The Promise 3

As evening arrived Hettsu found her spirit descend into darkness with the setting sun. “I have nothing now. Nothing.”, she thought. “Even the princess has abandoned me.” She couldn't even cry anymore. All her tears were spent, and all she had left was emptiness. She sat in her room, shadows slowly creeping across the floor, almost numb.

Her door slid open as her mother rushed into the room. “You look beautiful in your new kimono!”, she exclaimed with a clap of her hands. “When I was your age I had many proposals from handsome young men. Your father won my heart, though.” She rubbed Hettsu's back lovingly. “Sato san is a handsome young man. You'll be happy in time. You'll see.”

Within moments, Lord Hoshino arrived with his wife and son. Hettsu was led to the room and knelt beside her mother and brother, eyes downcast.

“Let's not waste time with formalities!”, Lord Hoshino said gruffly. He was a wealthy and highly influential man and got that way because he was ruthless. Even his demeanor was abrasive. “I'm only agreeing to this marriage because you agreed to give me the land your husband left you when he died. I'll permit you to live here until you die.", he nodded to Hettsu's mother. "Then I will take possession. Do you still agree?” He looked at Hettsu's mother expectantly, barely hiding his disdain. He didn't like the lower classes at all.

“Yes”, she replied softly bowing her head.

“Good”, he replied sharply, pushing a document across the table. “Sign this, both you and your son. And you should be glad I agree to my son marrying a servant. At least her children will be of good stock!"

Her mother's face showed the shame his words cast on her as she readied to affix her seal to the document. She had barely put seal to wax when noise from outside distracted both her and the others. Two of the emperor's guards entered the house, startling everyone.

“What is the meaning of this?', Tatsuki said as he stood.

The first guard responded. “Kneel for the princess!” Tatsuki dropped to his knees, looking at his mother, his expression conveying his shock. Hettsu's head snapped up and her face lit up with a glimmer of hope as Haruna entered the room.

“Your highness!”, Lord Hoshino's attitude quickly turned humble. “I'm honored that you came to see my son's future wife.”

“Yes”, she said with sarcasm dripping in her voice. “I'm sure you are.” She glanced over at Hettsu. “However, this girl will be marrying no one.”

Hettsu's mother gasped, while Lord Hoshino looked confused. “But the arrangement is made, your highness!”, he stuttered.

“That's not true!', Hettsu interjected. “Mother hasn't signed yet!”

Haruna turned to look at Lord Hoshino, her face stone cold. “It doesn't matter whether your document was signed or not. She will not be marrying anyone.”

“I must protest!”, Lord Hoshino shouted. “If necessary, I will take this up with the emperor! You're still just the princess! You have no right to do this!”

Haruna's eyes blazed with fire at his challenge. “You may well try to take this up with my father, but you will find he ordered it!” She threw an edict from her father at Lord Hoshino. “He has ordered this girl to be expelled from Togakure village as he views her as a problem.”

Hettsu's mother started crying. "Please princess! I beg you not to take my child from me!"

Hettsu herself was confused but thankful even to be taken away. Anything to avoid this marriage.

“May we visit her, your highness?”, Tatsuki asked, comforting their mother.

“Yes, we will permit you to visit. This is simply to keep her out of the palace and away from me so I can fulfill my duties without distraction from troublesome girls and I agreed. She will be taken to a village near Koga, well out of the way.” Haruna nodded to the guards who stood Hettsu up by her arms.

“I will send you her exact location when she's arrived.”, Haruna said coldly. She then waved her hand directing the guards to leave with the girl. Hettsu looked over her shoulder with a bit of fear as she was led out of her home. Haruna then turned back to Lord Hoshino. “Isn't it a blessing that your son won't have such a lowly wife? You'll have to be content with sacrificing someone else for your own greed.”, she sneered. Hoshino's face turned red as he boiled with rage.

And as suddenly as she arrived, Haruna left the house leaving both family and would-be father-in-law stunned.

“Come!”, Lord Hoshino shouted at his wife and son. “This just proves the emperor isn't fit to lead us! If I never do anything else in this life, I will live to see him dead, along with that cursed daughter of his!”

For her part, Hettsu was confused and frightened but relieved to be rescued from her fate. After an hour or so they arrived at a temple high in the mountains and she was taken to the abbess, an elderly woman with a kind, smiling face. She had been a Buddhist nun since she was a young woman. The guards spoke with her briefly, then departed. The abbess put her hand on Hettsu's arm. “Don't be frightened, child. You're not going to be a prisoner here or anywhere else.” Hettsu was even more confused.

“I'm...I'm sorry. I wish I knew what was happening.”, she said softly.

“I understand. This must be a lot to take in. You'll understand soon.” The abbess took the girl's hand and led her across the temple grounds to a small building filled with simple, but comfortable furnishings. “This is your new home. Please make yourself comfortable. I'll arrange food to be sent to you and water for bathing” She left Hettsu alone with her confusion and questions. She took in her new surroundings. Sitting on the floor, she found the pillows beneath her to be soft and comfortable and soon laid down trying to process everything.

“So, the king ordered me banished, but I'm only an hour away from the palace instead of in Koga. Why? And why would the king suddenly order me to be banished?”, she thought. As she laid mulling these things over, a light tapping broke the silence. Hettsu stood. “Please, come in Abbess.”

The door opened slowly. “Do I really look like an old abbess?”

Hettsu's face lit like the sun. “Princess!”

Haruna nodded and stood with her hands clasped behind her back. “I trust this place is comfortable enough?”

“Yes, princess.” Hettsu smiled wide. “I suspected you arranged this. Thank you very much.”

Haruna remained stoic. “You're welcome.”

“Please, if you will, tell me why your father ordered me banished to Koga. Surely, he knows I've stayed away from the palace, doesn't he?”, Hettsu was eager to understand this whole situation.

“I requested it.”, the princess replied flatly. Hettsu was deflated. “You? Why? Have I displeased you? If so, I'm very sorry, your highness. I never..” As was her custom with the girl's outbursts the princess interrupted her by placing her fingers on the girl's lips.

“You do assume the worst, don't you?”, Haruna said. “Have I ever given you any reason to think such things?” Hettsu slowly shook her head in the negative.

“Then stop speaking and start listening.” The princess explained the events of the evening. “I knew your plight as you explained it to me at the river. I went to my father and requested you be banished to permit me to meet his expectations as a dutiful daughter. He, of course, was pleased with what we thought was my change of heart, and being so pleased he agreed.”

“But what if I had been sent to Koga? The guards do the emperor's bidding.”

Haruna allowed a slight smile to show itself. “Do you think I'm without loyal followers in the palace, Hettsu? I had my father assign my personal guard to the deed, ensuring I could bring you here.”

Hettsu smiled as tears began to fill her eyes. “You did all this for me?”

Haruna's stoic mask faded momentarily. “Not for you alone.” She lifted a hand to gently wipe a tear from the girl's cheek. “You see, no one takes what belongs to me.”

Hettsu cocked her head. That last sentence was unexpected. “You mean your servant?”

Haruna scanned the girl's face slowly, not a word in response to the girl's question. After what seemed hours, in reality just moments, she finally managed a response, looking at the tears still wet on her fingers.

“I mean my friend”, she looked deep into Hettsu's eyes, then breathed in deeply, straightened her spine and the stoic look returned. “Don't leave the temple grounds, else all this effort will be for nothing. I'll come see you as time permits. If you need anything just tell the abbess and she will get a message to me safely. Do you understand?”

“Yes, princess.” Hettsu felt so much weight lift from her heart. “And thank you again.”

Haruna nodded and strode to the door, pausing to turn and look at the girl again. “Goodnight, Hettsu.”

************
Kenji Watanabe wasn't a man to be challenged. Inheriting his wealth passed down for generations, he was not only a landowner, but he was a samurai; one of the most respected in the land. His pride and honor were of extreme importance to him and that is where the emperor had become his enemy. The emperor's father had elevated Kenji to high status in the kingdom, even making him his most intimate advisor and head of the royal council. But when his son, the present emperor, ascended to the throne he immediately replaced Kenji with the emperor's childhood friend-a man of lower rank and far less experience. Kenji was publicly shamed and vowed to see the emperor replaced as well. He left the emperor's council and retired to his home, from where he brought together the various factions of resistance to the emperor in an effort to remove him or kill him, preferably kill him. He now sat with his his co-conspirators to discuss the situation they faced.

“Just days ago, the emperor shamed yet another good man, as he has each of us.”, he said grimly.

“Who this time?”, a gray-haired man sitting to Kenji's right piped up.

“This time it was Lord Hoshino, Takahashi san.”, he replied. A collective outburst of disgust followed.

“I'm afraid it might be much worse.”

“What could be worse than this?”, another of their number shouted.

Kenji looked at each of them men in silence for a moment. “I've asked Master Kobo to explain what could be worse.” He looked over to the old priest and nodded.

Kobo was well known for his wisdom and support of the resistance movement. His salt and pepper hair and sharp, cruel eyes gave him a menacing appearance. He sat fingering his prayer beads and spoke slowly.
“Our ancestors knew many good days, but also saw some of the darkest in the land. No doubt many of you are familiar with the story of the Majo.” He was cut off by a fat man at his right.

“What do silly myths have to do with this? Surely, we should be pursuing more important things, priest!”

Kobo raised his hand to silence his listeners who were all nodding and grumbling their agreement. “I assure you, what I have to say is very important to our cause.” The grumbling stopped and he continued. “The Majo perverted our religion, developing her strange practices of Onmyodo. She manipulated nature and poisoned the minds of both men and women, such that they turned on the greatest emperor we had-Emperor Minato.”

“Yes, yes. We all know this.”, a voice shouted.

Kobo nodded. “And we also know that when they put the Majo to death finally, she prophesied that she would return to get revenge on the children and grandchildren of all who took part in her demise.” He paused to look at every one of his listeners. “Those children and grandchildren are us. Now, this is where I will reveal more of the story kept hidden for the past one hundred years.” He shifted in his seat and raised his chin to look at the ceiling. “Her powers began as simple nature magic. She could make trees grow, crops thrive, water flow or cease; she was popular with commoners because of this. She helped them have more fruitful harvests and because of this they lived more comfortably. If she had remained like this no one would have bothered with her. However, one day a slave girl was caught stealing food from the emperor's tax collector. She attempted to run from the royal guard and was killed with an arrow to her back. This made the Majo furious, and her magic became something much darker than making crops grow. She was able to call on Oni, those foul demons of forest and mountain, to wage war on men. It was then that we learned how evil she truly was.”

“What does this history lesson have to do with the emperor?”, a man with a scar across his face interjected.

The priest continued. “It has everything to do with our situation! Please be patient as I explain. The Majo was born on the fourth day of the month, in the fourth year of the cycle. In addition, she had a birthmark on her wrist, the sign of the kitsune; a small fox head shaped birthmark.”

The men looked around at each other, stumped as to the point of this. Kenji spoke up. “I can see you're confused. There is more.”, Kenji said reassuringly. He turned his attention back to Kobo.

“I believe the Majo has reincarnated among us.", the priest continued. "There is one in the palace who was also born on the fourth day of the month, in the fourth year of our present cycle.”

Once again, the council erupted into various gasps, exclamations of disbelief, and murmuring. “Who? Tell us, old man!”

“Please!", Kobo said above the noise. “I believe the Majo is none other than the princess! I wasn't sure until I was asked to bless her and noticed that she bears the sign of the kitsune in the exact spot on her wrist. I saw it with my own eyes. I firmly believe she is the Majo reincarnated!”

Multiple voices shouted. “What do we do then?”
"Kill her!"
"Cursed bloodline!"

The old man shouted above the noise. “Our ancestors were only able to capture her with the assistance of the Sohei!”

“They hate us now!”, someone shouted, the group still grumbling.

Kenji spoke. “We don't need them! We have the advantage, my friends. The princess is unaware of her identity. As long as she remains unaware, we can do away with her. Reincarnation removes memories, after all. So, we can move against her as we would any other woman.”

Kobo nodded in agreement. “Yes, this is true. But I do have one warning for you; should she remember, she will undoubtedly be more than any army can resist. You must make your move carefully and quickly. I suggest a kidnapping and then she can be dispensed with.”

“To that end”, Kenji leaned forward. “This is my plan.”