As a young girl, Kiko always had an insatiable curiosity. Her small feet would take her places she knew she wasn't supposed to go, and despite the countless times her stepfather has scolded her she would still get herself in trouble. Today was no different. Her feet led her to the Watanabe clan's dojo where she poked her head into the main gym and watched. Her brown curls bounced each time she peeked into the dojo. You could hear small pants coming from the dojo as the leader of the clan loomed over his daughter with a serious face.
"That's enough for today," he said seriously.
"I'm.. not done.. yet," a small, more feminine voice responded.
"You've completed what you've needed today. Besides, we have a guest," Watanabe Ryuu, the head of the Watanabe clan, responded to his young daughter and turned his head towards the young princess who gasped and hid away behind the door.
Chie, Ryuu's only daughter, wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel handed to her by one of the servants. She pulled the strands of ebony hair from her face and turned her head towards the doorway. Although she did not question her father's choice to stop training for the day, Chie did not agree with his decision.
"Princess, you may come in," Chie's father's voice resounded within the walls of the dojo, making Kiko flinch as she slowly walked inside.
She held her hands in front of her nervously. It wasn't that she wasn't fond of Mr. Watanabe but he was always so serious and never smiled. It made her very concerned; almost afraid of him. Chie proceeded to hand back the used towel to the servant. She handed back the bamboo sword to her father, who took it back, as Chie turned to face her friend.
"Princess, you don't have to come to me whenever you need something. The servants are more than capable of sending a message," Chie explained.
"I know, I just don't feel like staying in my room today," Kiko responded.
"My daughter is right, Princess. It's not always safe within these hallways. A servant should be with you at all times," Ryuu agreed with Chie. The Princess felt embarrassed for the way she conducted herself but they were not scolding her, only concerned for her well-being.
"Let's go," Chie said. Kiko's gold eyes brightened when Chie began walking towards the exit as she followed.
"Was there something you needed Princess?" Chie asked.
"You can call me Kiko, Chie! KI-KO!" Kiko pronounced her name to her.
"I will continue to respectfully call you princess, princess," Chie said.
Kiko sighed in defeat for now.
"Anyway, I want to go out to the garden but I know if I don't go with someone, my father will scold me again like last time," Kiko said.
"That seems reasonable," Chie said.
As the twosome made their way towards the garden, Chie's father watched them leave the dojo together.
"Captain Watanabe?" a servant interrupted.
Ryuu turned his head towards the servant, "What is it?"
"His Majesty asks for you," the servant responded quickly.
Ryuu turned his head back to the doorway where the girls exited not a minute later. He began walking as the servant followed behind him to the Emperor's quarters.
Kiko and Chie were the only two children in the castle about the same age. The other children were either babies or much older now; most of them children of servants learning the trade of their parents. Chie has a younger brother who just recently came into the world named Shinji. Chie, being eight, is fond of her little brother. Her mother warns her to be extremely careful with him, especially when carrying him. But Chie doesn't mind, she just wants to be close to his soft, peach face. Kiko knows how much she loves her little brother, despite being blind, which has always piqued the interest of the young seven-year-old. Chie has no problem getting around the castle on her own. The blind girl made it known that her impairment did not bother her. Kiko's father once told her it was because Chie's father trained her diligently and strictly; to never see blindness as a weakness, but as a strength. It also showed that she trained very hard to get to where she was at now.
Arriving at the garden, Kiko sped up to reach for the flowers. Her pink kimono restricting her movement but not stopping her from wanting to smell and touch the hydrangeas. Chie followed behind, listening to her every movement to make sure she didn't stray too far.
"The flowers smell wonderful today," Kiko said.
Chie agreed that the flowers smelled particularly lovely.
"I miss being outside. Father won't even let me roam the village outside the walls anymore," Kiko said.
"It's to keep you safe princess, he doesn't do it to make you miserable," Chie responded.
"I don't understand though, safe from what?" Kiko asked.
There was no answer, simply because Chie has no real idea why the Emperor refused to let Kiko do as she pleased. The wind blew through her short, ebony hair. The strands of hair falling back into their place as if they were undisturbed.
"You have such nice hair Chie! I envy you!" Kiko complained.
She pulled on her curly, long hair so that the wind would not mess it up. Chie looked towards the princess. Kiko stared at her wondering why she suddenly turned her attention when she did. She reached her hand out and touched Kiko's hair.
"You have beautiful hair too princess, do not envy mine," she smiled faintly, "Besides, I hardly have hair long enough to brush and style the way you do."
Kiko was dazed by her soft smile and her compliments. Even her little joke made her giggle. So this was their friendship, talking about hair and flowers. Kiko sighed, letting her body fall backwards into the grass. She didn't care if the ground was a bit hard on her back, she just wanted to smell the air a bit longer. Chie heard Kiko crash onto the ground. At first, she wondered if she was okay but then Kiko kept giggling about whatever nonsense she was thinking of. Chie couldn't help but smirk a little.
It was then, Chie noticed that the birds stopped chirping in the distance and it was unusually quiet.
She grabbed Kiko's hand quickly, helping her up abruptly.
"Chi-Chie!" Kiko exclaimed.
She began to drag her back towards the castle.
"Chie! What's wrong!?" Kiko yelled as she tried to keep up with Chie.
Chie felt a sensation that could only be explained by a dark threat. It was suddenly that men in black clothing appeared before the two girls. Kiko gasped. She hid behind Chie who was also afraid but tried not to show it.
"Which one?" one of the men asked.
"Her, the one with gold eyes," another responded.
Kiko whimpered in fear, knowing they were talking about her. As one of the men tried to reach for her, Chie slapped his hand away. Kiko looked at her stunned. The man slapped Chie across the face making her lose her stance for a bit but Chie stood back up strong.
"Annoying little brat!" he yelled, a confused look on his face because the girl didn't cower.
"Stop wasting time!" the other yelled.
The man lunged and Chie kicked him up the chin, making him fall back. The men were stunned at how the blind girl fought back. Kiko continued to grovel behind Chie, not knowing what to do. Another man tried to grab them and Chie threw a punch at him, making the man lose his balance. At this point, they had underestimated the strength of the eight-year-old girl and used force.
One of them grabbed Chie from behind.
"Let me go!" Chie screamed.
"Chie!" Kiko cried.
"Run! Run Kiko!" Chie yelled.
Kiko trembled, frozen in fear. Her feet wouldn't move and her arms shook in front of her while the other man approached her. Chie could tell that Kiko was not responding to her screams. She proceeded to the easiest release tactic, biting the arm of the man grabbing her. He screamed in pain and anger as Chie elbowed his stomach, making him crouch. She ran towards Kiko's small whimpers but the other man was quicker. He threw his hand out to her face which didn't give Chie enough time to move away. She immediately fell backwards, trying to recollect what happened. But the man had already gotten his way and kicked her in the stomach. Chie gritted her teeth in pain trying not to cry.
"Chie!" Kiko finally found her voice after witnessing what had just happened.
She ran over to her friend and knelt down to help her.
The man grabbed her by the hair, "You're harder to capture than we thought."
Kiko screamed in pain.
Chie slowly moved up to Kiko's screams, wanting to help her but her body wouldn't let her. It was then, little droplets of rain began to descend from the sky and down into the garden. Chie was confused. Autumn had just come to be and it was.. raining? But not just rain came down on them, thunder and lighting as well. The men began to look around in confusion. The weather just suddenly turned sour and not even that lulled Kiko's screams.
The sound of a sword being unsheathed was suddenly audible as one of the men fell. Captain Ryuu stood before them with a face colder than ice but eyes burning with a raging fire. The scene was already laid out before him and he understood just what had happened in the garden before he arrived.
Chie could sense the presence of her father, "Father.."
The pain became too much that Chie fainted. The men slowly backed away, fear coursing through their veins as they were confronted by one of the most terrifying warriors in the country. It didn't take Ryuu more than two minutes to finish off with the intruders and capture one of them.
"Captain!" one of the soldiers yelled as they approached the scene.
"Take my daughter to my wife and escort the princess back to her room. The Emperor needs to interrogate this one," Ryuu said.
They all yelled in agreement as they carried out their orders. One of the soldiers carried Chie back to the Watanabe house while the other catered to the princess. Ryuu dragged the prisoner, formerly intruder, back towards the castle into the dungeon to be interrogated.
Kiko was so frightened from her experience in the garden. She slowly began to see why her father insisted she always be accompanied by someone. As she sat in her room, calming down from the incident earlier, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Kiko said quietly.
The door opened and Chie entered. She closed the door behind her. Kiko lifted her head from her knees to look up at her friend.
"Chie! You're okay!" Kiko exclaimed, relieved to see her standing and walking around.
"Yes, I feel better. Thank you for your concern, princess. Are you alright?" Chie asked.
Kiko's concern seemed to diminish as she remembered about what happened earlier. She looked at Chie's hakama which was dirtied from the fight. Her face had a red mark from where the man punched her.
"Not really.." Kiko said honestly.
Chie gave a small nod.
This was a first time for Chie as well, she didn't expect to act so brazenly but she did it for the safety and well-being of her sovereign and friend.
After a moment of silence, Kiko asked, "Who were those men?"
"I'm not sure. They were probably opportunists, trying to take you away for ransom," Chie said.
"What does that mean?" Kiko asked.
"It means you have to be careful about where you are at all times. You can't let your guard down princess, your father tries his best to protect you and so do the guards," Chie said.
Kiko's face filled with anguish.
Chie continued, "Even I train so that one day I will be worthy of being your bodyguard."
"But you're my friend, I don't want to see you get hurt like that again," Kiko sniffled, terrified of the thought that Chie would lay down her life like that.
Chie reached her hand out and touched her.
Kiko looked up with her teary eyes as she gave a soft smile, "I promise, I'll get so strong one day that you'll never see me get hurt like that again."
Kiko tried to hold back the tears but they wouldn't stop falling. She hugged her tightly, knowing that Chie never let down on her promises.
The distant blood-curdling screams echoed in the dimly lit dungeons of the castle. You could hear pleas and begs, but none of them were answered. At one point, the screaming had stopped because the torturing had stopped.
"Who sent you?" His majesty, the Emperor, asked the intruder who attempted to kidnap his stepdaughter.
The intruder simply chuckled before the torture continued; and so did the screaming. Just before he was at the point of death, the man begged him to stop. The Emperor wiped his hands of his blood before listening to him.
"Who sent you?" the Emperor asked once again.
The intruder wheezed, no longer able to breathe properly.
"We seek the 'treasure that lies in her eyes'," the intruder spoke softly.
Ryuu's eyes opened slightly as he watched the prisoner slowly drown in his own blood.
"I believe the princess to be in greater danger than before," Ryuu spoke only after the intruder had died.
"No, it's possible this small group acted alone. Not many people know the tale of the Shimai no Megami," the Emperor said.
"What do you propose your majesty?" Ryuu asked.
"First, the princess will wear a veil whenever she leaves her room, no one is allowed to see her face anymore. She is no longer allowed outside the walls of the castle anymore as well," the Emperor declared.
"Will such confinement really keep her safe, my lord?" Ryuu asked, knowing that Kiko was a headstrong, willful child.
Like many children, they enjoyed freedom like breathing and can't stand to be locked up for very long. The Emperor looked at him and the Captain knew that his word was final.
"Also, have your daughter ready," The Emperor said. Captain Watanabe raised his head at the acknowledgement of his child, "I expect nothing less from a child of Watanabe Ryuu."
The Emperor left on that note as Ryuu bowed his head. As soon as he left, the Captain commanded the guards to dispose of the dead body. Not long after, he too left disgusted by the smells of dead flesh and blood.
