Chapter 4: Surprises & Disappointments
"I wanted to do something, anything, as long as I can stop this marriage."
…
The wedding time was quickly creeping in. There was only one day left, before the Cloud would deliver their beloved princess to the Leaf Village. Mabui was sitting alone at her favorite swing in the garden, quietly reminiscing about her past – and the heartbreaking future of not being able to be with the love of her life. As Samui was on her way to the study room, she spotted Darui painfully observing Mabui from afar.
…
As it was getting darker, Samui was finally dismissed from her studies. She walked to Mabui's room and gently knocked on her door. "May I come in, Mabui-nee?"
"Please do." Samui opened herself in and sees Mabui combing her soft grey hair in front of her dresser. "It's so late already. You're not sleeping yet?"
"No. Why aren't you sleeping yet either?" Mabui gently smiled and continued combing the same strand of hair, over and over again. Samui could tell that her sister was definitely out of focus. She sighed and hugged Mabui.
"Samui?"
"I really don't want you to leave me… If you really must, I at least want you to be happy."
"But I am happy…"
"Bullshit!" Samui lets go of Mabui and turned her around to face her. "Mabui-nee, you are the person I hold dearest to me! Why didn't you and Darui tell father-"
"Samui! Stop." Mabui forced a smile and hugged her sister. "I've already made up my mind. Plus… It's too late for that."
Samui lets go of her. "No, it's not too late."
"W-What do you mean?"
Samui smiled, as tears ran down her cheeks. "Darui is patiently waiting for you at the garden. If you are willing to, then pack your items, and run away with him."
"Samui! T-That's impossible! I-I can't do that!"
"Mabui-nee, all my life, I have never seen you so heartbroken before. You and Darui are soulmates. I know that you will never be happy for the rest of your life if you two are not together. So… I met up with Darui earlier and I am willing to help you guys escape together."
"S-Samui. You can't do that. If father finds out, he will surely kill all of us."
"You once told me, that there is only one happiness in this life – 'to love and be loved', right? Your happiness is patiently waiting for you. Don't let this opportunity slide away. You will regret it for the rest of your life."
…
Samui helped sneaked Mabui to the garden. Once they arrived, the two lovebirds passionately embraced each other. They looked over to Samui and smiled.
"Go. Don't worry about me."
Mabui cried and hugged her sister one last time. "Thank you, Samui. Please take good care of yourself."
"I will. You guys be careful too."
Once the three said their final goodbyes, Samui quickly sneaked back into Mabui's room. She swapped into Mabui's pajama kimono and crawled into her sister's bed, disguising herself as the older princess.
…
"Princess Mabui. It is time for you to get ready," the maids called. "Princess Mabui?" The maids opened the door and went to wake up their princess. "Princess?" As they turned her around, they all screamed, instantly waking Samui up.
"Ugh, let me sleep for a little longer."
"P-Princess Samui?! Why are you here?! Where is Princess Mabui?!"
…
Samui was dragged out of bed and kneeled down in front of her furious father. "You foolish kids! What have you done?!" Samui didn't respond. She was ready to receive her punishment. Angered, the shogun ordered his guards to come whip Samui. "Until she speaks, do not stop!"
"Y-Yes sir!" The guards grabbed their whips and immediately started whipping Samui. Suddenly, Karui jumped in and shielded the princess.
"Karui! What are you doing! Go away" Samui yelled.
"Please, my lord! I beg you! Do not punish the princess! I'm sure she doesn't know anything!"
"Shut it! Continue!"
"Yes sir!" The guards continued to mercilessly whip the two girls. Samui tried to move her friend away, but Karui tightly held onto Samui, shielding her from getting whip. Samui cried and begged Karui to go away, but the maid still refused. After a few more whippings, A finally ordered the guards to stop. The two girls dropped down to the ground. Samui had never felt so bad before. She cried and wiped her friend's tears away. All she could do was apologize over and over again to her injured friend. Despite being heavily injured, Karui was still able to lift a smile. She was glad that Samui was not as heavily wounded as she was. Soon, Karui fainted.
(Does feudal Japan punish people like this? I know for a fact ancient China and Thailand does. Sorry, like I said, I don't really know much about feudal Japan, so I based this off from historical Chinese and Thai movies/tv/dramas only.)
…
When Karui woke up, she noticed that she was laying on her belly in her room. She saw that Samui was applying ointment on her back. "P-Princess? Why are you here? Ouch!"
"Sigh. Just lay down, baka." After applying the ointment, she bandaged Karui's back and washed her hands. "T-Thank you, Karui. I really don't know how to thank you enough for helping me back there. I'm so sorry about-"
Karui shook her head. "It's okay, princess. I will gladly help you from any harm. It is my duty to protect you."
"You really are an idiot, Karui."
…
"W-What did you say?" Samui couldn't believe what she was hearing as she kneeled in front of her father. He had just ordered Samui to replace Mabui and head to the Leaf, because she will be the bride for Tobirama. "I refuse!"
"Ha! You are in no position to refuse! It is your fault for letting your sister escape!"
"N-No! I'd rather get any other type of punishment than this!"
"Hush up, you foolish child! You will depart first thing tomorrow morning! Guards, lock her away and make sure she won't be able to escape."
"Yes sir!"
"Please father! Don't do this!" Samui yelled and begged her father to reconsider, but A turned a blind eye to the situation. He was upset at himself for having to do this, but he knew that this was for the best.
…
As morning arrived, the maids packed Samui's items and stored it in her carriage, along with the other dowry items. Karui peeked inside the carriage and saw that the princess's eyes were red and puffy from all the crying last night. She wanted to cheer her friend up, so she gently held onto her hand and smiled to her. Samui was too gloomy that she didn't care about anything. The shogun walked up to the person in charge of delivering Samui (B) and handed him a scroll.
"Take good care of her, alright?"
"Yes, brother."
"You better make sure she doesn't run away or do anything stupid too, got it?"
"Okay, brother."
A sighed and went up to Samui. "I'm sorry that you have to do this, Samui. But this is all for the sake of the country. Up until now, you've been under my care. But from now on, you will be under the Leaf's care. Fulfill your duty well. Serve your future husband with upmost respect. Be courteous, humble, and conciliatory towards your future husband. I wish I can be there with you, but I can't. I hope to only hear good news upon B's return. Goodbye, my dear." After hearing her father's last request, Samui closed her eyes and shun the world away.
…
It took a total of four days and three nights to reach the Leaf Village. "Make way, for the princess from the Cloud!" They made their way through the city and finally arrive at the large gates of the shogun's castle. Once they got inside, they were directed to the formal reception room where the shogun was awaiting their attendance. Hashirama was present with his first lady, Mito, alongside Tobirama and Kakashi.
B and Samui went up to the shogun and bowed down. After B introduced himself, Samui took off her uchikatsugi (long veiled headdress) and introduced herself. Tobirama's eyes widen! He was surprised to see Samui instead of Mabui.
"What is this supposed to mean?!" Tobirama demanded an answer from the Cloud representative.
"Uh, please forgive us, my friend." B handed Hashirama a scroll. After reading the letter of apology, Hashirama humbly laughed.
"What is so funny, ani?!" Tobirama took the scroll and quickly read it. Tobirama was furious! He had never felt so betrayed and offended before. B was startled, so he quickly apologized and begged the prince to calm down.
"Tobi! It's okay. We will gladly accept the younger sister."
"Hell no, ani! I'm not going to marry that brat!"
Frustrated with Tobirama's rude remarks, Samui stomped her foot and rolled her arm sleeves. "You damn, ossan! You think I would want to marry someone like you too! If I wasn't forced into this, I would have never come to your country!" B immediately held her back, while Kakashi held Tobirama back. Hashirama hysterically laughed. He was amused at the lively quarrel. His wife nudges his shoulder and pouted, gesturing him to stop them.
"Okay guys! Stop it! Stop it right now!" he demanded. After a while, the two opposing parties finally quieted down. "Tobirama, I don't know what had happened between you two, and I don't want to know. All I know, is that the Cloud's shogun was diligent enough to fulfill his agreement. Therefore, we will gladly accept Princess Samui under our care."
"Ani!"
"I will NOT accept any refusals!" Hashirama did not care for Tobirama's petty excuses and opinions. "The princess had travel all the way over here to fulfill her duty. Consider your future bride's feelings and honor!"
"Tsk!" The arrogant younger brother turned around and stormed off. His bodyguard apologized for his master's ill manners and quickly followed behind.
Hashirama went up to Samui and widely smiled to her. "Thank you for traveling all the way here, Princess Samui. You must be tired?"
Samui was amazed at how warm and friendly the shogun was, in contra to his arrogant younger brother. "Uh, n-no, not really." Hashirama assigned some guards to direct his guests to their rooms to rest and assured them of their hospitality and welcome towards them.
…
After resting for a bit, Samui headed to the private bath house. She sat and stare blankly into space while Karui helped scrubbed her back.
"Princess, are you alright? You look a little distracted."
"Sigh. I'm really worried about Mabui-nee and Darui. It's been five days already. I wonder how they're doing."
"Please rest assure, milady. Princess Mabui has the mighty Darui protecting her already."
"Hm, well, you're right…" Samui went first to soak in the warm water. "Ahh~" It was the perfect temperature to soothe her tense body. "Sigh. Why did my life turn out like this? To think about it, I actually really envy Mabui-nee."
"Eh? Princess? Why would you say that?" Karui asked, while joining the princess inside the hot spring-style bath.
"Sigh! How stupid of me, right? I've taken this 'princess' life for granted." Karui looked over to her friend with a confused expression. "All my life, I've been the mischievous, spoiled brat who would do anything in order to get my way. All I've done was annoy father and everyone around me. Aha. I had everything – money, freedom, a loving family, and people to order around. It's sad to know that I won't have that privilege anymore… No matter how I see it, my only purpose here is to maintain the alliance and trust between our two countries… So this is the burden that princesses have to carry, huh?"
"Princess…"
Despite the depressing realization, Samui lifted a smile on her face. "Don't worry, Karui. I promise I won't do anything to upset father or my country. This is the least I can do, in order to repay the luxurious life I've lived while under father's care."
Karui had tears in her eyes. "Milady! Since when did you mature so much!" She jumped towards Samui and hugged her. "I promise to never leave your side and help you fulfill your duty too!"
"B-Baka!" The two girls giggled and continued to bathe in the fresh water for a while before heading back to their room.
…
By dinner time, the Cloud guests were called back to the reception room. They were all individually served with an elaborate kaiseki (traditional multi-course Japanese dinner) feast while being entertained by various dance and musical performances.
Hashirama looked around and notices that Tobirama was nowhere to be seen. "Where is the second prince? How could he not be here to dine and celebrate with the princess?" He ordered a few guards to search for Tobirama, but he was nowhere near the castle. "Sigh."
To be continued… ❤️️