A thin layer of frost covered the ground. The sun, still high in the sky, worked in vain to warm the chilly earth. Chihiro regretted her decision not to take her father's warm coat with her the moment she stepped out of the tunnel. She shivered from the cold wind, wrapping the cloak more tightly around her shoulders. The girl looked at the magnificent bathhouse, rising like a sky-scraper among all the other one-story restaurants, and a thought struck her that made her stop dead in her tracks.
"Wait - how am I to get to Granny's? I don't have any train tickets with me. How stupid I was, not to take them when Kamaji offered them to me! What will I do now?"
No train tickets was not the only problem Chihiro faced. She was hungry and tired and on top of that, began to feel under the weather already and would undoubtedly catch a cold soon if she continued to stand out in the open.
"Perhaps," she wondered, "I have enough money in my purse to get myself something to eat, or a better cloak. This one is just useless against this cold."
Chihiro opened her purse, praying to find at least something useful in there that might buy her something. Imagine her surprise when she found there, inside her purse, carefully tucked away Kamaji's train tickets! Chihiro picked up the tickets with delicate fingers, staring at them in disbelief. But how did they get here, she thought. It was then that the girl remembered her brief bye-bye to Lin and Kamaji before she left for Zeniba's.
Lin withdrew her hand from Chihiro's slightly open purse, smiling faintly to herself. "Who knows?" she murmured quietly. "You just might need it."
Chihiro arched her eyebrows at the statement. "Need what, Lin?" she have inquired.
Lin merely shrugged. "You'll find out later," she have replied.
"So THAT is what Lin meant!" Chihiro cried happily as she pressed the tickets against her shirt. "Thank you so much, Lin. You saved me ... again."
With new hope in her heart and courage pulsing her body, Chihiro ran down the narrow streets and didn't stop to regain her breath until she came to the train station. She placed her palms on her knees, breathed in and out heavily, feeling beads of sweat form on her forehead.
The train zipped across the icy water and stopped shortly at its station. The doors opened and a shadow spirit outstretched his hand. Chihiro tore out one ticket from the four and dropped it into the spirit's palm. With a small smile, the spirit grinded the ticket and dropped the remains into a purse and stepped aside, gesturing for Chihiro to come in. "Thank you," she murmured and boarded the train.
Chihiro was so happy to be on that train that she completely forgot about her hunger. She simply wrapped the cloak more tightly around herself and sat down on the bench, her face soft and thoughtful as she stared out the window. Chihiro could make out faint roars and growls, that, she guessed, were made by the monsters that escaped the Abyss. The train, as Chihiro saw, was basically completely deserted of passengers.
I will come, Granny, the girl thought as she stared out the window. I have a feeling something huge is awaiting me; and whatever it is, I will embrace it with open arms.
A totally different chain of events were happening at the Imperial Palace. The Lady looked pale and tired from lack of sleep. She stood up from her golden throne and beckoned Haku to follow her. "Come," she murmured. "There's something I want to show you."
"Yes, my Lady," Haku murmured in reply and obediently followed her down the halls. The Lady descended a set of stairs and came to the very bottom floor. Spider webs were in the wall's corners; thick layers of dust covered the tables, the untouched candle sticks, and the portraits hanging on the walls. The hallway was dark and empty. The Lady grabbed a torch and came to a large, wooden door. She looked around and when she saw that nobody was in sight, pushed the door open.
A room was displayed before the two. It wasn't furnished at all, but undoubtedly unique and magnificent. Armor made of gold and shields with jewels hung on the metal. The Lady grasped Haku gingerly by the hand and led him down the room, pointing at the glorious armor. "This all belonged to the Lord," she said.
Haku stared, jaw-dropped, as the Lady opened one box besides a set of the Lord's golden armor and took out a magnificent sword. The sword was the most beautiful thing Haku saw; its handle was made of ivory, adorned with sparkling rubies and emeralds. The sword's blade looked better than any new one, made out of fine, polished metal that somehow translated the sun's light into a rainbow; like water did. The Lady gazed lovingly at the weapon and handed it to Haku carefully.
"This was the Lord's finest sword," she said. "Our son was supposed to have it, but he was killed when he was just a baby. Pierce a bad spirit with this sword, and that spirit will be turned to stone."
"My Lady, you trust me with such a valuable weapon?" Haku stammered, his eyes sparkling like the emeralds at the sword's handle.
The Lady covered her face with her hands in grief. "Yes," she murmured, slowly taking her hands off her face. "Our son ... was supposed to have it." The Lady gave out a heart wrenching sob as she placed her hand over her chest. "But our innocent son was killed when he was just a tiny baby; and now, I have no one else to give it to. You might as well have it."
Haku held the sword gingerly in his hands, gazing at it lovingly. "Thank you..."
The Lady looked from the sword to the young general and choked back another sob. "Tell me, Haku, do you have any ideas on how to defeat the Dark Spirit?" she asked slowly. "The sword can turn any bad spirit into stone, with the exception of the Monster. As you know, only a human can kill it."
Haku tore his eyes off the sword's shiny blade and looked up at the Lady. "Yes," he replied. "I think we should take away the weapons it uses, first."
"That's very smart, but what weapons does it use?"
"I don't know about all of them, but I know one that the Dark Spirit uses very well: Yubaba."
"Yubaba!" the Lady echoed, taking in a sharp, short breath of surprise.
Haku nodded slowly. "I found out recently and quite by accident, my Lady. Yubaba does every will of the Dark Spirit; she's its person in this world."
The Lady paled from anger. "Very well," she muttered through clenched teeth. "We must get to the bottom of this immediately. Yubaba is a powerful witch, and we cannot afford her being on the Dark Spirit's side. I will send out an invitation to Yubaba to come to the Palace immediately. I will talk with her when she comes. If she does not agree to stop working for the Dark Spirit, I will give you the signal and you'll kill her with this." The Lady placed her finger on the sword's blade and gave a slight nod of agreement to herself.
Haku, inwardly, didn't want to kill Yubaba. But he simply gave a nod of obedience and they left.
The Lady ascended the stairs to the throne room and, taking a blank piece of paper, wrote down an invitation. "She should come here when it turns dusk," the Lady said, throwing the invitation over the open window. The wind picked up and, taking the invitation, blew it far until it was out of sight.
Time crawled at a snail's speed from that moment onward. Neither the Lady nor Haku could get any rest as they watched breathlessly for the day to leave and for Yubaba to arrive. But when the day did leave, the witch appeared at the Palace's doorstep and the long wait was finally over. "You called for me?" she asked, staring the Lady boldly on the eye.
The Lady stared fiercely at Yubaba back. Her brow was creased into an angry frown as she spoke, "Yubaba, it was revealed to me today that you are serving the Dark Spirit. Now is the most critical time the Spirit Realm ever knew for a thousand years - the upcoming battle with the Dark Spirit will decide our fates forever. Since all of us are suffering from the Beast, I offer you to stop serving it. However, if you disagree, you leave me but with no choice to kill you."
"I won't stop serving the Dark Spirit," Yubaba replied, firmly. "It is more powerful than you."
The Lady rose slowly from her throne. "I ask you to reconsider your choice," she hissed at the witch. "Remember the consequences for refusal."
"I am not changing my mind."
The Lady pressed her lips firmly together. Her face was stony, but in the depths of her azure eyes swelled heart wrenching sorrow. "Now, Haku!" she cried. Haku walked over to Yubaba, raising the sword to strike.
"Go ahead, kill me!" Yubaba jeered. "Then you will never know where your son is."
Upon hearing this, the Lady paled and had to grasp the throne to keep herself from falling. "Stop, Haku!" she yelled, and Haku lowered his sword with a puzzled expression. Taking in a deep breath, she turned to Yubaba.
"My son is dead; there is nothing new you can tell me about him. Why do you even bring this subject up?"
Yubaba shook her head. "No, your son isn't dead. I can bring him to you, but only if you first give me your word that you won't kill me."
The Lady snickered, shaking her head slightly to herself. "There's just one thing I don't get. Is your life of an old witch that important to you?"
Yubaba's eyes seemed to swell with heart-breaking sorrow. "No," she murmured. "I want to live because I have a son."
"A son?" The Lady took a step forward, frowning. "You have a son? Where?"
"My son is none of your business!" Yubaba snapped angrily. "It is your son you want to know about, not mine."
Haku looked from Yubaba to the Lady in bewilderment. "Don't trust her, my Lady," he advised. "I have been Yubaba's apprentice. I know her. She will trick you somehow, and get away with her life."
Yubaba's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets and for a moment, her face held a warning note of honest outrage. "Shut up, Haku!" she hollered. "You don't know what a mother's heart is, and how desperate it is to save her baby! This is the Lady's choice; don't you dare affect her!"
The Lady looked at Yubaba sternly. A huge decision was in front of her: spare the witch and get her son, or spare her kingdom and never know her only child. There was, of course, also the question of Yubaba's honesty. After a moment, she replied: "I simply cannot trust a person like you. You can point to any man in my kingdom and claim he is my son."
Yubaba snickered, crossing her arms. "All right. For you two not to think that I am casting a spell or doing some trickery, I'll let you see for yourself that he is your son. Like a mother, do you know anything about your son that nobody else knows? Like a birthmark."
The Lady arched her eyebrows. "Yes, of course I know."
Yubaba clapped her hands gleefully. "Excellent! So, I will show you where your son is; and you will see for yourself that he is indeed your son if he has that birthmark, or not. I don't know your son's birthmark."
"I wouldn't tell you."
"And you don't have to. All of this is under the condition - of course - that you give me your word that you will not kill me. So, do we have a deal?"
The Lady lowered her eyes to the ground, hiding a wistful frown. The sorrow and heart-break of believing that her beloved child was dead for a thousand years returned to her, and soon her eyes were brimming with stinging tears. The Lady blinked away those tears and looked up at the witch before her.
"I made my decision!" The Lady turned to acknowledge the young general. "I'm sorry, Haku. I know that I am hurting you by this, but ... I have to know where my son is."
Haku sighed faintly. "It is up to you, my Lady."
The Lady turned to Yubaba. "Very well. I agree. When do we leave?"
Yubaba resisted the urge to snicker. "We aren't leaving," she said calmly. "Your son is right here."
The Lady stared. "What?"
Wordlessly, Yubaba took Haku's hand and led him to the Lady. "This, my Lady, is your son." Then, the witch turned to Haku, grinning evilly. "Yes, my dear boy, she is your mother! And yes, it was I who stole you from the Palace a thousand years ago. I had orders to kill you, but I chose to disobey and spare your life."
The witch turned to the Lady, who was as pale as a ghost. "I hope now, my Lady, that not only in gratitude of saving your son's life but also in bringing him back to you that you will simply leave me be."
"Can you be ... my dear boy?" the Lady stammered, outstretching two trembling hands to Haku. Haku felt his own eyes sting with hot tears and stepped back, shaking his head stubbornly.
"No!" he cried. "You cannot be my mother. It is impossible!"
"Please, give us a moment of privacy," the Lady told Yubaba sternly and ignoring Haku's remark, led him to the open window. Carefully, the Lady took Haku's hair in her hand and saw that behind his left ear was a birthmark the shape of a crown.
The Lady dropped the hair as if it stung her. "My son!" she cried, her eyes brimming with salty, joyous tears. "My son, it is you!"
Haku stared. "M-my Lady, how can you b-be so sure? What is there?" he inquired.
"The birthmark is there!" The Lady clasped her hands together, as if in prayer, and rose her eyes to meet the ceiling. "It is passed down from generation to generation in the royal family, but only to male descendants."
The Lady outstretched her arms towards him and embraced Haku gently, letting all those emotions during the past millennium spill into those tears. Haku did the same, sniffing faintly against the Lady's silk robes. "Mother ..." he murmured. Mother. That word was so alien to him; he never said it before. "Mother!" Haku repeated, joyfully, and embraced the one person in the world besides his dear human friend he knew that cared for him.
The Lady pulled back and wiped her wet eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Though I shall kill you for stealing my only child from me," she said sternly, "I gave you my word that I won't; so I give you your life. But answer me this question - why do you work for the Dark Spirit?"
Yubaba waved her hand aimlessly. The reunion between the mother and son after a thousand years obviously haven't touched her heart in the slightest. "How can you ask me that question?" she croaked. "You never knew any hardships in your life. All that you knew were luxuries, parties, comfort. You never underwent betrayal and heart-break; you never had to think how to hide, protect, feed, raise your child. You will never understand."
The Lady's gentle face turned so glassy and angry that Haku wanted to step away. "How dare you use that tone on me!" she hissed.
"Forget for a minute that you're the queen. I'm a spirit, you're a spirit. We're equal, regardless of status."
The Lady frowned thoughtfully. "Such a critical time is on now! I'm trying to protect my subjects, including you. Why are you working for the sworn enemy of our Realm?"
Yubaba burst into peals of mocking laughter. "What can you do against the Dark Spirit?" she demanded. "The Lord himself died in simply imprisoning it! You could never protect me from the Monster, and not my son, either -!"
"Your son!" the Lady interrupted, realization dawning on her face. "So that is why you work for the Monster - because of your son?"
Yubaba's mocking laughter turned into bitter cries. "Yes, that's why - the cursed devil! It told me that it would kill my son, my only child, all that I have left if I don't work for it! That is why I'm here, doing tasks that disgust even me; because if I don't, it will kill my little Bo."
"Don't you understand that you aren't saving your Bo by working for it?" the Lady cried. "The Dark Spirit can kill your son whenever it wants to, and there is nothing you will be able to do to stop it. Instead, why don't we unite our powers together to defeat the Monster and saving not just the life of your child, but countless others as well?"
Yubaba sniffed gently. "No," she replied sternly. "You, frankly speaking, understand that we don't stand a chance against that cursed devil. And I'm not risking the life of my son."
The Lady's face turned stony and glassy. "As I promised, I won't kill you; but, if during the war you will be under danger of death from my side, I won't save you."
You could tell that Yubaba took the Lady's warning as an insult by the way her face hardened. "I understand that," she muttered through clenched teeth. "Your promise consisted of not killing me now, not some time after."
"Very well, then," the Lady said calmly, completely unaffected by Yubaba's cold tone. "You may leave."
Yubaba bowed her head slightly. I do have a feeling that this isn't the goodbye, she thought to herself as she wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and, turning into a bird, flew away.
I would like to take this moment to thank my dear reviewers. Reviews is the biggest support I can get from you guys; encouragement and all of those kind words really keep me going. Here are the people who reviewed my story so far: OtakuFanGirl001, AAS97, AlyonaKK1, Chelsie the Vampire Adventurer, HazelGamerKat, NarutoSwagg99, dulce, bookmaniac, and Ariel! Also thanks to everybody who put my story on their favorites/follow lists, and of course everybody who read my story. I check everyday to see how many views/visitors I got. I will update later this week or some time next week. I want to take a few days to organize all of my thoughts and write a really good chapter. In the meanwhile, read and leave me a review to tell me what you think! :) 'Till next update!
