Chapter 7

The little thief

The daily visits to the temple became Mai’s routine. She found it refreshing. She would walk and joke with Shinji. The young samurai was annoying at times, but was a good buddy. Thankfully, he was able to get rid of his habit of blushing every time Mai spoke to him. The days were quite peaceful. Shinji was slaving to get the temple clean. Mai was conversing with the priest or ventured on a little excursions to the village and to nearby meadow. The view was indeed breathtaking. Mai had never seen such vivid green.

This time, Mai peeked carefully and saw Shinji cleaning the statue of Buddha. She made silently her way to the exit and went to see, what was happening in the village. Unfortunately, she didn’t manage to conceal her identity from the villagers. Her kimono was plain navy blue, but made of fine fabric. And of course the hair reaching her knees. It was obvious, that only a princess could have such hair. The peasants were treating her friendly, but with reverence, always careful not to disrespect her. Mai wished, she could cut the damn hair. It would be easier to walk and she would look more like herself. However, if she was going to be fake princess, she couldn’t do it.

Mai stopped by the market to buy some apples. Her stomach started demanding food loudly. The woman selling fruit smiled at her cheerfully.

“Are you hungry, my lady? The peaches are very tasty today!”

“Actually, I wanted apples…” muttered Mai, as the woman was already packing peaches in a fabric bag along with apples and a couple of dried plums. Mai reached for a pocket in her sleeve to take out money and pay the woman for the fruit.

“It’s for free!” the fruit seller declined money. “I wouldn’t take a single coin from the Amayami-hime!”

“Look…” started Mai. “I have a lot of these and you are earning your living by selling fruit. Take the money already and buy something for your kids!”

Mai shoved coins in the woman’s hand, who stared at her with wide eyes. Eventually she accepted, smiling thankfully and offered a discount for the next time.

Mai took an apple from the bag and started eating. It tasted completely different than apples in her time. It was more juicy and the flavor of the fruit was strong. Generally, the food here was better than in 21th century. And the air was cleaner than back in Tokyo. Perhaps Mai would use a little vacation here. A couple of weeks won’t hurt, will they? Taking another bite, Mai made her way towards the temple

Mai was so deep in thought, she didn’t really notice the commotion behind her.

“Thief! Catch the thief!” yelled some men.

As she turned her head to see what was going on, a small shape darted past her. The apple slipped out of Mai’s hand and the girl inwardly cursed as she saw her lunch laying in dirt. Then the group of pursuers ran past her and Mai struggled to keep herself on the feet.

“Idiots.” she mumbled and stalked in the direction, where the men went. Anyway, it was the same direction, she was heading.

She heard the group of men shouting curses and threats, as they gathered in a circle. The thief, they were pursuing, was presumably in the middle of it. Beside her, there were a couple onlookers standing. The men were beating the thief.

“Maybe it’s a criminal,” – thought Mai – “but they are going to kill the man”. She looked around, but no one was about to intervene. She took a deep breath and rushed forward.

“What is going on here?” she demanded, shoving the two big peasants aside. Mai gasped, when she saw the actual criminal.

A little girl, not older than eight years old, was trying to shield herself with her arms from the attackers. She had ruffled black hair with a little ponytail on the one side and wore orange kimono of rather fine fabric. Mai could feel anger boiling in her.

“Are you insane?!” she shouted at the men, pushing herself between them and the girl. “How could you beat a little child? And you are calling yourself men?!”

“Move aside, woman!” ordered one of the pursuers.

Mai glared at him furiously, standing her ground. No way, she would let them beat up this girl. The man rushed towards Mai, but his companions grabbed him and started dragging him back.

“You fool!” shouted somebody from the crowd. “Don’t you know who she is? You will get executed!”

The attackers weren’t so eager anymore to beat the little thief. They must have known better than to attack the princess. Mai send them one more angry glare and leaned over the girl. She patted her back to calm her.

“It’s all right now, I won’t let them hurt you.” she said gently to the kid. Girl lifted her head to look at Mai. She glanced hopefully with big chocolate eyes. “God, she has the best puppy-eyes, I have ever seen.” – Mai thought.

Mai stood up and looked at the crowd. They were still standing there, as if they had nothing better to do. One of the men stepped out.

“It’s a thief, you are protecting, she stole from my stall!” the man said angrily, spitting on the ground. Mai couldn’t believe, that such innocent-looking child would be a thief, but decided not to argue. She sighed and reached to her pocket.

“Here you go. It should be more than enough.” she said giving him three golden coins. “Now let’s forget about the whole mess. The show is over!”

The village people started to return to their daily routine. Mai kneeled in front of girl and examined her. She seemed to be okay, bruises a most.

“It’s not right to steal from people, you know?” she asked the kid. The girl stared at her feet.

“I was hungry.” she said quietly. Mai felt pity for this child. She fished an apple from her bag and gave the girl. The child stared at apple and then at Mai, unsure whether to accept the fruit.

“Come on, I won’t let you starve, kid.” said Mai, smiling and trying to encourage the girl. The child eventually flashed a wide smile, muttered a quiet “thank you” and took the apple. She nearly swallowed the fruit. “She must had been starving” – thought Mai, passing another apple to the child.

In the end, Mai and the little girl with a big appetite were sitting on the temple stairs and eating fruit. Well, Mai was mostly staring at the child, who ate the entire supplies.

“Wow, you were sure hungry.” stated Mai. The girl nodded happily and smiled at her.

“Thank you. It was yummy!” said the kid smiling even wider. Mai thought she was cutest child, she had ever seen. She couldn’t believe, that anyone could even think of hurting her.

“I’m glad, that you liked it. Oh, and by the way I’m Mai.” Mai cursed inwardly, as she realized, that she had just said her real name instead of that of the princess’s.

“Nice to meet you, Mai.” said the cute kid. “I’m Rin!”

Chapter 8

A new friend

Mai watched the girl called Rin. She was a sweet child, but there was something wrong about her. Mai scanned her with her eyes. The kid had bare feet, a few bruises. Then Mai realized it. The kid had too expensive clothes to be a common village thief. Or maybe she stole the kimono as well?

“Rin,” said Mai to the girl. “It was a pleasure to meet you, but it’s getting late. I think it’s time to return you to your parents. You don’t want to worry them, do you?”

Rin looked up at Mai with sadness in her eyes and hung her head.

“I don’t have parents.” She said quietly. Mai opened her eyes wider. She knew how it was to be alone in the world. The girl felt compassion for the child. She reached out and embraced Rin. The little girl seemed to be surprised with the sudden show of affection.

“Poor thing.” said Mai quietly. Rin smiled and hugged Mai as well.

“I’m not sad.” said Rin. “My mother, my father and my brothers are dead, but Sesshomaru-sama is taking care of Rin.”

Mai released the kid from the embrace and looked at girl. She must be a strong one; she lost all her family at such a young age... and yet she put on a brave face.

“Sesshomaru-sama?” asked Mai, wondering if he was the girl’s relative or a neighbor perhaps. Rin’s eyes lit up at the mention of this name.

“Yes, he’s strong and kind. He will always protect Rin.” she exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Wow, seems like an amazing person. Where is he now?” Mai asked.

“He’s gone for a while and he told Rin to stay here,” answered Rin.

“He left you alone?” asked Mai. What idiot would leave an eight-year old without care and take off somewhere?

“He will come back for sure.” said Rin smiling to herself.

“Do you live somewhere in the village?” asked curious Mai.

“No.” Rin shook her head. “We travel all the time.”

“Travel? That’s interesting,” said Mai. She thought that travelling with such a small child was a bit irresponsible. “So, tell me, Rin, what is exactly Sesshomaru-sama’s occupation? What does he do?”

Rin didn’t respond right away. She looked at the nearby trees, thinking of an answer.

“He’s a warrior, I think.” she answered finally. Mai got even more interested.

“A wandering samurai? Does he have a sword?” the girl kept asking. Rin clapped her hands.

“Even two!” she exclaimed with joy and relaxed even more.

Soon, Mai learned that Rin was travelling with a samurai called Sesshomaru, his servant, Jaken, and horse, Ah-Un. The boss – that Sesshomaru – was pursuing some evil guy and fighting him from time to time. The kid adored the Sesshomaru guy. Whenever she mentioned him, her eyes would brighten up and she would blabber how awesome he was. From Rin’s story, Mai figured out that the samurai saved Rin’s life and now the child is following him.

“Rin, where do you sleep?” Mai asked the kid.

“In the forest,” the little girl answered, shrugging her shoulders as if it was the most usual thing in the world. Mai, on the other hand, was shocked by the thought of a child spending a night alone in the forest.

“That’s too dangerous.” stated Mai. “You should come with me. I can find you a nice room with a soft bed.”

Rin, to Mai’s surprise, opposed to the idea strongly. She shook her head stubbornly.

“Sesshomaru-sama told Rin to stay within the forest with Ah-Un and wait for him and Jaken-sama.” she told Mai.

“The forest is dangerous in the night!” Mai argued. “Stay at the temple then.”

“Rin will stay in the forest.” the girl repeated patiently.

Mai opened her mouth to argue more but closed it. She supposed there was no point in arguing with a child. Rin seemed to be a very stubborn little person who was going to do everything her caretaker said. However, Mai couldn’t just leave the girl alone. In the night, she would be cold and starving.

“Rin, wait for me here. I will be right back.” said Mai and climber the stairs leading to the temple.

She looked around for a piece of paper and something to write with. Then she made a list of everything a little girl could need while camping in the forest. She read it once again and added two more things.

“Shinji!” she called. “SHINJI!”

The scared samurai rushed through the door, nearly breaking it down. His face and hands were dirty; he was out of breath.

“I want you to get me things from this list as quickly as possible.” she said, shoving the piece of paper into his hand. Baffled, the samurai looked at the list, then at Mai.

“Amayami-hime,” he started, “My duty is to protect you.”

“I’ll be fine.” Mai interrupted him and narrowed her eyes. She gave him her best scary look. “I will be very, very displeased if you fail me.”

Shinji bowed quickly and ran out of the temple, nearly breaking his neck as he tripped on the stairs. Rin looked at him with wide eyes. Mai waved to her.

“Rin, I think he’ll be running errands for some time, so what do you want to do?” asked Mai.

Rin flashed a cute smile at her.

“Mai-sama has very pretty hair. Can I braid it?” the little girl pleaded.

Mai sighed and reached out for her bag. She fished a comb out of it and handed it over to Rin, who squeaked gleefully. After a while, Mai fought to not fall asleep as the kid was combing her hair. It felt so good….

“Rin?” Mai said sleepily as she was getting more and more relaxed.

“Yes, Mai-sama?”

“Don’t call me Mai-sama. It makes me feel old. It’s Mai, just Mai.”

“All right, Mai!” said Rin cheerfully, almost singing.

The girl took a red ribbon out of her sleeve and started decorating Mai’s head with it. She and Mai chatted a little. Mai found the company of Rin very pleasant. Perhaps it was because the kid was cheerful and talkative. In fact, the child’s mouth seemed to not close, but Mai didn’t mind. Kid’s blabbering was quite relaxing. Moreover, Rin was the first person in the feudal era to call Mai by her real name. She lazily studied the surroundings. The older girl narrowed her eyes. No doubt – Shinji was returning with a large bag on his back. He ran to the place, where both girls were sitting, fighting to catch breath. Rin hid herself behind Mai’s back. The young samurai took the bag off his back and put it at Mai’s feet.

“Amayami-hime, there’s everything you wanted.” He managed to say. “We must return to the castle before the sun sets.”

Mai opened the bag and examined the contents. She nodded her head with approval.

“Good job, Shinji. Rin, no need to be afraid. You can stop hiding behind me.”

At her words, Rin hesitantly stepped away from Mai, not taking her eyes off the young samurai, as though she was expecting him to attack her.

“Rin, that’s for you.” said the older girl, pushing the bag towards the child. “Inside are things you will need if you want to sleep in the forest. I will be going now.”

“Will you come tomorrow?” the little girl asked quickly, hope in her voice.

“Sure I will.” answered Mai, ruffling her hair. “I’ll be here every day. See you tomorrow, kid!”

Rin watched as Mai walked away towards the castle accompanied by a young man, who looked like a samurai. She smiled to herself and dragged the heavy bag to her camp through the bushes. The dragon-like creature with two heads stopped eating grass and lifted its heads. It walked to her and sniffed her curiously. Rin laughed and petted each of his two heads.

“Hello, Ah-Un.” Rin said to the dragon-youkai. “I’m sorry I left you. Do you know that I found a new friend today? Her name is Mai and she’s really nice and brave. You would like her! Tomorrow I’ll see her again!”

Ah-Un made a peculiar sound.

“No, Ah-Un,” said the girl. “You can’t come with me. Mai mustn’t know that I’m with youkai.”

Chapter 9

Spring days

On the next day, Mai got up earlier and prepared herself to set off for the temple, which she was doing during the whole last week. She hummed happily, eager to meet Rin and play with the child. The girl put on a simple, red kimono and dashed out of the room.

She nearly fell on the floor as she crashed with Aiko in the doorway. The old crone narrowed her eyes and stared her down with a displeased glare.

“Amayami, it is your father’s request that you see him. He’s awaiting you in the gardens.” The old woman said dryly, motioning Mai to follow her.

Mai couldn’t not notice that Aiko showed her disapproval of the girl’s clothing.

“You are dressed like a peasant girl, not like a princess,” snapped Aiko. Mai only shrugged her shoulders at the critics.

“It would be a nuisance to walk to the temple every day in all those layers.” she responded, taking another turn and almost jogging to catch up with Aiko, who had longer legs than her. The older woman frowned.

“I do not understand why you insist on walking. You could ride in a palanquin; you know it well. If the circumstances were different, I would advise also to take a couple of servants.”

“The bodyguard is more than enough.” responded Mai. “And walking is good for my health. Anyway, what does father want?”

“Show some respect!” the older woman scolded the girl. “He will tell you himself. We are almost there.”

Aiko led Mai to the beautifully designed garden. Among the sakura trees, Lord Asakura was walking, furrowing his brows as if he was battling with himself. Mai and the old crone hurried towards the Lord, who lifted his head and smiled, when he saw the girl.

“Amayami, my child, what an unusual attire.” he noticed. Mai inwardly cursed to herself and plastered a fake smile on her face. She was going to end this as quickly as possible and go to the temple.

“It is a pleasure to see you, father. Forgive my attire. I was on my way to the temple to pray for my swift recovery.” she said, trying to imagine how a princess would do it. It seemed she had done well, for the lord smiled with approval.

“Did you start to remember anything?” he asked with concern in the voice.

“Not yet, but vague images began to come back to me.” Mai lied. The lord shook sadly his head.

“I may need more praying,” added Mai. Her “father” nodded in agreement.

“Amayami, I need to discuss a serious matter with you. Lord Gorouza will arrive five days from now.”

Mai felt slightly disturbed by the dead serious look on the lord’s face. Gorouza? She was sure that she heard that name already. Then it dawned on her.

“My fiancé?” she asked. Lord Asakura nodded and bit his lip.

“He is coming to discuss the wedding arrangements. You will need to see him.”

“Wedding?” Mai exclaimed. Suddenly, she got nervous. She forgot that she was at marriageable age according to the standards here in the feudal era, and it was possible that they would just marry her off. No way would she allow it!

“Calm yourself, child.” Her fake father spoke up. “The wedding will be held two months from now. You will have the time to accustom to that thought. The problem is that Lord Gorouza will wish to see you and you have met him before. He might notice that you don’t remember him.”

The lord looked at Mai as she loudly sighed with relief. Mai smiled to herself. The monk, who will know how to get her home, is arriving in a little bit over a week, and then she’ll be back in her world. Therefore, she was in absolutely no danger of getting married to some unknown warlord.

She noticed that Lord Asakura cleared his throat and waited for her to say something.

“Can’t you tell him that I lost memories?” Mai asked.

“If the truth that princess of Asakura family is not in her right mental state is revealed, I will have lost all respect, and the pacts with our allies will be broken. You are my only child, Amayami, and an heiress to the family. The province of Echizen needs Lord Gorouza to protect our lands when I will be no more among the living, and he needs a healthy wife to bear him strong sons.” responded Lord Asakura. Mai flinched at the mere thought of sons.

“Maybe you’ll tell him that I’m sick.” Mai suggested.

“That is out of question, Amayami.” the lord said sternly. “On the day of his arrival you are to greet him in good health. Aiko will tell you how you should behave in the company of Lord Gorouza. Now you may take your leave.”

Mai bowed and turned around, about to leave, when she felt Aiko’s hand gripping her shoulder.

“I must educate you about lord Gorouza,” she insisted. Mai gave her a fake innocent smile.

“I want to go to the temple now. I’m late anyway.” She insisted and freed herself from the old woman’s grip. “See you in the evening!”

Mai ran out of the garden and towards the castle gates, leaving Aiko and Lord Asakura. The woman shook her head in disbelief.

“I cannot believe what has become of this child.” Aiko sighed. “I miss the old Amayami.”

“Yes, she has changed,” agreed the lord, a sorrowful expression on his face. “It feels like I have a son now, not a daughter. I cannot, however, blame her for that.”

Mai lifted the hem of her kimono, not to trip, and ran through the corridors at full speed. The servants were staring at her surprised as she dashed past them. When she reached the gates, she was out of breath. She found her young bodyguard sitting and leaning himself against the castle wall, his eyes shut. Mai was pretty sure that he was snoring as well. She kicked him with her foot.

“Get up, you lazy basta… guy!” she said loudly. Shinji’s eyes snapped open and he stood up.

“Oh, morning, Amayami-hime, we’re going? You were late.”

“Oh really?” Mai answered sarcastically. “Now hurry!” She grabbed his sleeve and dragged him to the temple, where Rin was waiting for her.

As Mai hoped, the little girl in the orange kimono was sitting on the temple stairs, singing a song. Mai felt relieved that the kid survived the night in the forest. When Rin noticed the newcomers, she exclaimed Mai’s name and ran to the older girl.

“You came! I was scared you would not come.” The child chatted happily.

“You’re silly,” Mai laughed. “I made a promise yesterday, didn’t I? So what are we doing today?”

Rin started blabbering about her ideas for the day, happy to have Mai’s attention. The older girl listened carefully to the kid, nodding from time to time.

“All right,” decided Mai, grabbing Rin’s hand. “First we’ll pick some flowers for the priest.”

Rin nodded with excitement. Shinji, on the other hand, didn’t seem pleased with Mai’s actions.

“What about praying? I did not see you do it at least once, hime!” he exclaimed, trying to block Mai’s way. Mai rolled her eyes.

“I’ll do it later.” She said, trying to shove the young samurai aside. Shinji opened his mouth to protest, but then they heard the loud voice of the temple’s priest.

“BOY! THE CELLAR IS WAITING FOR YOU TO CLEAN IT!” the voice of the old priest echoed among the trees. Shinji flinched and shot a scared glance in the direction of the priest. Mai smiled smugly and waved to him. Rin looked at her and copied the older girl.

“Have fun!” Mai said happily, heading for the nearby meadow with the little girl at her side.

Poor Shinji spent yet another day on the chores that were given him by the old priest. The young man rested himself on the broom, taking a break in sweeping the courtyard and glanced worriedly at the trees, wondering if the princess was safe. It was his duty to protect her all the time, but the young noblewoman constantly refused his service, always rushing off to the village or, like now, playing somewhere with that little orphan. He sighed heavily, feeling useless to the princess.

“She’ll be fine.” said a voice beside him. Shinji abruptly turned his head and he noticed the priest, who appeared next to him out of nowhere and was eating a riceball. “A princess like her could use a little freedom from time to time. No need to worry. I’m sure she can take care of herself.”

“I suppose,” answered Shinji with another sigh, unconvinced.

In the meanwhile Mai and Rin were having the time of their lives. At first, they were picking some flowers and Rin insisted on decorating Mai’s head with a flower garland. The older girl also tried to make one, but she failed. Actually, she had never made flower garlands before and it was her first time. She guessed, however, that she can’t put all the blame on her inexperience. She just didn’t have a talent for that sort of thing. Rin tried patiently to explain how it should be done, without success.

Then, they played together a little, mostly hide and seek. Rin was doing her best to teach Mai a song she knew, but the older girl refused constantly. She really didn’t want to scare all the animals in the forest. Instead, she tried to play the flute she brought back from the castle. Unfortunately, Rin was better at playing the instrument too. The little girl managed to talk Mai into dancing while the child played flute. Mai started dancing, a bit stiff at the beginning, but then she let the melody take over and she swirled graciously. Dancing was actually something she was always good at. Her moves were fluent and harmonic. After a while, she noticed that the melody stopped and Rin was now gaping at her with awe. The child clapped her hands enthusiastically and pleaded Mai to teach her to dance someday.

The sun begun to set before Mai knew it. “Damn,” she thought. “I forgot about Aiko.” Mai quickly said goodbye to her little friend and rushed to the temple to collect Shinji and get back to the castle.

The bushes around the meadow rustled as something big moved among them. The little girl in the orange kimono turned her head towards the source of suspicious noise, not showing any fear.

“You can come out now, Ah-Un!”

Fanart

Mai as princess Amayami. Fanart by akichanz.

Chapter 10

Betrothed

“Where were you?” Aiko greeted Mai as the girl ran into the princess’s quarters. The older woman stared her down with disapproval. Mai’s plain kimono was now covered in dirt, her long hair terribly tangled, decorated with flowers. She was looking rather like a village harlot than a royal princess.

“I’m sorry…” started Mai, but Aiko silenced her with a stern look.

“Look at yourself.” The older woman scolded her. “Do you intend Lord Gorouza to see you in this state? You should be pure and beautiful like a flower, graceful like a tennyo. I shall tolerate your trips to the village only because your honorable father accepted them, but I demand that you show here without delay. Now sit and listen carefully.”

Mai decided it was best not to argue with the furious Aiko and listened as the woman taught her court etiquette, a shortened history of Echizen – pacts with the allies and wars declared upon enemies. That part of Aiko’s teachings really interested Mai. The girl always liked history, and understanding politics and economics came naturally to her, much to the older woman’s disbelief. Apparently, it was not the strong side of princess Amayami.

Then came the worse part. Aiko told Mai how princess Amayami used to behave, what her abilities and knowledge were. From what she said, Mai concluded that Amayami was quite a lady -- polite, gentle and shy. With Mai’s attitude, it would be difficult to pretend, but the girl was confident in her acting skills. If she managed to survive this far, she will do fine when her betrothed arrives. “Princess’s betrothed,” she corrected herself. Mai caught herself a few times in thought that she felt like she was the princess always, the image of her own world blurring. She spent only nearly two weeks in the feudal era, but the life here seemed more real than in her own world. The nagging of Aiko, joking with Shinji, meals with the old priest, playing with Rin… All of this brought her more joy than anything other in 21st century. Perhaps except her friend, Kagome. Mai noticed that she didn’t have the time to spare her friend a single thought. “No, I didn’t want to.” The girl corrected herself. Suddenly it hurt so much when Mai realized that if she didn’t return to her world, she would never see Kagome again. Mai wondered if the friend was also worrying for her.

“Amayami!” Aiko decided to regain Mai’s attention.

The bored girl tried to hide a yawn as she listened that Amayami-hime could play erhu, flute, recite poetry and arrange flowers, so she needed avoid that at all costs. Mai also learned how much the princess loved that Gorouza guy, even though she had met him four times at least. Aiko decided to torture her with details of Amayami’s life till late night. Finally, the old crone left the quarters and Mai threw herself on the bed, not bothering to take off her stained clothes.

For the next week, it had become Mai’s daily routine: she would get up at dawn and walk with Shinji to the temple, where she ate breakfast with the priest, and then she would spend the day till late afternoon with Rin. Luckily, the young samurai didn’t insist on trailing behind her anymore, so she did everything she wanted. She visited village – the people gave Rin cautious looks, but they went silent as Mai glared at them. Together with Rin they were fishing: Mai with a fishing rod, and Rin was somehow able to catch them with her own hands, which earned the older girl’s respect. Mai tried to teach Rin the basic steps of the dance, but the child tripped constantly and couldn’t keep up with the rhythm. The bond between the two tightened and Mai was now thinking of Rin to be like a little sister and was enjoying her company.

Unfortunately, at sunset lessons with Aiko, who tried to train Mai to be princess Amayami, were starting. The effect was quite miserable. Those evening lessons reminded Mai constantly that the day of Gorouza’s arrival was nearing and so was the arrival of the monk’s friend, a scholar who could help her go home.

It was Lord Gorouza who appeared first, much to Mai’s dismay. This morning she couldn’t go to meet the old priest and Rin. That alone caused her bad mood. In the morning, Aiko, along with numerous servants, stormed into her room and prepared her for the arrival of her betrothed. She was dressed in the most beautiful kimono she has ever seen – light pink with roses embroidered on the sleeves and around the hem, and of course, numerous inner layers. The whole attire was heavy and made it difficult to move freely. Her hair was combed and decorated with elaborate, and obviously very expensive, hairpins. The maidservants also applied make-up, which made the girl’s face visibly prettier.

Mai started to sweat as she was standing by the side of her fake father, surrounded by various nobles, whom she barely recognized, and flocking servants.

“Do you remember what to say?” Lord Asakura made sure, whispering. Mai nodded, frantically memorizing the lines she learned this morning. And then began the commotion. The column of mounted samurai rode through the gates, escorting a palanquin. The servants, who were carrying it, put it carefully on the ground and helped a man get outside. Mai held her breath. The man who stepped out of it, presumably Gorouza, looked like he was in his late twenties. His attire was fancy, quite feminine and definitely very expensive with precious jewels and gold sewed everywhere on the fabric. He was quite tall and his face was quite handsome. It had, however, that delicate expression, which Mai didn’t like. He rushed gracefully towards Lord Asakura and the men exchanged traditional greetings. Then he looked at Mai with longing. The girl did her best to appear shy and glanced downwards desperately making her cheeks blush. Inwardly, Mai was cursing the whole feudal era. She bowed with all the grace she could manage.

“My Lord,” she said in her softest voice, not stopping the cursing in her mind. “I am grateful that the fate let us meet. I am most impatient for our families to join in the sacred bond of our marriage.” Mai repeated the remembered lines. So far Gorouza didn’t seem to suspect a thing. He smiled at her with his dashing smile, showing all teeth and told her the similar nonsense she told him.

For the majority of the day various feasts and council meetings took place and Mai tagged along with Lord Asakura. The man did all the talking for her, thankfully. Her only task was to look good, which means like an ethereal being, the real princess seemingly was.

Mai avoided Lord Gorouza as much as she could. He was quite a charmer but was definitely not the type Mai could fall for. He reminded her of the most popular boys in her school – handsome and charming, but obnoxious.

Mai worried about Rin too. She didn’t have the chance to tell the kid that today she will be stuck at the castle. Poor thing, she must be disappointed. If only Mai could find Shinji…

There he was! Mai smiled at her luck and decided that it would be a sin not to take a chance. She hurried towards the young samurai, who was leaning against the wall, bored out of his mind.

“Shinji!” Mai said his name, getting his attention. He opened his mouth, amazed at how beautiful Mai looked in that attire, with make-up and nicely done hair.

“Don’t stare at me.” She scolded him, whispering. “I need your help. I must get to the temple to see Rin. Now.”

Shinji was looking at her as though she was crazy.

“Can’t you wait till tomorrow?” he asked. Mai shook her head. “Amayami, the sun has just set and it’s the middle of the celebration! You can’t possibly go outside the castle now!”

“It’s the perfect time. Everyone’s drunk, the guards know you, and we will be back in an hour! Shinji, please, do it for me.” Mai pleaded.

She really needed his help. Without Shinji, she couldn’t get out of the castle. The young samurai looked troubled, but in the end he agreed hesitantly. Together, they slipped out of the hall. Shinji made sure no one was looking and took off his outer kimono. He wrapped Mai in it to hide her identity and they rushed towards the gates. The guards recognized Shinji and weren’t asking about anything. Mai and Shinji picked up the pace to get to the temple as soon as possible. Along the way they almost didn’t exchange a word. As they got to the temple Shinji spoke up.

“She’s not here.” He said looking at the surroundings of the temple, quite creepy at night. “Do you have any idea where she sleeps?”

“Uhm,” Mai answered, furrowing her brows. “She led me there once. I should find a way, even in the darkness.”

Mai and the young samurai made their way to the forest. Mai was sure she lost her way a couple of times, but eventually they found a camp. The place where the camp used to be. The stones making a circle were where the fire was burning, remains of food laying neatly in a pile on one side of the small clearing.

“She’s gone.” Said Mai sadly. Rin’s caretaker must have finally come and pick the girl up. Mai couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye…

“Amayami-hime,” said Shinji. “We should also be on our way. The forest in the night is no place for a princess. You don’t want to be eaten by youkai, do you?”

Earlier that day

Rin was sitting on the temple stairs, waiting for Mai. It was almost noon and the older girl still wasn’t there. It was not like Mai to be so late, so maybe she won’t come today at all? Rin sighed. It was rather lonely here. The old priest was in the village and she told Ah-Un to stay in the forest out of sight.

Rin looked westwards and she saw two familiar silhouettes. They weren’t Mai and Shinji. Rin got up quickly and hurried towards them, her eyes bright with joy. On the edge of the forest were standing two demons. One was a tall man, clad in armor and a fine kimono, two swords by his side. White fur was attached to his right shoulder. The silver hair reached past his hips. On his face he had demon markings, two magenta stripes on the each cheek and a blue crescent moon on his forehead. His eyes were golden, cold.

The other youkai was a green, toad-like imp, clad in plain brown attire and carrying a strange staff – Nintoujyou. Rin ran happily and stopped before the tall inu youkai.

“Sesshomaru-sama, you’re back.” She exclaimed happily.

The demon looked at her, his face showed no emotion. He turned to the green imp.

“Jaken, get Ah-Un.” He ordered. The one named Jaken rushed immediately into the forest, about to search for the two-headed dragon. Sesshomaru started walking away without a word. Rin skipped happily and was jogging next to him to keep up to his pace.

“Rin,” He addressed the girl, not looking at her. “In your camp were human items and there is a scent of another human clinging to you. Explain yourself.”

“Oh.” Rin set her sight on the ground ashamed that she didn’t obey his orders. “I met a new friend. She saved me from the village people and got me a lot of things. Rin was a little lonely by herself and Mai played with me every day…”

Rin was explaining herself to Sesshomaru. The youkai said nothing, but he noticed the sad expression on her face as she was telling about her new friend. Judging by the smell, it was a grown female, a noble probably.

“Who is she?” the demon asked.

“Her name is Mai.” Rin started reciting. “She is visiting the temple every day and Rin is her best friend! She has a pretty hair, really long and likes dancing. Oh, and she’s a princess.”

“Rin, let us go.” He said to the girl, stopping her from blabbering.

“Yes, Sesshomaru-sama.” She said as she looked back one last time, regretting she will never see Mai again.