Aozora's Song (3/12)
Previous: Aozora's Betrothed
03. Aozora's Escorts
The two weeks Lord Sakurai gave her passed in a whirlwind.
She did not have the chance to bid goodbye to her brother. In the middle of the night after her maid had retired and she crawled into bed, two men appeared in her room without warning. She blinked and they were there. She didn't have the time to scream. One of them threw some clothes at her and told her to dress and she complied immediately while they stepped into her antechamber to allow her privacy. She knew who they were without further explanation because she recognized the emblem of the General Sakurai on their armor. They were magician-warriors, she also knew, because their emblem were crossed by two swords and their helmet visors concealed their faces. Their status explained how they had entered her room without detection.
Ao had been given black trousers, a tunic, vest, and a thick velvet cape with a deep hood. She dressed as quickly as she could, opened one of her drawers, and stuffed into her sleeve the miniature bejeweled pocket knife Masaki had received for his fifth birthday and had given to her when he outgrew it. She could not bring any of her personal belongings for the sake of appearing that she had not left, but she thought they would at least allow her this one small treasure.
As if they knew she had finished, the two magician-warriors appeared again seconds after she pulled the sleeve over her wrist. The second man who had not thrown her the clothes wrapped his own cloak around her despite the fact that she already wore one and he half-dragged her to the wall. She wondered how they planned to escape; if they were going to carry her out the window. But the magician-warrior pulled her hood over her head so that she saw nothing but darkness, wrapped his strong arms around her, and pushed her and himself at the wall. She expected to hit stone. Instead, her stomach lurched, her head spun, she felt uneasily weightless but heavy at the same time, and then her feet hit ground again. She realized she stood on cold cobbled stone. She was outside.
The magician-warrior unraveled her from his cloak and she was free to look around through the small opening of her hood. They were at the gate. The soldiers standing guard saluted the two men and her. She realized; of course the magician-warriors had the king's cooperation. Even if they were strong, no one, at least not just the two of them alone, could break through the wards around the palace.
They were shuffled through the gate and across the moat. She was pushed along, half-stumbling, at a hurried pace to the shore where three tethered horses stood waiting. Before she knew it, she was riding at break neck speed between the two magician-warriors across the vast plains immediately surrounding the palace. Gripping the reins of her mount, she glanced up at the night sky studded with stars, the pale moon shining among them, and only when embraced by its vast serenity did she realize that her heart raced in fear. Her whole body trembled, unhelped by the speed they were going.
Her life was changing. From that point on, she knew the life she had lived would no longer exist.
*
Ao fell into deep sleep when they finally camped inside the forest at dawn. She dreamed of darkness and a dark tower. When she woke, she still felt exhausted. It was mid-afternoon when finally she sat up and snuggled to the campfire, wincing at her sores. She looked around her and saw only one of her two escorts; the one who had thrown her the clothes. She knew the difference between them because this escort dressed even more lightly than the other; his defined arms bare of the typical scant armor magician-warriors wore and his cloak only waist length.
Even though rays of sunlight beamed through gaps in the trees, the first magician-warrior continued to keep his steel visor pulled down over his face. Masaki had explained to her one day in his excitement after returning from combat lessons; the masking of the face allowed their identities to remain a secret. Magician-warriors were a secret elite order of men gathered from a lord’s thousands of soldiers, and their numbers and identities were unlisted. The precaution gave a commander many advantages, including a network of powerful spies. Consequently, magician-warriors were usually under oath forbidden to demonstrate their magical abilities without concealment.
As Ao sat watching the first man rummage through their simple packs, she guessed they were waiting for the second escort to return from wherever he had gone. She wondered how long they had to wait for him and hoped a bit longer because her muscles from last night's ride still ached. While she shuddered at the tiresome journey ahead, the first escort approached her. Ao steeled herself and appeared calm when he gave her two purple pills. She did not know what they were for and what she should do with them and just held them in her palms tentatively.
The escort offered her a sack-skin filled with water. "They are food pills," he explained. "It'll nourish you for a few hours. But they are very bitter and burn. Your highness might want some water to drink it down."
She knew she shouldn't question anything the magician-warriors did or asked her to do; they knew what they were doing. But Lord Sakurai had trusted her enough, or at least thought she was capable enough, to handle the truth about her circumstances. So she licked her lips and spoke for the first time since they had forced her out of her bed.
"How long will it take to get to Lord Sakurai's castle?"
Although she couldn't see his face, she knew the magician-warrior was observing and measuring her as the silence after her question drew out.
Finally, he answered, "Just under two weeks at our swiftest." He offered the sack-skin again.
She took it, but only held it as she eyed the purple pills warily.
"We'll make better speed if we avoid people," he added as her hesitation lengthened. “But we won’t be able to refresh our horses, so we'll have to steady our pace and rest when we can."
Her courage gathered, Ao took a deep breath and threw the pills into her mouth. A burst of acid and acrid erupted inside of her. She gagged and doubled over, spewing the contents out onto the ground. Her stomach lurched and she heaved even though nothing came up. Her eyes watered. She wiped at them angrily, ashamed to have this escort witness her failure, and drank from the sack-skin to rid her mouth of the burning aftertaste. When she straightened, she saw that the second escort had also returned. From the other side of the campfire, he seemed to be watching her as well. Her heart thumped against her chest and she looked at her feet in embarrassment.
Without a word, the first escort handed her two more food pills. Ao threw them up as she did the first and spent a longer time heaving bile. While she gasped for breath, wiped her eyes, and gathered her strength, she thought about the disgusting sight she made. A princess was still human after all.
The first magician-warrior did not hand her another set of food pills when she straightened again. Clutching the sack-skin to her, Ao watched as he whispered to the second man. She knew he was talking about her. She wondered what they were going to do now once they realized that the burdensome princess they escorted could not swallow a common soldier's food pills.
To her surprise, they did not turn back to her. The second man crouched down and coaxed the campfire with his hands. She watched, entranced, as the flames flickered then erupted into bright blue and burned everything into nothing. As the blue disappeared, so was any evidence that there had ever been a fire. She released the breath she had not been aware she was holding. The first magician-warrior drew her back to the present when he led her horse to her.
"We're setting out," he said.
*
That night, Ao dropped down under a tree and pulled her cloak around herself. If possible, her muscles ached even more than it did in the afternoon. She dug herself into the hard ground and closed her eyes as intense exhaustion washed over her. She would have fallen asleep instantly, except that at the precise moment her eyes closed the whinny of her horse distracted her. Through the open slit of her eyes she saw the two magician-warriors tirelessly tend to the horses. Ao knew the two men expected nothing from her. She had grown up in luxury with everyone addressing all her needs. She did not even know how to saddle a horse. But she suddenly felt useless and selfish when she compared her exhaustion to theirs.
After he finished rubbing down his own horse, the second magician-warrior looked for her and saw her under the tree. Ao pretended sleep as he approached. After a moment, she heard a crackle and sudden warmth flare up near her right. They set up camp around her, making sure she was at the center.
The flash of a smile comforted Ao, but even then she reached for the pocket knife in her sleeve. That night, she dreamed of the dark tower again and of an insane magician who lived within.
Next: Aozora's Gratitude
03. Aozora's Escorts
The two weeks Lord Sakurai gave her passed in a whirlwind.
She did not have the chance to bid goodbye to her brother. In the middle of the night after her maid had retired and she crawled into bed, two men appeared in her room without warning. She blinked and they were there. She didn't have the time to scream. One of them threw some clothes at her and told her to dress and she complied immediately while they stepped into her antechamber to allow her privacy. She knew who they were without further explanation because she recognized the emblem of the General Sakurai on their armor. They were magician-warriors, she also knew, because their emblem were crossed by two swords and their helmet visors concealed their faces. Their status explained how they had entered her room without detection.
Ao had been given black trousers, a tunic, vest, and a thick velvet cape with a deep hood. She dressed as quickly as she could, opened one of her drawers, and stuffed into her sleeve the miniature bejeweled pocket knife Masaki had received for his fifth birthday and had given to her when he outgrew it. She could not bring any of her personal belongings for the sake of appearing that she had not left, but she thought they would at least allow her this one small treasure.
As if they knew she had finished, the two magician-warriors appeared again seconds after she pulled the sleeve over her wrist. The second man who had not thrown her the clothes wrapped his own cloak around her despite the fact that she already wore one and he half-dragged her to the wall. She wondered how they planned to escape; if they were going to carry her out the window. But the magician-warrior pulled her hood over her head so that she saw nothing but darkness, wrapped his strong arms around her, and pushed her and himself at the wall. She expected to hit stone. Instead, her stomach lurched, her head spun, she felt uneasily weightless but heavy at the same time, and then her feet hit ground again. She realized she stood on cold cobbled stone. She was outside.
The magician-warrior unraveled her from his cloak and she was free to look around through the small opening of her hood. They were at the gate. The soldiers standing guard saluted the two men and her. She realized; of course the magician-warriors had the king's cooperation. Even if they were strong, no one, at least not just the two of them alone, could break through the wards around the palace.
They were shuffled through the gate and across the moat. She was pushed along, half-stumbling, at a hurried pace to the shore where three tethered horses stood waiting. Before she knew it, she was riding at break neck speed between the two magician-warriors across the vast plains immediately surrounding the palace. Gripping the reins of her mount, she glanced up at the night sky studded with stars, the pale moon shining among them, and only when embraced by its vast serenity did she realize that her heart raced in fear. Her whole body trembled, unhelped by the speed they were going.
Her life was changing. From that point on, she knew the life she had lived would no longer exist.
*
Ao fell into deep sleep when they finally camped inside the forest at dawn. She dreamed of darkness and a dark tower. When she woke, she still felt exhausted. It was mid-afternoon when finally she sat up and snuggled to the campfire, wincing at her sores. She looked around her and saw only one of her two escorts; the one who had thrown her the clothes. She knew the difference between them because this escort dressed even more lightly than the other; his defined arms bare of the typical scant armor magician-warriors wore and his cloak only waist length.
Even though rays of sunlight beamed through gaps in the trees, the first magician-warrior continued to keep his steel visor pulled down over his face. Masaki had explained to her one day in his excitement after returning from combat lessons; the masking of the face allowed their identities to remain a secret. Magician-warriors were a secret elite order of men gathered from a lord’s thousands of soldiers, and their numbers and identities were unlisted. The precaution gave a commander many advantages, including a network of powerful spies. Consequently, magician-warriors were usually under oath forbidden to demonstrate their magical abilities without concealment.
As Ao sat watching the first man rummage through their simple packs, she guessed they were waiting for the second escort to return from wherever he had gone. She wondered how long they had to wait for him and hoped a bit longer because her muscles from last night's ride still ached. While she shuddered at the tiresome journey ahead, the first escort approached her. Ao steeled herself and appeared calm when he gave her two purple pills. She did not know what they were for and what she should do with them and just held them in her palms tentatively.
The escort offered her a sack-skin filled with water. "They are food pills," he explained. "It'll nourish you for a few hours. But they are very bitter and burn. Your highness might want some water to drink it down."
She knew she shouldn't question anything the magician-warriors did or asked her to do; they knew what they were doing. But Lord Sakurai had trusted her enough, or at least thought she was capable enough, to handle the truth about her circumstances. So she licked her lips and spoke for the first time since they had forced her out of her bed.
"How long will it take to get to Lord Sakurai's castle?"
Although she couldn't see his face, she knew the magician-warrior was observing and measuring her as the silence after her question drew out.
Finally, he answered, "Just under two weeks at our swiftest." He offered the sack-skin again.
She took it, but only held it as she eyed the purple pills warily.
"We'll make better speed if we avoid people," he added as her hesitation lengthened. “But we won’t be able to refresh our horses, so we'll have to steady our pace and rest when we can."
Her courage gathered, Ao took a deep breath and threw the pills into her mouth. A burst of acid and acrid erupted inside of her. She gagged and doubled over, spewing the contents out onto the ground. Her stomach lurched and she heaved even though nothing came up. Her eyes watered. She wiped at them angrily, ashamed to have this escort witness her failure, and drank from the sack-skin to rid her mouth of the burning aftertaste. When she straightened, she saw that the second escort had also returned. From the other side of the campfire, he seemed to be watching her as well. Her heart thumped against her chest and she looked at her feet in embarrassment.
Without a word, the first escort handed her two more food pills. Ao threw them up as she did the first and spent a longer time heaving bile. While she gasped for breath, wiped her eyes, and gathered her strength, she thought about the disgusting sight she made. A princess was still human after all.
The first magician-warrior did not hand her another set of food pills when she straightened again. Clutching the sack-skin to her, Ao watched as he whispered to the second man. She knew he was talking about her. She wondered what they were going to do now once they realized that the burdensome princess they escorted could not swallow a common soldier's food pills.
To her surprise, they did not turn back to her. The second man crouched down and coaxed the campfire with his hands. She watched, entranced, as the flames flickered then erupted into bright blue and burned everything into nothing. As the blue disappeared, so was any evidence that there had ever been a fire. She released the breath she had not been aware she was holding. The first magician-warrior drew her back to the present when he led her horse to her.
"We're setting out," he said.
*
That night, Ao dropped down under a tree and pulled her cloak around herself. If possible, her muscles ached even more than it did in the afternoon. She dug herself into the hard ground and closed her eyes as intense exhaustion washed over her. She would have fallen asleep instantly, except that at the precise moment her eyes closed the whinny of her horse distracted her. Through the open slit of her eyes she saw the two magician-warriors tirelessly tend to the horses. Ao knew the two men expected nothing from her. She had grown up in luxury with everyone addressing all her needs. She did not even know how to saddle a horse. But she suddenly felt useless and selfish when she compared her exhaustion to theirs.
After he finished rubbing down his own horse, the second magician-warrior looked for her and saw her under the tree. Ao pretended sleep as he approached. After a moment, she heard a crackle and sudden warmth flare up near her right. They set up camp around her, making sure she was at the center.
The flash of a smile comforted Ao, but even then she reached for the pocket knife in her sleeve. That night, she dreamed of the dark tower again and of an insane magician who lived within.
Next: Aozora's Gratitude