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by Frost Queen Tomiko [MF] (epub)

  "Now start walking again you weirdo, or I’ll drag you back to that monster’s den!"

  Kuzuno gave up on her antics after that, and the rest of the journey back to the village went quietly.

  When the village appeared in view Aka rushed forward to herald her victory. The villagers seeped back out of their houses and coalesced around the fox, and Taiko heard the murmuring as she led Kuzuno to them.

  "What’s going on?" asked Nǎinai, "That's- that's Kuzuno!"

  "This is your 'evil spirit'. Aka can explain, if you like. Can't you?"

  Aka shrunk at the pointed comment.

  "Well, uh, you see-"

  Aka made his confession, filling them in with a somewhat sanitized version of the story and leaving out the part where Taiko almost drowned. They had a hard time believing it, and Kuzuno confused it further by offering her own tale where they were in league with Akio and leading them into a trap at the shrine. In the end, Taiko won out, and they agreed to thank her by summoning Minoru once she was ready.

  It was nighttime by their reckoning, although Taiko was lost as to how they could tell. Still, they were happy to feed her and dry her clothes, and some of the young ones were comfortable enough with her now to ask her questions about herself, her friends, and their village. Taiko had fun telling them the story of the fuumog, and telling them about how their magic worked.

  A few hours later she was dressed again and Nǎinai was ready to accompany her to the shrine. They left Kuzuno, now locked securely in chains, behind under the watchman’s guard. The trip back to the area the shrine was in seemed to take longer than the first time. Taiko had been walking, running, swimming, fighting, and struggling all day. She was unbelievably tired, but there was no way that she was going to wait any longer to get her answers.

  "That's it?" she asked.

  They had just come over a rocky mound, and there it was, sticking out of the ground.

  "That's it," said Nǎinai.

  It wasn’t what she expected. A perfectly white cylinder rose six feet from the earth. It was about two feet in diameter, absolutely smooth, and flawless in its shape. There was a cutout on one side, running from top to bottom, that showed an unnaturally black void resting in the interior.

  Nǎinai approached the shrine, said a short prayer that Taiko couldn't understand, and then pressed her hand against the cutout. Taiko saw that what she thought was empty space was really some sort of glass. It was so clear as to be invisible, but she could see the way Nǎinai's hand molded itself against a solid surface.

  "Are you there, Minoru?" she asked.

  A few seconds of silence went by.

  "Nǎinai, how are you? You haven’t come for a while."

  Taiko turned around to see a translucent figure, appearing in shades of blue and glowing slightly. He looked like a young man with lightly colored hair and dressed in flowing robes. They were plain, but layered, and they were fit very precisely to his form. He let his eyes fall on Taiko and raised his eyebrow.

  "I don’t recognize you, but that shouldn’t be. Who are you?"

  "My name is Taiko," she said, bowing. "I'm very happy to meet you, Minoru!"

  "This one helped our village," said Nǎinai. "She cleared the way to your shrine when it was denied to us and saved Aka from capture. She wishes to share in your great knowledge."

  "Mm-hm," he said, not seeming to pay much attention to her. He stood in front of Taiko, making no noise when he walked, and put a thoughtful look on his face.

  "And how did you get here, Taiko? You're obviously far from home."

  "Not that far, it looks like. I mostly walked here since this morning."

  "Walked? You aren't serious, are you?"

  "Of course I am. I did swim part of the way, too."

  Minoru's brow furrowed.

  "I think you should start from the beginning."

  Taiko told him her story, from the tsurujin that attacked Chiyo, to finding Ikumi, to Umai's destruction, all the way to the kitsune and the monster. He listened, nodding every once in a while, then started asking questions about her village, her friends, and everything about how her world worked. He tested her memory, seeing how far back she could remember adventuring with her friends. After an exhausting interview he fell silent, thinking to himself. Taiko waited anxiously, perplexed at the nature of some of his questions and his line of thinking.

  "Our worlds are fusing," he said, breaking his silence.

  "What?" asked Taiko, taken off guard.

  "Your world has come along and started fusing with this one. As you said yourself, the world you come from clearly runs on different rules than this one, and there's been some serious geographical blending. Everything seems to be changing, and the simplest explanation is that it is."

  Taiko didn't know what to say. It was too much to believe, but she couldn’t deny how well it made everything line up.

  "Is that… normal?"

  "No, of course not."

  "Can we stop it?"

  "No idea. I’m not even sure how or why the bubbles are touching."

  "Bubbles?"

  "Technical terminology. Look, I know a lot of stuff that nobody else does, but I’m not omniscient. I can't even tell you what's going on in Akio's castle right now, other than by a few educated guesses. If you want to know more, you're going to have to find more for me to work with."

  "Where would I even start? Can you tell me more about this multiple worlds stuff? How many are there?"

  "A bunch," he said, hurriedly and dismissively. "Look, this might be due to forces way beyond our ability to affect. It might not be something that you 'stop'."

  "But you don't know that for sure."

  Minoru sighed.

  "No, I don't. If there is a local cause it's probably centered around one of two people. Lord Akio or Queen Tomiko."

  "Why do you think that? I mean, I know they're the most powerful people around here, but-"

  "No, it's not that. They're... they're not important because they're powerful. They're powerful because they're important. Kind of like you."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "It means they're not going to be the pushovers you're used to."

  "You know more than you're tell me," said Taiko, crossing her arms.

  "Yes, I do. And I've got good reasons for it."

  Taiko wanted to push him, but she was afraid that she might shut him up altogether if she was too demanding. There were still other things she was hoping to learn; he might know something about what had happened to Ikumi. Besides, if she could keep him around long enough she could pry a little bit at a time out of him about this 'important' stuff.

  "I don't want you to get too carried away with ideas about stopping this fusing," he said. "Figuring out how to make it happen as smoothly as possible might be the smarter move, and it's easier to see where to start there."

  "By saving my friends."

  Taiko had almost forgotten about it. That was her number one mission, wasn't it? If she was going to figure out why realities were suddenly weaving themselves together, she would do it with her friends- Yumi, Miyoshi, Ikumi, and Chiyo. And if they had to turn this world of cruelty and madness into something livable, they would.

  "Okay, then. What can you tell me about Lord Akio? Where is his castle? Do you know how it’s defended?"

  "Did you see where Nǎinai put her hand to summon me?" he asked.

  "Huh? Uh, yes, why?"

  "Go put your hand in the same place."

  Taiko didn’t understand, but she did as requested. The shrine hummed and a small glass cube appeared, floating in the air before her. She cautiously reached forward to pick it out of its spot.

  "With that, you can take me with you."

  He turned toward Nǎinai.

  "Sorry to run off already, but I'm curious about this whole thing."

  "It's okay," she said. "If you're helping Taiko get one over on Akio we'll all be rooting for you."

  "Right," he said turning back
to Taiko, "I can lead you to Ishi-jo Fortress, but I'll need to look around inside to get any details. I'll be able to wander freely within a thousand feet or so of that crystal, so if you get it to the castle wall I'll be able to scout for you."

  "Hey," said Aka, his voice coming unexpectedly from Taiko's side. "I helped out in getting your shrine clear, so maybe there’s something you can do for me? Kuzuno is cursed somehow, and we need to figure out how to fix her. Taiko here was useless at that part, but we did capture her. She’s back at the village."

  "Yeah, I saw what happened to her. One of Akio's captains, Teruo, stole part of her soul with one of his magical artifacts."

  "That's awful!" said Taiko, "Why would he do that?"

  "She was a nuisance to his men. Kind of like Aka, but worse. They'd have liked to bring her in as a slave, but a kitsune isn't easy to catch. Instead, they got a part of her soul."

  "We need to get it back," said Aka. "That's our top priority."

  Taiko didn't bother to at glare at him.

  "We can plan tonight back at Punnydin," she said. "Tomorrow I'll rest and prepare, and then, tomorrow evening…"

  Tomorrow evening. Was that soon enough? Could she wait all day relaxing while her friends languished in some cage? Nobody seemed to think that being Akio's prisoner was a good thing. But she had no choice. She might only have one chance to save them, and she couldn't blow it by rushing in early.

  "Tomorrow evening. We show Lord Akio that his world has changed too, and we can be just as dangerous as he is!"

  General Tadao was listening intently. After the disaster of Lady Kori's capture yesterday good news and a change of subject was critically needed, and this was both.

  "I counted approximately two hundred and fifty villagers, including children and the elderly. I estimate that sixty of their males are of fighting quality, and none of their females."

  "What kind of fighting quality?" asked General Nashi, interrupting the scout.

  "Their men wield mostly bows, but they are of primitive construction. For close combat, they only have wooden clubs. They possess no armor to speak of. I was not able to witness a demonstration of their individual skill, but they do not appear to have any notable drilling or discipline. I would estimate a poor showing against our troops."

  General Tadao wasn't so quickly convinced. Tribal skirmishers on their home turf could threaten better armed and organized troops quite effectively. He held his tongue for the moment; the scout was here to present what he had observed. His opinion beyond that was not important enough to waste time arguing over. Tadao would voice his concerns when it was time to plan their attack.

  The scout was going over details of the terrain he'd been scouting now. It was a strange situation; the village had been found just over the Isshou Mountains. It was far too close for them to have missed it for so long, and when they first heard of this scout's report General Nashi immediately demanded their maps to be checked and previous scouting reports be brought up for reference. To their disbelief, there were no reports, and the maps were blank. How such a blind spot could exist for so long was beyond any of them.

  "Thank you," said General Tadao when he was finished. "You may stand by in case we have any further questions."

  The scout nodded and took a position against the wall. Nashi was the first to offer her opinion.

  "Fifty men should be sufficient," she said. "We should kill half of their warriors, then press the rest into Her Majesty's service. If we take a dozen or so of their children hostage it should ensure their good behavior. They don't sound like they have much in the way of material resources to offer us, but they will be useful in controlling this new territory."

  "Very blunt," said Tadao. Nashi was ruthless, but she was often too crude in her methods for his taste.

  "We should learn more first. Offer them gifts and friendship in exchange for providing guides to map out the region. We'll learn a lot of things that way that they won't be so willing to volunteer if we attack first. Once we've got a good handle on what they know and what they're capable of, then we can demand fealty. We'll also know the best men to kill and the best to leave alive. I suggest two hundred soldiers, as a show of force. They don't need to be there for long. If the villagers know what we can throw against them they'll be less likely to rebel down the line."

  "I suppose we can spare that," said Jinpachi, one Her Majesty's supply ministers. "But the tithe is coming due in a few days, and our soldiers are needed to ensure that it goes smoothly. If there were any other military operations planned-"

  General Tadao wasn't sure how Jinpachi had even weaseled his way into the meeting. These affairs were above his station, but he was a sharp and ambitious young man who had shown an aptitude for making himself just useful enough so that his audacity would be tolerated.

  "Why don't we just kill them all?"

  Nashi was crude, but at least her methods served a greater goal. The Lady Oni Satsujin was not burdened with any such thing.

  "Fifty men. Kill any of the warriors who resist, make any who surrender watch us rape all of their women and then burn whole lot in their own houses. Maybe torture some of them first. We keep a few witnesses alive to bring back and tell the story."

  Lady Satsujin would slaughter Queen Tomiko's entire kingdom if she let her. Tadao knew she wouldn't care to hear about what could be gained from subjugating the villagers instead of wiping them out, but he spoke anyway.

  "That would be pointlessly wasteful," he said.

  "Nashi was right. They've got nothing we need. All they are right now is in the way. We'll get rid of them and be done with it."

  "I didn't say that," Nashi responded sharply. "They'll be better suited to patrolling their native environment than our own soldiers would be, and if-"

  "I don't care."

  Her Majesty's words silenced everyone. General Tadao turned to see her gazing toward the ceiling. Queen Tomiko never cared except when something displeased her. It was Tadao's duty to make sure that never happened, to wage her wars against her enemies, and to keep her subjects well under heel. The consequences for failing were severe.

  But pleasing her? That never happened. She never celebrated victory or enjoyed the spoils they brought her. Tadao wondered what she would ever do if they did succeed in bringing the entire world under her rule. Would even Lord Akio's head on a pike be enough to make her happy, even for a moment?

  The entire room waited for her command, knowing too well not to offer any more opinions after her disinterest had been declared.

  "Satsujin, bring the prettiest girl in the village back to me. Do whatever you like with the rest."

  There she was, a figment of divinity. A perfect creation of melancholy grace. An aching beauty wrapped snugly in gentle blue robes that flowed regally about her. She leaned against the railing of a balcony so high that entire mountains lay under its shadow.

  She was untouchable. A being apart from him. He looked down at his hands- weak, clumsy hands- and found himself unworthy. He took a timid step toward her, and then another, but with every step the distance between them grew. He called out her name, but his voice was a whisper, lost in the vast hallway.

  She was a tiny burning ember in a shell of ice. He was nothing.

  Akio woke to the darkness of night. He sat up, try to shake the dream from his head. He was tired, and it was a struggle not to lie back down, but he couldn't bear to slip back into that world. He needed to make his mind his own again before he risked returning to sleep.

  He looked around his room. He was alone. The two girls were gone, taken to another chamber to be secured for the night. Nothing here would occupy his mind enough to clear his head; he needed to walk it off.

  Akio found an evening robe and fastened it around him, resolved to take a walk through the passageways of his fortress. He tried to think about anything except the dream, but it kept coming back to him. It was a far more common disturbance to his sleep than he would have liked. He was Lord Akio. He was not
weak. He was not timid. One day, he would have Tomiko before him, and he would not be deterred from taking her as the greatest prize of all. She would be punished for denying him for so long, for taunting him with her beauty and not offering her body as tribute. The three women from yesterday would be thankful for his leniency if they knew what he had planned for the Queen and her icy cunt.

  But the dream always insisted otherwise. No matter how many women he conquered, no matter how many enemies he struck down, it always waited. It always came, whispering its lie to him in the night where it could sink into his soul and convince him it was the truth.

  Akio was on the balcony now, overlooking the courtyard. The slaves from the day's raid were huddled in their cages, waiting to be brought to whatever labor camps needed them. Guards patrolled the wall, no less alert for the late hour. They were well trained. They were strong, like their master.

  It would take more than a walk, he saw, to distract him. Perhaps he should inspect the other slave. What was her name? Chimo? She'd looked good stretched out on the rack.

  A stirring in his loins reminded him of who he really was. One day, he would have Queen Tomiko. But tonight there were other cunts deserving of his attention.

  Chiyo still had Yumi's panties in her mouth. It hadn't stopped being gross, no matter how long they sat there. Neither had her jaw stopped growing sorer and sorer, or her arms less cramped from being bound, or her knees from supporting her weight for so long.

  The emptiness of the night gave Chiyo nothing to think about but the chaffing of her ropes and the knots in her back. She couldn't even bring herself to dread the next morning. Maybe it would be worse than what she was currently enduring, but it was hard to believe it. She wouldn't survive at that rate. Even the cruelest masters had to feed their slaves at some point.

  Chiyo heard a noise- someone was coming. The light was dim, but she could still make out the silhouette of the man who was responsible for all of this. He was dressed in a simple robe now, walking into the room barefoot and without the usual presence he commanded. He stood in front of her cage, and all Chiyo could do was stare at his feet. Not that she was anxious to look him in the face, even if she did have the freedom to crane her neck up that high.