When Shoju died, I became daimyo. I inherited his rights. You cannot execute me without trial. Under the law, I insist that you hear my case and render judgment."

  "You insist?" the boy said, his voice growing shrill again.

  "It is my right," Kachiko said, "as laid down by your fathers of old."

  Isawa Kaede leaned forward and whispered, "She is right, Majesty."

  Seated on the other side, Ishikawa said, "To kill her without trial would be to flout the law of our ancestors." He tried to keep his face neutral, but Kaede saw him frown at Kachiko's suggestion.

  Inwardly, Kachiko smiled.

  "Very well," the emperor said, leaning back in the sundered throne. "We begin your trial, now."

  Kachiko bowed lower and said, "Tradition insists that the trial of a daimyo be private. I trust you to try me." She looked up and cast her gaze around the room, her eyes lighting on Kaede, Yokatsu, Toturi, Tsuko, and Hoturi. She felt fire grow in her breast but fought it down. "No one else here is worthy. You, and you alone, my emperor, must be my judge."

  Hantei the 39th looked at Kaede, and she nodded to confirm it. The boy did not notice how uncomfortable the Phoenix lady looked.

  "Very well," the emperor said. He gazed around the room once before his eyes settled on Kachiko. "We order the room cleared of all save Ishikawa, our chief yojimbo."

  The others in the room rose, bowed, and quietly made their way to the exit.

  Toturi glanced back as he left, his heart heavy. Ishikawa occupied a spot formerly reserved for him. It is no more than I deserve, he thought. The great iron doors slammed shut behind him.

  Emperor Hantei took a deep breath and looked at the prisoner. "Vile Scorpion!" he began, but Kachiko looked up at him so plaintively that he stopped in midthought.

  "What is it?" he asked testily.

  "The ropes have cut off my circulation," Kachiko said plainly. "I do not know how much longer I will be able to sit without falling over."

  "Loosen her ropes!" the boy commanded Ishikawa.

  "Is that a good idea, Majesty?" the captain asked.

  "Rebind my hands in front of me, if you like, and leave my feet tied," Kachiko suggested. "That way I could pose no threat."

  Hantei nodded, and Ishikawa rose from his low seat. He moved forward and, with his wakizashi, cut the majority of ropes binding the Scorpion lady. He left the knots at her feet, and retied her hands in front. Despite these precautions, Ishikawa felt sure the Scorpion lady had not yet lost her sting.

  As the captain finished the job, Kachiko set about straightening her hair and adjusting her robes. "Thank you, Majesty," she said. She glanced up at the boy and could see that he appreciated the changes. He squirmed slightly in his seat.

  Ishikawa returned to his seat beside the throne. The boy emperor leaned forward to interrogate his prisoner.

  Kachiko bowed her head slightly and slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was looking directly at the boy. A subtle smile tugged at one corner of her mouth.

  "Y-you tried to flee our justice," the boy said. Suddenly, he felt warm. "You have committed grave crimes against our empire."

  "I have never betrayed the empire," she said softly, "though I have obeyed the wishes of my husband ... my late husband."

  "But you took part in the slaying of my father," Hantei said.

  "I was there, yes," she said softly, "but I did not take part. A woman is but a leaf who flies before the typhoon of her husband's will. I had nothing to do with your father's death."

  "You deny all involvement, then?"

  "I do, though I protected myself in the melee that followed," she said, leaning forward, still holding him with her sparklin
g black eyes. "Look at me. I am a simple woman, wife to a dead husband, mother to a slain son."

  As she said "mother" she moved her neck as if stretching, but the shift also loosened her kimono across her chest.

  "I have suffered terribly," Kachiko continued, "though no more than you have, Your Majesty. We have both lost loved ones to terrible tragedy—yours to assassination, mine to madness and retribution. We are alone in the world. I beg your forgiveness for actions that were not my own."

  She bowed and touched her head to the floor before rising again. Tears stained her eyes.

  "... If I had other hands to guide me ...!" she said.

  Hantei licked his lips nervously; his mouth had suddenly gone dry. "I... We ..." he began, but her purring voice quieted him.

  "Destroy the clan of my husband if you must, I would not blame you for it, though I beg you not to do it." She stretched languidly against the ropes that bound her. The sight had a profound effect on the boy.

  The young emperor felt hot. A tingling sensation worked its way up from his loins to the base of his neck. He reached up with one hand and tugged the collar of his kimono.

  "You are young and strong and wise," she continued, blinking again slowly before returning to meet his gaze, "and if you see no other way...."

  "Other way ..." Hantei said sleepily. Though she moved hardly at all, in his mind her body danced before him. He imagined the secrets held beneath her kimono. He felt the soft touch of her flesh against his.

  "The wisdom of our ancestors is yours," she said firmly. "Can you not find another way?"

  "Another way?" he said. "Our ancestors knew another way?"

  She nodded. "You are wise, Emperor Hantei," she said.

  The sound of his name from her lips sent a shiver up the young emperor's spine.

  "I am nothing before you," she said, bowing again. "Your conquest of me is complete. Past emperors who took their slain foes' vassals, lands, and wives could have no more of a victory than you have over me. My life, my strength, the strength of my people are yours."

  She rose up again, taking a deep breath as she did so. "I beg you, judge me. Do with me what you will," she said.