The Cloaked Samurai

"Good morning, my lady," Maemi greeted, opening the door and waking you up.

You groaned and sat up, rubbing your eyes. Maemi was already lifting your sleeve to check on your bandaged arm. It throbbed in pain when she lightly touched it.

"Ow, cut it out!" you complained, pulling away.

"If we don't treat it properly, there will be a terrible scar, my lady," Maemi said, reaching to take your arm again. "It will be harder to hide that for the rest of your life."

You sighed at let her rebandage your arm, trying to keep from shouting at her when she applied an ointment that made your arm burn like crazy. When she was finally finished, she helped you prepare for the day.

The day passed uneventfully, but you were nervous for your lesson. Even Maemi sensed your tension.

"You are not obligated to attend, my lady," she said quietly, wrapping the cloths around your chest.

"Yes, I am. It's my fault all of this happened. I should take the blame and face the punishment," you replied, but you were dreading it. Your palms were sweaty, and you felt sick to your stomach. Your face was noticeably flushed.

"You look ill. Perhaps your wound is infected. You should stay here," Maemi tried one last time to keep you from going.

"Then I should at least tell Farren and Farrah goodbye. I know they'll kick me out of the dojo. I should leave with dignity instead of just disappearing," you answered, opening the door. "I'll be back soon."

You made your way slowly to the dojo, taking along a pouch to pay for your last lessons. No one greeted you at the door the way they usually did. You entered the lesson room, and Farrah was sitting inside. You approached her and bowed, offering her the pouch full of coins.

"It's my last payment. Thank you very much for the lessons," you said softly.

"Please, sit down," Farrah said, taking the pouch. You sat in front of her, looking at the ground.

"I'm going to talk to you about what happened yesterday," she started. Her voice was sad and calm, not frustrated as you would've expected. "I understand that Mr. Goro was probably bothering you. He has always had a jealous streak, a competitive nature. When he targeted you, why didn't you tell Farren or me? Why did you keep it to yourself?"

"I wanted to fight him myself and prove my strength," you muttered.

"Men! Can you side-step your pride for once and look at this rationally? You could've been seriously injured over a petty argument! Although this is a place to train fighters, Farren and I have always felt that everything should be settled peacefully if at all possible. If you had told one of us about the problem, we could've found a different way to work it out," Farrah explained.

"I didn't mean for it to turn out this way. Things just went too far, and before I knew it, I was fighting him. I'm sorry! I know you and Farren are angry with me, and I'm willing to leave the dojo-"

"Angry? We've been so worried about you!" Farrah exclaimed. You looked up. "Mr. Akio, I know you're a good person. I believe you when you say that you regret your actions, but we're afraid of how you'll view this event from now on. Will you fight out all your simplest disagreements? Will you kill without mirth?" Farrah looked away. "Farren said he saw something when he approached you. Goro was trembling with fear, and you... well, he said you were enjoying it."

This statement shocked you. Had you really been rejoicing in Goro's fear? You remembered the feeling of being superior, of being right, of overpowering those who dared to challenge you.

"Farren has been meditating all night on what to do. We've seen the kindest of men become ruthless killers when improperly trained. We don't want that to happen to you. Farren and I both care about you, Mr. Akio. I don't know what we'd do if you turned into that kind of person," Farrah said. Her eyes were full of worry and concern. You felt guilty for making her so upset. She was more than just a teacher; she was a friend.

"If you will allow it, I would like to continue lessons, teacher," you said.

Before she could reply, Farren came into the room. His eyes were grave.

"We cannot punish Akio," he said. He looked tired but anxious about something. "I had a sudden feeling that something bad will happen to Akio when he returns home."

"Do you know exactly what it was?" Farrah asked, standing up and steadying her brother, who was starting to sway. He slowly shook his head.

"Mr. Akio, help me take him to his room," Farrah said, putting one of his arms over her shoulders. You supported him on the other side, and the two of you helped him to his room. You slowly set him down on the futon as Farrah went to get food and water.

"Your arm, Akio..." Farren mumurmed, looking at the sleeve of your shirt. Maemi had washed and sewn it back together.

"It's fine. Haven't you slept or eaten anything since yesterday afternoon?" you asked. He shook his head, closing his eyes. His face was pale. You gently brushed a strand of brown hair from his forehead. He reached up and grasped your hand.

"You're not ready to see death yet, Akio," he whispered. You blushed when he spoke. "I'd like to keep you innocent forever, but that isn't possible anymore. I just hope you won't have to witness death for a long time."

Farrah reentered the room, and Farren released your hand. She knelt by his side and slowly lifted his head, helping him to drink a little water.

"You should go home, Akio," Farrah said. "Farren's instincts are usually pretty sharp. Something bad really might have happened."

You nodded, bowing and leaving. You hurried home, but you also had a horrible gut feeling. You had always been told that what goes around comes around in karma, and it looked like your true punishment was just around the corner.

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"Lady _____! You finally returned!" Maemi sighed thankfully, stripping you down as quickly as possible. "Lord Natsu and Lady Toki have been wanting to talk to you. It is all I could do to hold them off."

"Thank you, Maemi," you said, quickly changing into your kimono and letting your hair loose.

You hurried to the main room of the house, draping your veil over your face. You went inside, bowed to your parents and the guest, and you sat down.

"_____, this is Mr. Jiro. He is a messenger from the royal palace on behalf of Prince Keiji," your father introduced the guest. You gave a small nod.

"Lady _____, I pray that you are in good health. Fortune has smiled upon you. On behalf of Prince Keiji, I have come to ask your parents for you," the messenger said. "Prince Keiji has requested that you become Lady and soon to be Princess Kioko's first Lady-in-Waiting."

Lady-in-Waiting? That was just a fancy name for a concubine!

"We have agreed upon the terms. In three days, you will be ceremonially bonded to Prince Keiji," your father informed you. Your vision began to spin. Your parents had just given you to Prince Keiji, to be his concubine. In three days, you would become a slave to his desires, breaking your sister's heart and destroying every hope for the future you had. You would be treated like royalty, but you would be trapped with the ruthless prince for the rest of your life. He would be free to do whatever he wanted to you.

You were faintly aware of your parents dismissing the messenger and coming over to you. Kioko came in and asked what had happened. Your parents explained, and she became as frozen as you. Everything was a blur, and the voices were distant. Servants and family alike were asking you questions, but you couldn't focus. This punishment was more terrible than you had ever imagined.

"Please, let this be a dream," you wished silently before blacking out.