Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince

by Noriko Ogiwara

  “No, it wasn’t your fault at all. Fortune just wasn’t with us. Lady Iwa passed away, and so we mistook the signs at the most important time. Kawakamihiko was shortsighted. It wasn’t your fault at all.”

  Abi’s mother appeared to be a woman of very high rank. From the way she spoke, Toko guessed that she must either be Kawakamihiko’s wife or a close relative. And Kawakamihiko must have been the one they called Kumaso Takeru, she thought. She was humbled by the fact that this woman could remain so resolute despite her tragic circumstances. As if she guessed what Toko was thinking, the woman smiled.

  “The Kumaso have been scattered, but this is by no means the end of our people. Lady Iwa will be reborn. It’s very fortunate that you came tonight because …” She broke off, her face tense, and then groaned, sweat beading her brow as she fought against the pain.

  “Mother! Mother!” Abi wailed, looking as though he would burst into tears.

  Toko reached over to rub the woman’s back, which was bent with pain, only to discover the shocking truth. She was not ill. Her abdomen was swollen with child.

  “The baby’s … about to be born,” the woman gasped. “Please, help my baby.”

  This time it was Toko who broke into a sweat. She’s going to give birth? Right now? With me as the midwife?

  Having sensed something was wrong, Sugaru and the others rushed up to the entrance. “Toko, what’s going on? Is she all right?”

  They were about to come in, but Toko jumped up and shoved them back so fiercely that they were astonished. “Out! Out!” she said. “You can’t come in here! She’s in labor. This is a birthing hut. No men are allowed in. And no peeking either.”

  “She’s in labor? You mean, that kind of labor?” The three youths looked at each other. “What should we do?”

  “I don’t know,” Toko wailed.

  Sugaru nudged her. “That won’t do, Toko. You’re the only one who can help her.”

  “But …” Toko tried desperately to remember what her mother and the other women had done when there was a birth in her village, but she had not been interested at the time, and now she was so shaken she could not recall a thing.

  “It’s all right,” the woman called out. “This is my second time, so I know what to do. If you could bring some water to wash the baby when it’s born, I’d really appreciate it. It would help if you could carve a small knife out of bamboo to cut the umbilical cord, too. Also, could someone take care of Abi? After all, he’s a boy.”

  After delegating these tasks to Sugaru and the others, Toko went back into the cave to convince Abi that his mother would be all right and sent him outside. Then she turned to the woman and asked nervously, “Are you sure there’s nothing else we can do?”

  “Thanks, but don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” It was she who was comforting Toko. Between labor pains, she seemed completely composed. “I’m not worried at all about the birth. I know this child is destined to live because she’s the reincarnation of Lady Iwa. She was the first child conceived after the lady’s death. That’s why I hid with Abi, just the two of us. I can’t die until the baby is born.”

  “You believe in rebirth?”

  The woman laughed. “What do you mean? I thought you were a Tachibana. You’ll understand very soon, believe me. The baby will be born with the yellow magatama called Ki, the Stone of Life, clenched in her fist, as proof that she’s Lady Iwa. The high priestess never dies, she’s just reborn.”

  “She’ll be born … holding a magatama?” Toko said, her voice a high squeak. It seemed unbelievable, yet it did support Sugaru’s idea that the magatama were calling to one another.

  “What I’m really concerned about is what will happen after the birth. The men from Mahoroba want her stone. The new clan leader, Kitsuhiko, has sided with Mahoroba, and he knows that it will reappear when she’s born.”

  “So that’s why they were looking for women and children,” Toko whispered, her mind reeling from the implications. “Then Prince Ousu is looking for the magatama too? But why? What does he need it for?”

  “It’s the emperor’s doing,” the woman said. “He probably can’t bear the thought of anyone having a power equal to his own.” She grimaced and then moaned in pain.

  The labor pains came closer and closer together. Toko felt that she could not stand it any longer. She could do nothing to ease the woman’s pain and was terrified that the woman might weaken and die. When the woman’s cries reached their peak, her eyes suddenly flew open and she turned her gaze on Toko. In a startlingly lucid voice, she said, “Tell me why you came to this land. What is it you wanted from the high priestess?”

  Toko frowned, perplexed, but then said in a rush, “I need the Misumaru, the string of beads, to defeat the Sword. I came to ask the high priestess to help me. And to teach me. There is no one who can teach me what the magatama are or what qualities I need to become a warrior—”

  The woman’s expression grew stern. “You cannot bear the Misumaru if you do not believe in yourself. If you don’t have the confidence to take on that task without someone telling you what to do, then I would have to advise you to abandon the whole idea.”

  Toko said hastily, “But I do believe. It must be me who defeats Prince Ousu. I couldn’t bear it if someone else should do it.”

  The woman pressed her further. “Do you hate him enough?”

  “Yes, I hate him. He has robbed me of so much. But none of that is really important. What I can’t forgive him for is his severing of the bond between us without even stopping to think of me. When the prince first took Oguna to the capital, we still had a connection. I dreamed of him and always felt him there. It was only after he took up the Sword that my dreams ended. Now, no matter how close he is, I can no longer feel him. He’s like a different person. Because of the Sword. My heart can never find peace until that Sword is destroyed.”

  Abi’s mother said in a low voice, “Then you need to know what the Sword’s power is. The Sword rejects change. Change in the world, change in life. The magatama do the opposite. They encourage change—from life to death, death to life—they urge all things toward change. Do you understand?”

  “Well, no, not really,” Toko answered. She only wished that someone would explain exactly how the magatama worked against the Sword.

  “No, I suppose you can’t understand just yet. But if you’re going to pursue the Sword, you will need to know. I will share with you one thing. Once, long ago, the forces of the Sword and the magatama were joined. When the Water Maiden married the Wind Child, the magatama were reunited for the first time since they had left the neck of the Goddess. The Water Maiden wore the Misumaru at her wedding as a symbol of the felicitations of the five clans. Ever since, the powers of Light and Darkness have not been as distinctly separate as they used to be.”

  Toko was suddenly gripped by an icy fear. Not even Lady Toyoao had told her such things. Then to whom was she talking? It couldn’t be Abi’s mother if she could remember that far back in time. “Lady Iwa?” Toko said. “Is that you, Lady Iwa?”

  Abi’s mother gave a long, drawn-out cry that Toko thought would never end. The labor had reached the final stage. Toko could see the baby’s crown. She reached out to help but there was so much blood she panicked. It seemed as though the mother’s body would be torn apart. All she could do was watch as the woman struggled to give birth and the child, to be born—it was as hard as any battle. From life to death, from death to life. She thought the dawn would not come, not even in ten years, but come it did. With shaking hands Toko cut the umbilical cord with the bamboo knife. The newborn baby cried, her whole body shaking. She was so wrinkled she did not yet look human, but with her tiny hands and feet, she seemed to Toko like a mystery, like life itself.

  “After you’ve bathed her, give her to me,” Abi’s mother said. Although exhausted with dark circles under her eyes, she appeared almost drunk with victory. The baby calmed as Toko washed her and gingerly placed her in her mother’s arms. Gentl
y prying the baby’s right hand open, Abi’s mother revealed the magatama. In the white morning light that shone into the cave, it gleamed with a color that reminded Toko of egg yolk.

  “You see.”

  “Yes, but she doesn’t look much like a high priestess,” Toko said, looking at the baby’s large almond-shaped eyes and tiny, almost invisible nose.

  Abi’s mother laughed. “She’s just a baby, that’s why. It’ll be a while before she can talk, even if she is full of ancient wisdom.”

  “But I was just talking to her,” Toko said. “That was Lady Iwa, wasn’t it?”

  “What do you mean?” Apparently, Abi’s mother remembered nothing.

  JOY WELLED UP INSIDE TOKO only after she had wrapped the baby in a cloth and taken her outside. Then it finally hit her that she had really done it. She had helped deliver a baby, and both babe and mother were safe. The first rays of the morning sun caressed the mist-draped treetops, and the air felt fresh and bracing on her face. Sugaru and Abi were sitting forlornly under a tree, but they jumped up as soon as they saw Toko.

  “The baby’s born? Is it a girl or a boy?” Sugaru asked. He sounded so much like an anxious father that Toko almost burst out laughing.

  “How about Mother? Can I go in?” Abi asked.

  “Your mother’s fine, Abi,” Toko said. “But she’s sleeping right now. Wait just a little longer.” Then she turned to Sugaru. “It’s a girl, of course, and you were right. I’m sure you were destined for each other. This little baby was born with the magatama. She’s the rebirth of the high priestess.”

  “The baby? Not the mother? It may be a girl, but it doesn’t have a nose or even any hair.”

  “They’ll grow in, don’t worry. She may turn into a real beauty—in another fifteen years or so.”

  “Fifteen years? If I wait that long, I’ll be a gray-haired old man,” Sugaru groaned. “I came all this way just to see a baby? I don’t believe it.”

  “We’ve found the magatama. That’s what counts. The men from Mahoroba are after it too, you know.”

  At that moment, Tasuki and Imatate burst through the bushes into the clearing. “I think we might be in for a little trouble,” Tasuki said. “The soldiers found our campfire. They’ve brought hounds and they’re heading this way. We’d better leave quickly.”

  “Oh no,” Toko said. “There’s no way we can move Abi’s mother yet.”

  “If she stays, she’ll be killed.”

  Toko rushed into the cave to wake the woman, but Abi’s mother showed no sign of alarm. “It’s impossible for me to escape with you,” she said. “Don’t worry about me. As long as the baby and Abi are safe, that’s all that matters. Please, take them and flee to safety. Protect the baby. Don’t let them extinguish this newborn life.”

  “No,” Toko protested. “I can’t let you throw your life away. You must live too.”

  But the woman only smiled and shook her head firmly. “I was prepared for this. You’re the ones who must live. Hurry! If you delay, it will all have been for nothing.”

  Furious, Toko stalked out of the cave and placed the baby in Sugaru’s arms. “Protect her. Remember, she’s your destiny. Don’t let anyone take her or her magatama.”

  “Whoa! Are you crazy? How can you give me something so tiny? I might crush it in my arms,” Sugaru said. The baby looked small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.

  Toko knelt down in front of Abi and said, “Abi, I want you to protect your little sister. You must go with Sugaru. He’s strong, and no ordinary soldiers can defeat him. But you must help your sister too, okay?”

  Abi nodded solemnly.

  “Please.” Toko looked at all of them. “Go now. Before it’s too late.”

  “Toko, what are you doing?”

  Her eyes blazed. “I can’t leave her to die. I can’t leave her on her own to face those soldiers. I’m going to stay with her. But I want all of you to go. It’s the baby they want.”

  “Then we’ll stay and fight,” Tasuki said. “The kids will be safe with Sugaru.”

  Toko shook her head. “No. I don’t want anyone to die. You have better things to do than to die here.” She removed her sword, sheath and all, from her belt and held it out to Sugaru. “Take this with you. I don’t want it to fall into their hands.” She thrust it toward him. “Hurry. Take it.”

  “All right, all right,” Sugaru said. He reached out and took the sword. The sound of hounds baying could now be heard faintly in the distance. “Come on, you guys. Follow me.”

  “Sugaru, are you sure?” Tasuki started to protest, but one look at Sugaru’s receding back told him it would be futile. He followed after, glancing back frequently at Toko. Imatate, unruffled as usual, gave Toko a quick wave goodbye before turning and striding after them.

  When they had disappeared from sight, Toko returned to the woman’s side. Abi’s mother seemed surprised that Toko had stayed. “Why didn’t you go? I told you I was ready for this.” In her hand, she gripped a small dagger, similar to the one that Lady Akaru had had.

  “You mustn’t kill yourself,” Toko replied in a calm voice. “Didn’t you just show me how precious life is, what it means to live? You must not die—for the sake of your children as well.”

  “But the soldiers are coming. It would be better to die than to fall into their hands.”

  “No. You will live. No matter what happens, as long as you live there will be another chance. Your baby needs you. No matter how many others may give her milk, only one woman gave her life. I want you to live and hold her again. Because if you don’t—” Toko felt her lips begin to quiver and struggled to keep herself steady. “You remind me of my mother,” she continued. “My mother told me to flee in the middle of the battle while she stayed behind. At that time, I did not have the power to convince her or to help her. I still don’t know what happened to her. But I want to do for you what I could not do for her. I want you to live. Of all people, you, who have just brought a new life into the world, must know more than anyone else just how precious life is.”

  The woman laid aside her dagger and then, to Toko’s surprise, held out her arms. Without hesitation, Toko fell into that embrace. She was aware of what she was doing, yet at the same time, part of her saw Abi’s mother as her own, for Abi’s mother hugged her and stroked her hair just as she would have done for Abi. “You poor child,” she said. “What terrible things you have borne. And all alone. I’m so sorry to have made you sad.”

  The sound of hounds and men suddenly grew louder, and Toko knew they must be very close. She let go of Abi’s mother, told her to wait inside, and stepped out of the cave alone. The soldiers caught sight of her and rushed toward her, shouting.

  “Over there!”

  “Surround her. Don’t let her get away!”

  She waited for the right moment and then, taking a deep breath, shouted, “Hold! The magatama you seek is not here. There is only a woman who has just given birth in the cave. Be still. Neither she nor I will try to escape.” Toko could generate an astonishingly loud and penetrating voice when she chose to. She had taken pride in this skill as a child. Just as it had once stopped bullies in their tracks, the soldiers were brought up short.

  “… Who is that pipsqueak?”

  “The woman in the cave, drag her out.”

  Toko turned on the soldier who tried to shove her away. “I told you, she’s alone. Are you deaf? The gods will punish you for disrespecting a woman who’s just given birth. Surely you know that even to enter a birthing hut is enough to bring down divine retribution.”

  The soldiers appeared uneasy. They all knew that men were forbidden to enter a birthing hut. One of them checked to see that the cave held only a woman and then, without touching her, turned back to Toko. “The baby’s gone,” he said. “Where is it?”

  “I’m not telling,” Toko said. The soldier hit her so hard she was flung back into the trees. Then he reached into the cave to grab Abi’s mother and pull her out. Toko yelled from where she l
ay, “If you kill her, you will never, ever find the magatama!”

  Toko noticed a man dressed all in black standing next to her. He appeared to be their commander. “So you’ve seen the magatama, have you, brave little one?” he said in a surprisingly gentle tone. “Ki, the Stone of Life, it was born with the baby, wasn’t it?”

  Toko pressed her hand against her lip, grimacing at the taste of blood. “Yes,” she said. “But I won’t let you lay hands on it. It’s not for people who kill women and children.”

  “There appears to be a misunderstanding. The men of Mahoroba are not as barbaric as you seem to think. Kumaso women die by their own hands.”

  Toko gazed up at him. He did not seem like a warrior. His long hair was loosely bound, and his thin face seemed familiar. From her confused memories floated the image of red fire enveloping an island and a horse racing toward her, its hooves pounding. I remember now. He was the one who held the reins. He rode off toward the enemy camp with Oguna behind him. “You were in Mino, weren’t you?” she blurted out.

  He looked at her, his face expressionless. “I am a shadow. You could say that I am everywhere, and then again, nowhere.”

  3

  AFTER ORDERING several soldiers to escort Toko and Abi’s mother to Kitsuhiko’s hall, the commander led the rest of his men into the forest after the fugitives, setting the hounds on the scent. Thanks to his strict orders to keep the prisoners fit for interrogation and to show particular care for Abi’s mother, no further violence was committed. Abi’s mother was carried on a makeshift stretcher. Though Toko’s hands were bound, the soldiers did not bully her any further, and she made no attempt to escape.

  They walked for a full day before they came to the village where Kitsuhiko’s hall was located. The large river flowing beside it appeared to be the mother of the mountain stream where Imatate had caught the trout. Built like a fortress, the settlement was surrounded by a moat and a stockade, but Toko could see thatched roofs on the other side of the wall. It was already growing dark, and as she passed between the turrets guarding the gate, lights glowed in the windows of the houses. She had not spent time in a proper village since she had left Izumo, and her spirits rose a little, despite the fact that she was a prisoner.