Masters of Fate, Slaves to Duty

Chapter 3


It was two days later before Tatsu saw the light of day, though it was against his will. What he thought was a hallucination of two women lovingly wrapped around his arms turned out to be two men forcefully taking away his pipe and dragging him out of the opium den. Before his eyes could adjust to the sun’s light, he was thrown into a carriage with curtained windows. He opened his eyes at one point and found the small man who he had grappled with two nights ago.

He lifted a finger and started to say something, but a man sitting next to him pushed his arm back down. He then turned to say something to the other person, but he couldn’t focus his eyes enough to distinguish who was there. On top of that, the bumpy ride was hindering his drug-induced haze, and his body started to ache with his oncoming sobriety. He caught bits and pieces of a whispered conversation between the two of them, and the words ‘dishonor’ and ‘scandal’ stood out in his memory.

After an hour of sitting on the hard, wooden seat and several moments of near nausea, the carriage stopped and the sun blazed again. The two men dragged him away again, and Tatsu fought to get his feet under him through the whole journey. By the time he managed to get some control over his tingling limbs, they had stopped again, and shoved his head into a cold bucket of water.

This was more of a shock than his riddled system could handle. As he threw his head back and coughed in the rush of air, his stomach doubled him over as his body was wreaked with dry heaves. The pain coursed through his muscles as he was forced to the ground, and as they finally started to recede, he closed his eyes and let his body slip away into the painless bliss of sleep.

~*~*~

It was dark when he finally came around. His body still ached, and his blood felt hot in his veins. He slowly moved to get up, and realized he didn’t recognize his surroundings. The room was barren of any decoration or furniture except for the mattress he slept on. The doors to the outside were open, and he could hear the sound of water flowing as a cool breeze blew into the room.

A door opened behind him. “So, you finally awake?” asked a familiar voice.

Tatsu groaned as Miki entered, laughing at his friend’s pain as he offered a hand to help him from the floor. “You know, that’s a nasty habit you’ve acquired.”

Rather than taking the bait, Tatsu decided to keep his mouth shut. Miki just shook his head at the man’s silence, content to let him wallow in his own self-pity.

“Look, I brought you back to the palace because you have nowhere else to go. Get cleaned up and come find me. I need your help tonight.”

The outdoor bath was nice, and the open air was refreshing. His body’s aches were dulled by the hot water, and the steam and smelling salts helped to clear the remainder of the haze from his mind.

On his walk back, he discovered that the house where he woke up was on the outskirts of the palace. So when he saw someone coming from the opposite direction, he was immediately cautious. As he drew closer, he saw it was a medicine man that simply gave him a tip of his straw hat as they passed each other.

He met Miki as he was coming out of another room of the house. His face was tense, and his eyes were worried.

“Something wrong?” Tatsu asked as he approached.

Miki shook his head. “Not now, but I need your help tonight. I need to help Foxx make arrangements for his journey to the southern islands, and I can’t leave Sakiko alone. She is in the first months of her pregnancy, and it’s made her very ill of late.”

Tatsu smiled at the man, and slapped him on the back. “A little one of your own, eh? That should be enough to bring you down to everyone else’s level.”

Miki tried to smile and laugh it off, but Tatsu could still see the concern in his eyes. He acted like he didn’t notice. “Look, I’m here for you. Go help the Admiral, and please, make sure my son isn’t leaving with him.”

Miki nodded before he walked away. Even though he had children of his own, Tatsu couldn’t relate to the man’s concerns. He wasn’t around when his children came into the world. Miki had been there for ‘her’. He had seen the pain she had experienced first-hand. Though his children were fine, she wasn’t as well off after they were born. He hadn’t had the chance to meet Sakiko yet, but he had a feeling the circumstances were definitely different this time.

Tatsu made his way back to the house, and heard a child’s laughter coming from around the corner. He inched forward and found Seimei playing in the water garden. She was standing in the koi pond, her pink kimono pulled up past her knees so the hem didn’t get wet. She had grown so much more while he was gone. Her hair was past her waist, and it shined under the moon’s light. Gone was the baby fat, leaving behind a young girl who was going to grow into a beautiful young woman. She had his eyes and nose, but the smile belonged to her mother.

He rounded the corner and stopped were she could see him. He saw movement further back in the garden, and found the silver-haired woman from the party watching over Seimei. She was standing below a blossoming cherry tree, wrapped in a dark kimono that would have concealed her in the darkness if it weren’t for her unusual hair. The man from the carriage ride stood behind her, watching their surroundings from over her shoulder.

“Daddy!” Seimei yelled as she jumped out of the pond and ran to him.

Tatsu scooped her up into his arms, and held on to her. He was ashamed that his children were almost ten years of age, and he barely knew them.

“Daddy, I can’t breathe,” she said, trying to push against him.

Tatsu laughed and set her down, where she promptly punched him the gut. “Where have you been?” she fussed, chastising him like he was the child and she the adult.


~*~*~

She stood under the tree as the breeze took what was left of her breath while she watched the exchange between father and daughter.

‘It can’t be! It simply can’t be!’ she thought as she watched him scoop up the young girl.

~*~*~

“Where is he, Miki? I’ve been back for two days, and the only face I’ve seen is yours. Not that I don’t like to look at you, but it’s been awhile. Where is he, where are my children?!”

He ushered her across the palace grounds, and up the stairs to the main building. “We’ll talk about it later!” he said, pretending to be offended while urging her along. “Now hurry, your brother is waiting for us.”

The two of them ran through the main halls, dodging the staff like a couple of kids running away from the scene of some misdemeanor. She was pleased with the opportunity to see her brother again. Miki had explained what had happened after she departed for Shikoku with Tamaki. She wasn’t angry at his decision to stay out of the situation. His administration was still too new at that point to embroil itself in that conflict. What bothered her was that Miki was here, but Tatsu was nowhere to be seen, and no one would give her a straight answer as to his whereabouts.

They stopped in front of the large cherry doors that led to the main hall. Both of them were breathing hard from the run, and the guards at the door simply ignored them. Miki looked to her, frowned, and set about straightening her kimono.

“We can’t present ourselves to His Highness looking like this,” he said, fussing with her hair while she situated her obi. She sighed as his hands played with her hair. “I can’t believe your hair. What’s worse is that I’ve heard the staff whispering about it. Just yesterday I heard a rumor that you and I had the same ronin father who cut a path across the countryside while spreading his seed amongst the poor and lonely old ladies along the way.”

She had to stifle a laugh, opting instead to slap Miki on the arm. Once the two of them were presentable again, the guards allowed them entry to the main hall. The Emperor sat alone on his dais behind a thin curtain, and the only other person in the room was the Council. They had chosen today to meet because the Empress had some personal affairs to attend to. She had not met her brother’s wife yet, and neither was sure if sooner was better than later.

They shuffled across the hall until they reached the base of the dais, avoiding direct eye contact along the way. She got down on her knees in a ladylike manner as dictated by protocol, and bowed with her nose only an inch from the mat. Miki and the Council took positions behind her on the floor.

“Rise, my dear sibling. We are blood, therefore we are equals,” said the Emperor in his soft voice. “I’m glad you have safely returned to us.”

She gave a short bow. “Thank you, your Highness. I’m happy to come home to my family as well.”

A small smile crossed his face. “I will keep this brief, my dear sister. You are to be wed in five days time. A suitor has come forward to claim your hand.”

She couldn’t contain her happiness. Her hands flew to her face as a tear slipped from her eye. ‘That’s why I haven’t seen him. He set up this for me!’

The Emperor nodded his head in approval. “I see we are in agreement. Admiral Foxx will be happy to hear it.”

“What?” she said, speaking out before remembering her rank in society. She bowed again. “Admiral Foxx has asked for me?”

“Yes, we will hold the ceremony at the shrine here on the palace grounds. Unfortunately I am not able to attend, so the Empress will represent me,” he said, nodding in approval.

The Emperor stood up behind his curtain, made a short bow, and left the room before the others could bow in return. She stared at the throne for a moment longer, her emotions in such turmoil that she couldn’t decide what to feel first.

Miki put a hand on her shoulder. “I assure you,” he said, his voice low to keep it from carrying across the hall. “I was not aware of this.”

The Council cleared his throat behind them. She had forgotten he was even in the room. “Admiral Foxx came to me after he brought you back to the castle. He inquired about courting a young member of the Empress’s staff named Kurenai. It wasn’t until I saw you with the children later that day that I realized that you were the woman he spoke of.”

The three of them stood up, and both men kept a close eye on her. Her eyes were vacant as she stared off into nothing. She knew she couldn’t argue. This decision had come from the Emperor himself, and it was binding and unbreakable. Miki supported her from behind when she started to sway.

The Council produced a pipe from his robes, and checked to see if it had tobacco inside. “It really is an excellent arrangement,” he explained, polishing the side of the pipe with his sleeve. “The man is infatuated with you, and the Emperor and I were both in agreement that it is a very good political match. It will help solidify our standing with Britain.”

Miki held her close, feeling her heart beat erratically as her body shook uncontrollably. “So, he knows nothing of her true identity? He thinks she is just a servant of the Empress?”

The Council gave a sly grin. “It seems our little sparrow has decided to spread her wings and hunt like an eagle. She has positioned herself well, whether that was her true intention or not. She can make sure our interests are met, and can inform us if the Royal Navy decides to sway another direction.”

That was all; it was just a marriage of convenience where she spied for her brother. She was well aware of Foxx’s feelings for her, but she had managed to halt his advances over the last couple of months. Her cover story had gotten deeper and more elaborate with each question that he asked. To his knowledge, she served the Empress directly. She did not come from wealth, and had decided to travel to the capital with her brother after their parents passed away. Both of them had found employ on the palace grounds. He never questioned her about her scars after the first day, which was good because she couldn’t possibly explain them without telling him everything. He knew nothing of her real history, and she was satisfied to keep it that way.

“So, I am to do your bidding again. Just throw my life away without any care about what I really want,” she said, her voice cracking as fury managed to force tears from her eyes. “What about my children? He knows nothing of them!”

The Council stared at her coldly. It was the same look he had given Miki and Tatsu when they argued about her safe return from Tamaki. “Minor details,” the Council said, dismissing her concerns as he turned away in a flurry of cloth. “We’ll have everything ready for you in five days time. As of now, you have given up your life as Osahito Ayume. You will simply be known as Kurenai, and I will make sure you have a position with the Empress.”

The tall man was almost to the exit when she had one more thought. “What about Tatsumaki?” she yelled to him.

He paused at the doors. “Gone,” he said without turning around, as if he had anticipated that she would ask about him eventually. “It would be in your best interest if you just forgot about that drifter. Your life no longer has room for him.”

The doors at the end of the hall closed with a soft thump before she screamed. The next five days came and went. On the day of the wedding, the palace grounds were empty. All of the staff had gone into the city to watch the cherry blossoms. The traditional ceremony was held at the small shrine on the palace grounds. The priest was set up outside, with Miki and Davin standing on either side of him. As she approached with her groom, she saw the Empress staring at her from the shrine itself, guarded from the petals that twirled through the air. The ceremony was simple, and as a symbol of their bond, Foxx insisted that they wore matching gold rings. She didn’t understand the ritual, but since it came from his religious beliefs, she did not have a problem with it. It’s not like she was actually there anyway. Her spirit had escaped her body five days before, leaving only her empty shell in this white kimono.

‘Gone’, the word radiated through her mind even as she accepted another man as her spouse. Gone from her life, or gone from the world? She didn’t know, and now she had no one she could ask. She was more alone now than she had been in her life. She bit back the tears that had flowed for the last five days, and with each step toward their departing wedding carriage, a small part of her heart died.

~*~*~

Tatsu smiled at his daughter, and rubbed the top of her head. “I’m sorry, I was on a top secret mission for the Emperor. But if you’ve been a good girl, I might have brought something back for you.”

She pouted at the lack of details. “Uncle Miki said you were useless.”

Tatsu raised an eyebrow at her admonition. Sweeping her back up into his arms, he said, “Speaking of your uncle, can you show me to Sakiko’s room?”

Seimei shook her head furiously. “Nope, I was told to play outside tonight and let her rest. Miss Kurenai is watching over me.”

She pointed to the trees where he had seen the woman before, but now the tree stood alone.

“Oh,” she said, looking around the garden. “Well, she was over there.”

Tatsu looked around as well, but both Kurenai and the other man were gone. He didn’t see or hear either of them leave.

“Well, maybe she went to check on Sakiko,” he said, carrying her back to the house. “Now, why don’t you tell me what you’ve learned while I was gone.”

Stick around for more of this tale!