by Sarah Ash
“Don’t you know me, my lord?” Sakami heard Isamu’s voice break in distress.
“Am I…your prisoner?” Lord Takeru’s words were slurred and indistinct, as if he was drunk.
“No, no,” cried the young man, “you’re in your own room, my lord.”
“So thirsty…”
“Sakami, some water!”
Sakami hastily poured water into a bowl as Isamu tried to prop up Lord Takeru’s head and shoulders, supporting him against himself. As she handed the drinking bowl to Isamu and he held it to Lord Takeru’s lips, she saw the liquid spill from the corners of his master’s mouth. Isamu swore under his breath as Sakami tried to mop up before it seeped into the mattress.
“Go and bring Master Ujiake here at once,” Isamu ordered, as he tried to lower Lord Takeru’s slumped form back onto the bed.
Sakami nodded and retreated; as she opened the sliding door, she heard Isamu saying softly and sadly, “You’re heavy, my lord.”
Outside in the corridor, she told every servant she passed, “Lord Takeru has woken up,” knowing that the news would travel swiftly to Princess Asagao’s ears. But as she hurried on to fetch the physician she could not forget the sight of the water pouring out from the sides of Lord Takeru’s slack mouth.
He’s returned to us…but he’s so damaged that he can’t even recognize Isamu.
***
Sakami was scraping the last of the sticky residue off the bottom of the porridge pot when she heard men’s voices echoing around the courtyard.
“It’s just the village fishermen bringing the daily catch,” said Yuna. “Get back to cleaning those pots, girls.”
But Sakami had caught the cursed name of Akatobi again. She laid down her scraper and listened, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She remembered the half-overheard conversation she had caught between Captain Kakumyo and the general in which the word ‘siege’ had figured, and sped to the doorway.
“You come back here right now, Sakami!”
Ignoring Yuna, Mai and Mami followed close on her heels, pushing past her to get a better view. A little crowd had gathered already; servants and villagers were clustering around two fishermen who were gesticulating and pointing toward the bay.
“What’s going on?” General Tachibana came out into the courtyard, followed by some of the senior retainers. The crowd hastily parted to let them through.
“Maybe they thought we didn’t see them,” babbled one of fishermen, “maybe they didn’t care.”
“Who didn’t see you?” demanded the general.
“A boat was leaving the bay when we were sailing back from the fishing grounds. A boat I’ve never seen round here before, my lord,” said the other fisherman.
“And when we hailed it, no one answered. We couldn’t see any nets on board, so they weren’t trying to take our catch.”
“Kite shinobi,” whispered Mami to Mai. “They’ve come to rescue their young lord.”
“They could sneak in here at night,” Mai whispered back, “and slit our throats while we’re sleeping…”
But Sakami’s attention was concentrated on the general, who was murmuring to Commander Iekane, the leader of Shun’s detachment.
“Fall in, men!” Iekane shouted. “We’re off to patrol the cliffs.”
Sakami couldn’t help but clutch at her brother’s sleeve as he hurried past her to join the other archers.
“Can’t stop now, Sakami,” he said, “the commander’s waiting.”
“Take care,” she said, reluctantly letting go. As she watched him joining the other archers, she saw the look of fierce purposefulness in his eyes and knew that nothing she said could dissuade him from volunteering to go out on patrol.
But you’re the only family I have left, Shun – so you’d better make sure you come back safe and sound.
***
It was just before sunrise when the reconnaissance patrol returned to Castle Kurozuro. Sakami rushed into the outer courtyard, searching anxiously for Shun.
At last she spotted him, queuing up at the well to get a drink of water.
“What’s happened, Shun?” she cried. He glanced round uneasily at his fellow archers.
“No point hiding it,” Rikyu said with a shrug.
“We spotted a couple of Kite spies further up the mountain. But then…” Shun took the scoop and poured water into his mouth, wiping away the residue with the back of his hand. “They just…melted into the trees.”
“One moment they were there,” said Rikyu, “the next…”
“They got away?” Sakami looked around at the soldiers, and though no one said anything she read her answer in their downcast eyes. Her relief at seeing Shun unharmed had evaporated. “So it’s true? Their shinobi can move as fast as birds?”
“And that’s not all.” Shun passed the scoop to the next man in line. “There’s a flotilla headed this way.”
“A flotilla… of Red Kite ships?” Sakami shuddered, remembering the last time the Kites had attacked. She had been too young to understand what was happening then, but now she knew only too well what danger they were in. But before she could ask any more, she heard a shrill voice calling her name. To her dismay, she saw Yuna determinedly elbowing her way through the crowd of soldiers, burly fighting men hastily clearing a path for her.
“I’m sorry, Yuna, I’ll get back to the kitchen straight away – ” Sakami began, but Yuna cut her short.
“Forget the kitchen. The mistress wants to see you.” Yuna grabbed her by the wrist and began to drag her through the throng.
“M - me?” Bewildered, Sakami wondered whether Yuna had made a mistake. Why would Princess Asagao ask to see her, the youngest and least significant of all the kitchen maids?
Chapter 12
“How loyal are you to our clan, Sakami?” Princess Asagao’s voice was clipped and cold.
“I – I’d give my life for the Black Cranes.” Sakami cowered on the floor before her mistress. She had never been admitted to the princess’s private chamber before. Before prostrating herself, she had just managed to snatch a brief glimpse of the exquisitely lacquered screens and the silken cushions in jet, gold, and ivory on which the princess was sitting. That brief glimpse had also taken in the princess’s rod-straight back, her glossy black hair which fell almost to the floor, and her immaculately painted proud, pale face. Beside her sat General Tachibana, already in full battle armor, his black-lacquered helmet with its gilded crane crest on the floor beside him.
She must be sick with worry about Lord Takeru. But she doesn’t show any emotion at all. How can she be so calm?
“They tell me that your father was a mountain man. That you were born in Sakuranbo village near the summit. That you know the mountain paths well.”
Sakami nodded, not daring to raise her head.
“I have a mission for you. A mission of the greatest importance. You are to go over the mountain to the Tide Dragon temple and deliver a message to Lord Kaito. Then you are to bring him back here, by the most obscure and secret route that you can devise.”
It was years since anyone had mentioned Princess Asagao’s younger son by name and many still whispered that he was dead. But Sakami had never forgotten Lord Kaito and her heart beat a little faster to think that he was very much alive – and she was going to see him again.
“The message will be in code. One of my maids will sew it into the lining of your sleeve so that you can move more swiftly.”
The most obscure and secret route over the mountain?
“Are you listening to me, child?” Princess Asagao said sharply. She turned to General Tachibana and said behind her fan, “Is the girl simple in the head? She seems not to understand a word I’ve said.”
“She may be a little slow. But I believe she is biddable and loyal.”
Sakami had heard every word. She felt her face turn crimson with shame. They thought she was a dullard.
“B - but how am I to bring Lord Kaito back over the mountain? With
his bad leg?”
The withering glance that Princess Asagao turned upon her almost made her faint away; her eyes burned in her white-powdered face. Sakami had forgotten that no one was supposed to mention Lord Kaito’s infirmity and she clapped one hand over her mouth.
“Stupid child! Kaito may be slow and lame but he’s not completely paralyzed.”
“That’s why we chose you,” said General Tachibana patiently, as though Sakami were a child to be humored. “With your intimate knowledge of the mountain paths, we thought that you would be able to select a route suitable for Lord Kaito to travel by.”
***
The castle compound was in a state of uproar. General Tachibana was shouting at the foot soldiers to muster in the courtyard; archers were running to and fro to re-fill their quivers. Were the Kites already so close? Sakami, terrified, scuttled past the men, spotting Shun caught up in the chaos, bow in hand, hurrying after his fellow archers.
“What’s happening?” she cried out to him. “Are the Kites attacking?”
“Why aren’t you with the other women?” he said severely. “Fighting men need feeding. You’re just in the way out here; you ought to get back to the kitchens.”
Always so full of himself. And I’m on a special mission for the princess. Her hand touched the place where the secret letter for Lord Kaito was hidden, sewn into the sleeve of her tunic. She longed to tell Shun that she had been chosen for a vitally important assignment. But Princess Asagao had sworn her to secrecy.
“We have to be ready for them.” Although she could hear the swaggering bravado in his voice, the shadow in his eyes told her that he was as afraid as she. He could be killed if the Kites made their move before she returned.
“Take care, big brother,” she whispered, watching his broad, straight back until he was out of sight. Then she slipped into the siege tunnel.
As she made her way along the cool, dank passageway, she found herself shivering and knew it was not just because of the damp.
General Tachibana had warned her: if she was caught by Kite scouts, she would almost certainly be tortured to reveal secrets about the castle tunnels and its weak points. He had devised an alibi for her and made her repeat it again and again until she almost believed it herself.
Your story? Let’s rehearse it one more time. Your mother’s sick, she sent you to sell herbs in the castle compound, but when you arrived…
***
The shafts of soft green light ahead warned Sakami that she was near the mouth of the tunnel: the sun was penetrating the thick leaves. To anyone who was unfamiliar with the mountainside, the tunnel entrance should be almost impossible to find, concealed behind lichened boulders and heavily overgrown with ivy and thick creepers. Thick clumps of vicious nettles had been allowed to grow up and Sakami had a hard time making her way through unscathed.
At last, with a few nettle weals mottling her ankles, she reached the bamboo thicket and began to weave in and out between the rustling stems.
“Who’s there?” The challenge almost made her heart stop. She froze. So the general was right and the Red Kites were on the mountain already.
Then there came a burst of derisive laughter.
“There’s your Crane spy, idiot! Haven’t you ever seen a tanuki before?”
“Are tanuki good to eat? Come back here, little fellow…”
This must be some of the advance party that came ashore under cover of night. If I make a run for it while they’re distracted…
Sakami put her head down and dashed blindly out of the thicket.
“Up there – a girl!”
“Don’t let her get away!”
Sakami’s heart was bumping so fast against her ribs that she could hardly breathe, the sour taste of fear tainting her mouth.
If I don’t get away from the Kites, the message will never get through to Lord Kaito. And if the castle falls, it’ll be all my fault.
“Split up, men!” the harsh voice ordered. “We’ll never catch her otherwise.”
She stumbled on, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in her side. A stitch. If only she could stop a moment to touch her toes, as Shun had taught her, and break it.
If they catch me, they’ll search me and find the secret message. And even if they can’t read it, they’ll force me to tell them how.
Beyond the bamboo thickets, the ground rose much more steeply. She had a choice: follow the course of the mountain stream or take the old hunter’s path which wove upward through the pines
I have the advantage. I grew up here. She kept muttering the words like a protective charm to reassure herself. I know the hidden ways of the mountain. I can outrun the Kites.
She passed the hidden glade that Lord Kaito had once shown her, where the fox cubs liked to play in the sun. Today there was not one to be seen; they must have smelled danger in the air as the shouts of the Kite shinobi rang out.
Lord Kaito. So gently spoken, so courteous, so…different from his haughty mother and elder brother. Princess Asagao had never spoken a word to her before today. But whenever she brought him his food, Lord Kaito had always thanked her. How often had she lingered outside his room when he had been practicing the flute, enchanted by the soft, low tones that he drew from the instrument, sweeter than the song of a mountain thrush? And how often had she been caught idling there and been rewarded with a slap or a blow from Yuna?
As she hurried up the steeply winding track beneath the trees, she heard the sound of fast-flowing water; a little higher and she would pass the stony place on the bank where she had rescued Honou.
Stay hidden, Honou, she warned him silently. Clambering over the flat mossy stones, worn smooth by the stream when it swelled with melting snow in spring, she found herself wondering if he would even remember her. The clear water in the stream looked deliciously cool and refreshing; she longed to kneel down and drink, but struggled on.
***
Sakami had not climbed this high up the mountain since the night Sakuranbo village was attacked. The night when her previous life had come to an abrupt end in fire and spilled blood.
Did my feet lead me this way?
Tears pricked at her eyes as she recognized where she was.
There was so little left of her village that it was hard to tell that the little community in which she was born had ever been there. Vines and creepers covered the few charred stones that remained to mark where the huts had stood. Even the sacred shrine to the goddess Inari had been burned to the ground…although, to Sakami’s surprise, the two white stone foxes that guarded the shrine still stood upright, little scarves of yellow lichen now adorning their necks.
When they were children, she and Shun had used to come to stroke the guardian foxes’ pointed muzzles. The kindly old priest never shooed them away but smiled and nodded at them as he swept the dry leaves from the front of the shrine.
Blinking away the tears, Sakami reached out and patted the worn stone. In the past she had had to stand on tiptoes to reach it. Now she looked down at the fox statues from the full height of her sixteen years.
She had feared that the overgrown street might have become a place of angry ghosts, haunted by the pale soul-flames of vengeful spirits. But all she could hear was the fitful whisper of the mountain wind and the spiteful quarrelling of small birds nesting in the topmost snarls of creeper.
The village was situated close to the top of the mountain; she should reach the vantage point soon and be able to look down into the wooded valley that lay beyond and, as the weather was clear, even catch a glimpse of the sea in the far distance.
But it’ll take me another day, maybe two, to get down the mountain and make my way to the coast. And I walk fast; it’s going to be much harder coming back the other way.
The mountainside had suddenly become unnaturally quiet; even the bickering of the tiny birds in the uppermost branches had stilled.
Sakami sensed a disturbance, a flicker of shadow in the trees overhead. Gazing upward, she had the brief impr
ession that a flock of birds was plunging straight toward her from the uppermost branches. The air was filled with the shuddering beat of dark wings.
Before she could even cry out, strong hands seized her, gripping her so tightly that she could not move. She found herself staring up at her captors, whose faces were masked; only their eyes could be seen above the close-wrapped black fabric.
“What are you doing here alone?” a voice breathed in her ear. Sakami willed herself not to panic and blurt out anything that came to mind.
“G - going back to my village in the valley.”
“So you came from the castle?” The grip tightened. “Don’t deny it; there’re no other homes around here.”
The strong, acrid smell of the men’s sweat and the roughness of their calloused hands on her body only increased her terror. Stick to the story. She fought her instincts, forcing herself to reply calmly. “I went to the castle to sell herbs, but the soldiers wouldn’t let me in. They sent me away. I’ve made the journey all for nothing. And my mother will be cross.”
One of her assailants tore open her bag and pulled out the bundles of wilting herbs inside, holding them up for the others to see. But the tight grip on her did not relax.
“Do the Cranes think we’re stupid? She’s obviously a spy. Or a messenger. Rip open her bag. Perhaps there’s a message hidden in the fabric.”
These men were hardened shinobi; their trade was disguise and subterfuge. They knew instinctively that she was hiding something. Sakami watched in silent alarm as a sharp knife sliced through the rough fabric of her shoulder bag and the contents spilled out onto the ground: herbs; a few rice balls wrapped in leaves that she was saving for her supper; her water gourd…
If their suspicions aren’t satisfied, are they going to use that same knife to slit my clothes?
“Nothing here.” The shreds of her bag lay strewn at her feet. The knife-wielding Kite straightened up and came toward her, his blade glinting in the sunlight filtering through the interlaced branches.
“Listen, Crane girl. Tell us where you’re going and what message you’re carrying – and we’ll let you go.”