Aozora's Song (4/12)
Previous: Aozora's Escorts
04. Aozora's Gratitude
In the morning, her first escort was gone, but the second remained with her. His visor continued to be set down over his face, but his head drooped forward. Ao observed him and concluded that he was sleeping. She avoided her escorts yesterday, but the comforting proximity of his fire at night reminded her that they had her best interests at heart. She sat near the still smoking fire across from him. Her thoughts churned with happy memories of Masaki and she wondered if he missed her. She did not know how much time passed when the magician-warrior suddenly jerked awake. Ao flinched back in surprise.
The second escort noticed her reaction and inclined his head to her. She thought he greeted her so she returned the gesture, but he inclined his head again. Ao realized he was apologizing for having frightened her. She also realized that she had never heard him speak. At that moment, her stomach grumbled loudly and she blushed. In the palace, she had never known hunger. She stood and returned to her sleeping spot away from him in hopes that by avoiding him she did not have to admit her need.
To her relief, he did not approach her; like the first escort, he left her alone. He stood and stretched then turned away from her, raised his visor, and washed his face from a filled sack-skin. Curious, Ao found her gaze wandering back to him. She watched as he went through a few muscle exercises and felt a twinge of envy since her own muscles ached.
As the second man went into a set of lunges, the first escort returned with two fowls he had caught. Ao watched as they plucked the fowls, gutted them, then roasted them over a spit. Her stomach grumbled again and she clutched her abdomen in embarrassment, but they ignored her; until the meat cooked to a golden brown, then the first warrior-magician offered her a whole roasted fowl.
"Thank you," she said as she took it, and she wondered what he thought of her because he stared at her for a few more seconds before turning away again.
Ao averted her eyes as she ate. She chewed slowly. When she finished, she saw that they had already finished and were waiting for her. Embarrassed all over again, she said nothing. They bridled and saddled the horses. As she watched, she realized she had missed the chance to see their faces because they could not have eaten with their visors on.
*
They rode as hard as they did the first and second day, but stopped before nightfall. Grateful, Ao sank to the hard ground beneath a different tree and watched the two men tend to the horses. She was tired, but rather than sleep, she forced herself to keep awake. Soon, the second escort came to her and started a campfire as near her as he dared. She watched closely, forgetting to hide her curiosity, as he pressed his palms together over the logs and sticks he had piled together. As he drew his hands apart, flames flickered to life between his palms. But the flames withered and died. She blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought these two men were capable of failing.
The second magician-warrior sat back on his heels and hesitated.
"You shouldn’t stare at him so closely, Princess."
Ao turned to the first magician-warrior who had spoken to her.
When she turned, the campfire flared to life. Her heart sank in disappointment that she had missed the moment of the spell’s invocation. The first magician-warrior placed a comforting hand on the second's shoulder before moving away. The second man bowed his head, touched his visor to make sure it was intact, and finally moved away also. Ao wondered what the passing gesture between them meant. She missed conversation. She missed Masaki even more for all the times he'd run to her to tell her the excitements that passed in his day.
Ao waited as the first magician-warrior sat opposite her and the second disappeared into the darkness beyond the nearest trees. A few questions that had been tugging at her curiosity since the beginning returned and she knew this was the best time to ask. Her voice strangely hoarse from disuse, she had to force herself to speak louder over the crackle of the fire.
"Pardon me," she said and waited until she thought he was looking at her. "What can I call you and the other one?"
The first magician-warrior pointed to himself. "FIVE." He indicated the forest where the second man had left. "ONE."
His answer surprised her and brought forth another wave of different questions.
"Do you not know each other's names?"
This time, he hesitated before answering. When he did, FIVE spoke slowly as if he picked his words carefully. "Our identities are a secret known only to our lord."
She realized her two escorts might not even know each other's faces. The idea had never occurred to her. Stunned, she sat blinking at the fire for a few seconds. Then she asked another question.
"Is ONE unable to speak?" She'd seen FIVE whisper to ONE a few times, but if ONE ever verbally responded she had not had the chance to hear.
Again, FIVE said cautiously, "We are not encouraged to speak in case our voices become familiar."
Ao felt foolish for not making the connection. She had even more questions, but this time refrained from asking. After all, he probably did not wish for his voice to be recognized. So she drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around herself and said, "Thank you for answering." He could have ignored her like many of the officials back at the palace.
To her surprise, FIVE spoke without her initiation. "You, Princess, is the first of your rank to give thanks. For that I also thank you."
Ao had never thought herself different from the others at court. She had spent all of her life trying to live up to the queen's expectations. Only after his statement did she realize it was true; she had never heard the courtiers, much less the king and queen, express gratitude. For the first time since she traveled with them, Ao felt pride swell in her breast. She leaned into her knees and hid half of her face to hide her happiness that he had recognized this part of her.
"He is also shy," FIVE broke in suddenly.
Ao blinked at him without comprehension of what he referred to.
FIVE added, "Don’t stare too closely at him. He is strong and won't fail you otherwise."
With a rush of realization, Ao knew what FIVE meant. The campfire crackled heartily before her and she flushed as she stared into its orange depths. Her close observation earlier had unsettled ONE. Ao had always thought men, especially warriors, were proud to display their craft. Her prejudice had held her back from noticing that the cause of ONE's failure was her. Shyness; yet, in her mind she could somehow equate that to the somewhat awkward ONE.
They sat in silence again, this time the silence comfortable. Ao's weariness finally returned and sapped her remaining energy. Her eyes drooped and her body grew invitingly heavy. Just as she decided she would retire for the night, the bitter tang of smoke filtered through her mouth and nostrils. She gagged. Her drooping eyes flew open and she saw that smoke curled in around their camp. Bright light flared up in the forest to their left. She did not have to see to know that the forest was on fire. Her pulse drummed in her ears. Something was terribly wrong.
FIVE was already at her side. He forced her to her horse and hoisted her onto its bare back easily. He leapt onto his own and urged his mount forward without the use of a prop. Her horse followed without guidance. Ao tangled her fingers in its mane and glanced back to the horse they had supposedly left behind. But the horse galloped alongside them and then she saw ONE drop from above the treetops onto its back. She felt herself slipping off her mount even with her hands clutched tightly in its mane. Her panic doubled and she opened her mouth to scream as she fell to the side, but ONE grasped her arm and righted her. In one graceful motion, he leapt onto her horse behind her, wrapped an arm around her middle, and tangled his other into the horse's mane above her hands.
"You'll be okay," he whispered into her ear.
At the first sound of his voice, images burst into her mind. The dark magician in the tower pinned her down with his larger body. He stripped away her clothes. Intense pain shot up her loins. Fear like no other paralyzed her and then his dark magic broke into her mind, forcing in his insanity.
Ao screamed until her voice cracked and her consciousness left her. She welcomed the darkness that engulfed everything, but she could still hear the cackle of the magician from far away as she slumped forward on her horse.
Next: Aozora's Loneliness
04. Aozora's Gratitude
In the morning, her first escort was gone, but the second remained with her. His visor continued to be set down over his face, but his head drooped forward. Ao observed him and concluded that he was sleeping. She avoided her escorts yesterday, but the comforting proximity of his fire at night reminded her that they had her best interests at heart. She sat near the still smoking fire across from him. Her thoughts churned with happy memories of Masaki and she wondered if he missed her. She did not know how much time passed when the magician-warrior suddenly jerked awake. Ao flinched back in surprise.
The second escort noticed her reaction and inclined his head to her. She thought he greeted her so she returned the gesture, but he inclined his head again. Ao realized he was apologizing for having frightened her. She also realized that she had never heard him speak. At that moment, her stomach grumbled loudly and she blushed. In the palace, she had never known hunger. She stood and returned to her sleeping spot away from him in hopes that by avoiding him she did not have to admit her need.
To her relief, he did not approach her; like the first escort, he left her alone. He stood and stretched then turned away from her, raised his visor, and washed his face from a filled sack-skin. Curious, Ao found her gaze wandering back to him. She watched as he went through a few muscle exercises and felt a twinge of envy since her own muscles ached.
As the second man went into a set of lunges, the first escort returned with two fowls he had caught. Ao watched as they plucked the fowls, gutted them, then roasted them over a spit. Her stomach grumbled again and she clutched her abdomen in embarrassment, but they ignored her; until the meat cooked to a golden brown, then the first warrior-magician offered her a whole roasted fowl.
"Thank you," she said as she took it, and she wondered what he thought of her because he stared at her for a few more seconds before turning away again.
Ao averted her eyes as she ate. She chewed slowly. When she finished, she saw that they had already finished and were waiting for her. Embarrassed all over again, she said nothing. They bridled and saddled the horses. As she watched, she realized she had missed the chance to see their faces because they could not have eaten with their visors on.
*
They rode as hard as they did the first and second day, but stopped before nightfall. Grateful, Ao sank to the hard ground beneath a different tree and watched the two men tend to the horses. She was tired, but rather than sleep, she forced herself to keep awake. Soon, the second escort came to her and started a campfire as near her as he dared. She watched closely, forgetting to hide her curiosity, as he pressed his palms together over the logs and sticks he had piled together. As he drew his hands apart, flames flickered to life between his palms. But the flames withered and died. She blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought these two men were capable of failing.
The second magician-warrior sat back on his heels and hesitated.
"You shouldn’t stare at him so closely, Princess."
Ao turned to the first magician-warrior who had spoken to her.
When she turned, the campfire flared to life. Her heart sank in disappointment that she had missed the moment of the spell’s invocation. The first magician-warrior placed a comforting hand on the second's shoulder before moving away. The second man bowed his head, touched his visor to make sure it was intact, and finally moved away also. Ao wondered what the passing gesture between them meant. She missed conversation. She missed Masaki even more for all the times he'd run to her to tell her the excitements that passed in his day.
Ao waited as the first magician-warrior sat opposite her and the second disappeared into the darkness beyond the nearest trees. A few questions that had been tugging at her curiosity since the beginning returned and she knew this was the best time to ask. Her voice strangely hoarse from disuse, she had to force herself to speak louder over the crackle of the fire.
"Pardon me," she said and waited until she thought he was looking at her. "What can I call you and the other one?"
The first magician-warrior pointed to himself. "FIVE." He indicated the forest where the second man had left. "ONE."
His answer surprised her and brought forth another wave of different questions.
"Do you not know each other's names?"
This time, he hesitated before answering. When he did, FIVE spoke slowly as if he picked his words carefully. "Our identities are a secret known only to our lord."
She realized her two escorts might not even know each other's faces. The idea had never occurred to her. Stunned, she sat blinking at the fire for a few seconds. Then she asked another question.
"Is ONE unable to speak?" She'd seen FIVE whisper to ONE a few times, but if ONE ever verbally responded she had not had the chance to hear.
Again, FIVE said cautiously, "We are not encouraged to speak in case our voices become familiar."
Ao felt foolish for not making the connection. She had even more questions, but this time refrained from asking. After all, he probably did not wish for his voice to be recognized. So she drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around herself and said, "Thank you for answering." He could have ignored her like many of the officials back at the palace.
To her surprise, FIVE spoke without her initiation. "You, Princess, is the first of your rank to give thanks. For that I also thank you."
Ao had never thought herself different from the others at court. She had spent all of her life trying to live up to the queen's expectations. Only after his statement did she realize it was true; she had never heard the courtiers, much less the king and queen, express gratitude. For the first time since she traveled with them, Ao felt pride swell in her breast. She leaned into her knees and hid half of her face to hide her happiness that he had recognized this part of her.
"He is also shy," FIVE broke in suddenly.
Ao blinked at him without comprehension of what he referred to.
FIVE added, "Don’t stare too closely at him. He is strong and won't fail you otherwise."
With a rush of realization, Ao knew what FIVE meant. The campfire crackled heartily before her and she flushed as she stared into its orange depths. Her close observation earlier had unsettled ONE. Ao had always thought men, especially warriors, were proud to display their craft. Her prejudice had held her back from noticing that the cause of ONE's failure was her. Shyness; yet, in her mind she could somehow equate that to the somewhat awkward ONE.
They sat in silence again, this time the silence comfortable. Ao's weariness finally returned and sapped her remaining energy. Her eyes drooped and her body grew invitingly heavy. Just as she decided she would retire for the night, the bitter tang of smoke filtered through her mouth and nostrils. She gagged. Her drooping eyes flew open and she saw that smoke curled in around their camp. Bright light flared up in the forest to their left. She did not have to see to know that the forest was on fire. Her pulse drummed in her ears. Something was terribly wrong.
FIVE was already at her side. He forced her to her horse and hoisted her onto its bare back easily. He leapt onto his own and urged his mount forward without the use of a prop. Her horse followed without guidance. Ao tangled her fingers in its mane and glanced back to the horse they had supposedly left behind. But the horse galloped alongside them and then she saw ONE drop from above the treetops onto its back. She felt herself slipping off her mount even with her hands clutched tightly in its mane. Her panic doubled and she opened her mouth to scream as she fell to the side, but ONE grasped her arm and righted her. In one graceful motion, he leapt onto her horse behind her, wrapped an arm around her middle, and tangled his other into the horse's mane above her hands.
"You'll be okay," he whispered into her ear.
At the first sound of his voice, images burst into her mind. The dark magician in the tower pinned her down with his larger body. He stripped away her clothes. Intense pain shot up her loins. Fear like no other paralyzed her and then his dark magic broke into her mind, forcing in his insanity.
Ao screamed until her voice cracked and her consciousness left her. She welcomed the darkness that engulfed everything, but she could still hear the cackle of the magician from far away as she slumped forward on her horse.
Next: Aozora's Loneliness