Omigosh! I'm sooo sorry this chapter is so insanely late. I've been unbelievably busy and I had some trouble writing this chapter. At first I thought this story would be set some time before the meiji period, but now I find it easier to just say it's the meiji era. And the castle I'm imagining looks like the one from Mulan or Fuushigi Yugi...you know with the BIG staircases. Well I hope you enjoy this.
Chapter 4:
For a split second, I saw Aoshi's eyes widen at his slip of the tongue, and then I heard him recover with a small "san". Unfortunately, Megumi didn't miss that pause in between my name and the honorific. I saw her smile that same foxy smile, but as soon as it appeared, it was gone. Then, I followed her gaze as it wandered around the banquet hall. Table to table, there were more and more girls who were almost visibly green with envy. I honestly felt like just running away and hiding deep in a cave. Embarrassed, I turned my head away from the crowd, but my eyes fell back to Aoshi, who I found was quietly staring at me. He smiled, small enough so that only I would notice, and all my fear simply melted away.
I strolled quietly through the richly colored hallways of the Royal Palace. A pair of larks sang harmoniously as they fluttered about each other. The soft rays of the midmorning sun filtered in through the golden lattice windows, bouncing off various pieces of jewelry, reflecting onto the surrounding walls in myriad drops of gold. I stopped, suddenly, as I came upon a particularly interesting sentence in the letter I was reading.
My eyebrows furrowed and my eyelids closed tight as I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to smear the precious piece of parchment in my hands. It read:
"Dearest Misao,
Last night, I could not help but notice the…looks you received from a number of other women throughout the duration of the dinner. You smiled, but I did not see any light or true happiness in your eyes. You are not built for sadness, and…forgive me. You see, for one such as myself it is…difficult to express such emotions so freely. However, I must tell you that I am…sorry. I am so sorry for pulling you into a life you were not meant to have. You should never have had to deal with the harshness of palace life. It…hurt me to see you treated like that, and yet, I cannot bring myself to simply send you away from all this. With one word, I could ban you from the palace and keep you away from all the lies and deceit, but I can't do it! Because…I like you…more than I'm willing to admit, but you must know that there are those who would do you harm if they knew of our relationship. Enemies who would use you in order to get to me. People far worse than any pathetic concubine. And I would sooner die than place you in harm's way. So, I have sent you this letter in hopes of keeping our…contact a secret. Please write back soon.
Yours,
Aoshi
PS Give your letter to Kenshin."
I re-read the letter more times than I could count, smiling every time I came across the words "I like you". And after reading it for my umpteenth time, I couldn't stop smiling at all. As I continued to walk down the hallways, not really paying any attention to where I was going, I ran into something, or rather, someone.
Startled, I looked up from my letter and found myself face to face with a boy.
He's so cute…
Of course, he was no match for Aoshi's more manly good looks, but I had to admit he was adorable in a "puppy dog" sort of way. He was rather short for a boy, but he couldn't have been any younger than myself. His hair was short and black, and his eyes were a shade of blue surprisingly similar to my own.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry about that," said the strange boy.
I stared at him dazedly; my mind was still dwelling on the letter. Smiling weakly, I returned his apology.
"It was entirely my fault," he continued, "I was just so focused on finding him. I should have been watching where I was going."
What he said caught my attention. I cocked my head to the side questioningly.
"Who is it you're looking for?"
"Oh…just Okina, the Royal Advisor…but you probably wouldn't know where I could find him."
"Okina," I asked, as my face lit up, "Of course I know where Okina is."
"You do?"
"Hai, I'll even take you to him."
The boy thanked me graciously with a dazzling smile.
"By the way," I began as we turned a corner, "My name is Makimachi Misao. What's yours?"
The boy smiled again and said,
"I'm Seta Soujirou---The soon to be king."
I stopped abruptly and asked,
"What…?"
Whipping around to face him, I stared at Soujirou with obvious disdain and growled,
"What makes you suggest such a ridiculous thing?"
"Oh? You haven't heard? Aoshi-san will be dethroned in a month."
I continued to stare at him in horror for about five more seconds before I stormed off, not paying any attention at all to Soujirou's calls.
Furiously, I stomped all the way to Okina's office. Sliding open the doors in a flourish, I continued to stomp up to his desk where the old man sat calmly reading some important document or other. I slammed my hands down onto the wood and cried,
"Is it true?"
"Is what true my dear," asked Okina.
"Is it true that Soujirou will claim the throne in a month?"
"Yes."
"Yes? Yes?! How can you say that so calmly?"
"Because Aoshi has thirty-one days to find and marry a lovely young lady, which, in my opinion, is plenty of time."
"What are you talking about Jiya?"
Okina sighed.
"Misao, next time please learn all the details before you come screaming at me," the old man chided, "Aoshi will only be forced to give up the throne if he is incapable of finding a wife within one month's time."
My shoulders relaxed and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
"Oh…I see," I said stupidly.
"Don't worry my dear, I have a brilliant plan," said Okina smugly.
"Really?"
"Yes. We shall hold a ball."
"I fail to see how grasping a child's toy will solve our problem," I retorted.
"No, no, no," Jiya shook his head, "A ball is like an extravagant dance where everyone dresses up in fancy clothing and partakes in this wonderful thing called frivolity…It's a western custom," explained Okina.
I stared at my adoptive grandfather, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"I still don't get it."
"My dear," said Jiya, "Of course, Aoshi must find a bride at this wonderful ball. Can't you just imagine it? Hundreds of beautiful, young girls just waiting to be---"
smack
"Ow…"
"Get your mind out of the gutter Jiya!"
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"Well, I have to be going now so good bye."
Before Okina could reply, I was out the door and running down the hallway back to my room.
Hurriedly, I rummaged through my drawers until I found the box Aoshi-sama had given me; it was a calligraphy set. I found a scroll and then set up my supplies on the floor next to my rolled up futon. Carefully, I began,
"Dear Aoshi-sama,
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I read that you liked me. I know how hard it would've been to say such things to my face, so I'm glad you decided to write to me. Strange isn't it how it's easier to write your feelings rather than express them in person. However, it pained me to find out that you must find a bride within the next month or else you will lose the throne. It pains me even more that your future is in the hands of that lecherous old geezer, Okina. But, he does have a plan that I think will work. Perhaps he will have already explained it to you by the time you receive this letter. I know you must be under a lot of stress so take it easy and know that you have my support and sympathy. I hope to see you soon…if my fellow concubines will allow it.
Yours,
Misao"
I rolled up the scroll, pleased with my work, and headed off to find Himura. I decided to try the training hall first, so I walked along the familiar path to my favorite place in the palace. But, as I walked, a horrid thought clawed its way into my mind.
What if Aoshi-sama doesn't feel as strongly about me as I do him?
The possibility seemed very real to me at the time, and it scared me. I had thought that maybe he would consider taking me as his wife, but then I realized how foolish that hope really was. I began to worry and doubt.
What if he finds someone he likes better at the ball? Some prettier and more intelligent and graceful than I could ever be?
What would I do if he left me? Would I become a ghost again? A wandering soul with no real purpose in life?
Thankfully, before my thoughts could get any uglier, someone called out my name; it was Himura.
"There you are Misao," he said sweetly, "I was looking for you everywhere. Do you have a letter for me?"
I nodded slightly and handed him the scroll in my hands. He took it gratefully and ran off saying a quick farewell.
After thinking some more ugly thoughts, I wondered when the dreadful ball was.
"It's in two weeks," said Okina, matter-of-factly, "The entire women's quarters will be there and every girl of high status too."
"That's a lot of girls…"
"Yes, I can't wait---"
smack
"Ow…"
Two weeks later:
I hadn't hard from Aoshi-sama at all in two long weeks. At first I had told myself that he was simply busy with the whole getting dethroned problem…but that only worked for about the first week. After that I fell into a deep depression. I had given up all hope, thinking Aoshi-sama had lost interest in me and was out looking for a beautiful queen.
Lazily, I lay in my futon, my normally braided hair splayed about me in a tangled mess. I hardly noticed when Kaoru stormed in and yanked the covers off of me.
"Get up," she yelled down at me.
I ignored her.
"Misao, look at yourself," she cried, "This isn't like you at all! The Misao I knew wouldn't give up so easily!"
Startling my best friend, I sat up suddenly and glared at her.
"He doesn't want anything to do with me!"
"You don't know that," she spoke softly now, "He's been very busy lately. I bet you anything he wanted to write you but he couldn't find the time."
I just shook my head stubbornly.
Then, Kaoru pulled a small scroll from her sleeve and placed it gently in my lap.
"Here, Himura told me to give it to you…I think you know who it's from."
Reluctantly, I opened the letter and read the elegant script:
My Dear Misao,
I look forward to seeing you tonight at the ball.
Yours,
Aoshi
Tears rolled silently down my cheeks as I stared happily and the parchment. In all my life I never thought one single sentence could make me so joyful.
Aoshi-sama doesn't hate me.
I looked up at Kaoru who was smiling brightly at me and I found myself smiling back, for the first time in two weeks. To my surprise, Kaoru revealed a cloth wrapped package she had been hiding behind her the whole time. She placed that too in my lap and gestured for me to open it. I did and all at once every breath in me escaped through my gaping mouth as a held up the most beautiful dress I'd ever seen.
It was western style with off the shoulder sleeves, a wide skirt, perfect for ballroom dancing, and a long elegant train of pure silk. The neck line was lower than anything I'd worn or ever seen worn before, but the color of the dress was the exact same royal purple as the kimono Aoshi had given me before.
I looked up at Kaoru with fresh tears in my eyes. She placed one of her hands on my should and squeezed it lightly.
"Come on, let's get you ready for the ball."
Kaoru was wearing a light yellow dress made from the same material as mine, but her dress had a tapered skirt and no sleeves at all. Of course, I wore the dress Aoshi-sama had given me. We met up with Himura at the pond in the quart yard by our room. It took him three minutes to get any words out of his mouth. There was quite a bit of stuttering before he was finally able to say,
"Y-you both look l-lovely."
He was wearing a black tuxedo and bow tie, in which he looked very uncomfortable.
"You don't look half bad yourself," Kaoru said as she nudged him playfully in the arm.
Himura turned crimson.
"Well, we'd better get going. The ballroom is all the way across the castle in one of the buildings the Emperor never uses. We'll have to take a carriage to get there."
We stepped out of the carriage, Himura went first so he could help Kaoru and me out. I looked up and the grand, marble staircase that lead into the extravagant building. It looked a lot like the main part of the castle where the Emperor's actual personal living quarters were located.
Nervously, I climbed the enormous flight and entered through the two equally enormous wooden doors. Himura lead us across the lobby to two more big wooden doors which were propped open, welcoming all guests. Like a gentleman, Himura held out his arm for Kaoru to take, which she did. Then, the two of them went inside with me trailing behind unsure of what I should do. I felt awkward without someone's arm to hang on to and I walked as slowly as possible, hoping Aoshi would rush out of nowhere and offer me his arm. But, he didn't, and when I reached the top of the staircase leading down into the ballroom I froze.
There before me stood a thousand people, all of whom were much more sophisticated and elegant than myself. At that moment, I felt as though I wanted to run away from it all, but then I saw him. Aoshi stood there surrounded by a group of smiling young girls, staring up at me. The girls soon stopped smiling and followed his gaze, as did everyone else in the room until, to my horror, the entire ballroom was gazing up at me, still as a statue at the top of the stairs.
