Chapter Ten
"You know, I thought that the Tree Palace was really beautiful." Sakura glanced around her, stepping carefully from stone to stone as she followed Washu through the tree-lined pathway towards the main Juraian thoroughfare that linked the royal complex with the rest of the populated planet. "But the more we move on, the prettier Jurai seems to get. I thought that Princess Ayeka said that Jurai's climate was in decline - but it looks very much alive to me."
"Well, to you, perhaps." Washu paused, turning back to smile at her companion. "On the surface, it seems that way. Ayeka did say the worst of it was in the south, after all. But if you look more closely at the trees, Sakura, you'll see the leaves are a funny shade, and that a lot of the plants have dead or dying buds instead of blooming flowers. This world is sick, sure enough. In time it will spread and encompass the whole of the planet, if something isn't done about it."
"Washu-san, where exactly are we going?" Sakura wondered, glancing up towards the sky as the first specks of rain spattered against the stones that paved the pathway. "And why did you take me with you? Why not Tenchi? I don't understand - what help can I be to you? This planet is literally alien to me. I don't know a thing about it."
"But you are fully fit, and I can use another active brain." Washu said simply. "Tenchi's in no state to go trecking in the wilderness, and besides, he's better off at the Tenju palace. He can rest and hopefully help Takeru in some respect, dealing with the jittery Jurai Council. I thought it would be better if Ikeda stayed with him, considering that we're going to see a young woman - I want to win her trust, and he might be a touch too friendly for her. This way, Ryo Ohki can keep an eye on the pair of them for me without having to stray too far. I don't expect that I'll forget anything this Romio girl might or might not say, Sakura, but there is something else I think you can help me with."
"How?" Sakura was confused. "I'm just a girl from Osaka, that's all. I don't have special magic like you do, or like Ryoko does. I'm not a Prince, like Tenchi. I can't even defend myself against a mad kid with a black and silver fan. I don't see what use I can be."
"Well, maybe you shouldn't sell yourself short." Washu said chidingly. "To your own eyes, you probably are just like everyone else on your planet. But there's something I've observed - as an outsider - about people from Planet Earth. Something which, in this setting, makes you much less mundane and ordinary. I'm firmly of the belief that every species, no matter how remote, is possessed of their own special gifts and abilities, after all. You just don't notice them, because you're surrounded by them on a daily basis."
"I don't follow." Sakura's brow creased. "Are you suggesting that people on the Earth have some kind of magic too?"
"Call it that, if you like." Washu nodded, negotiating a tricky sprawling tree root as she cast her companion a playful grin. "I first saw it in Tenchi and his family, but with their connections, I was never sure how much of it had been influence by Jurai. After all, Tsunami, in a normal scenario, is an extremely peaceful, benevolent force in herself. But I've had a chance to see you and Hiroshi more in the last few days, and I know from things my daughter has said how much you've been willing to accept her for who and what she is. That is the talent of the Earthling, Sakura. Your people may not be technologically advanced, nor powerful mages in battle. But you have a strong sense of compassion for those around you. An empathy that many other worlds would envy, if they knew of it."
"Empathy?" Sakura stared, stopping dead as she considered her companion's words. "Are you serious? That's a power?"
"It is if you're often in contact with those who lack it." Washu nodded. "I noticed how you took Haru off guard, showing him sympathy in the middle of his rampage. That's why I'm taking you with me to see Romio. Your Earth naivete might be just what I need to get her to talk to us about whatever happened on her homeworld."
"Well, I'll try." Sakura looked doubtful. "I'm not sure you're right, but I'll go with it."
"Trust me." Washu said with conviction. "I've been around a long time, and I've seen many people, worlds and cultures. But none have been as much a home to me as your planet, Sakura. I mean that - even my own. I've had friendships and alliances, and I've been part of many things. But I've never felt as safe anywhere in the universe as I do on planet Earth. Sure enough, some of your people are still struggling to come to terms with us and what it means to have aliens in their midst. But on balance, you've all reached out a hand of welcome and trust to us, and I'm grateful for that. I won't ever forget how Tenchi and his family gave us a place to stay and treated us like part of the family. He's a very special boy, your friend Tenchi. But I've come to the conclusion that it's just as much because of the way he's been raised and the people he's grown up with as it is his own native magics. Noboyuki is just an average, ordinary Earthling, but he raised Tenchi more or less alone after his wife died. Despite his own failings, he did a good job instilling values in that boy - though of course I'd never tell him I thought that way! And they are truly Earth values. After all, you might not think anything of it, but then, on Jurai, communicating with trees or living alongside them as brothers is so ordinary noone even remarks on it. Yet to you, this is quite a novelty. Don't you see how it could be the other way about? Even the people of the Earth have something to give to the Universe. I think it's friendship - but we'll have to wait and see."
"Wow." Sakura was touched. "When you put it all like that, maybe you're right. But not everyone on the Earth is good, Washu-san. Not everyone is a friend."
"No, but then nowhere is perfect." Washu shrugged philosophically. "Earth doesn't have a sentient soul in the way Jurai does, or even a spirit in the way my own homeworld once did. But it still has something that attracts those who visit it. I've never been able to place what that is, but it's almost a magic of it's own creation. Put there by the people who walk its surface. Maybe it is the naivety and isolation your people have experienced. Who knows? Either way, I'm glad to call it my home, and I know Ryoko feels the same way. And you and Ikeda are good friends for her as well as for Tenchi, despite her differences. For one such as Ryoko, who has never experienced acceptance to a great degree, that means a lot more than you know."
"I like Ryoko." Sakura said thoughtfully, as they pushed their way through a particularly dense section of scrub. "Even if she is different from other people...I'm glad to call her my friend. And her teleportation, when you're used to it, doesn't half save on train fares. Always a good thing, when you're a poor college student!"
"Yes, I imagine so." Washu chuckled.
"Is she really all right, Washu-san?"
"I believe so." Washu nodded. "Ryo Ohki and Ryoko are connected telepathically, after all. If anyone knows where my daughter is or what she's feeling, it's her. If Ryo Ohki is calm, and says she's all right, I believe her. Where she is and what she's doing, I don't know. But I have faith in that cabbit. Their bond is very strong and of some years standing. If Ryoko were in trouble, we'd know."
"Good." Sakura sighed. "I'm glad about that."
She grimaced, gazing up at the sky as the rain became heavier.
"This is just like home. So if we're going to this girl's town, how far do we have to go?"
"Just as far as the main thoroughfare. We can get a transport vehicle across Jurai to Kuroiki, where she lives. It won't take more than a few minutes - and it will be another experience for you, won't it?"
"I feel like a twelve year old on a school trip." Sakura confessed. "All we need is the guide with the green flag and we'll be all set."
Washu burst out laughing, amusement dancing in her eyes at her companion's innocent description and she nodded her head, reaching out to take the girl's hand as she helped her to cross a deep dip in the pathway.
"A little further." She said. "There. This is a little different from all the greenery, isn't it? We took a short cut - fortunately for you, I lived on Jurai for very nearly a year when I was younger...working on a research project. This is the quickest way to reach the main transport network of Jurai - sorry if you got a bit wet and branch-scratched in the process."
"No, I'm fine." Sakura assured her. "One thing I'm more than used to is unexpected downpours, after all."
She faltered, catching sight for the first time of the transport terminal, and she drew breath sharply, staring around her in amazement. From the dense thickets of the pathway, they had stepped out into an oval shaped expanse of land, cleared carefully and painstakingly and smoothed down with a strong, shiny material that Sakura did not recognise. Directly opposite where they stood was a white-panel wall, with a number of electronic doorways that swung back and forth to admit people at random intervals. Men and women in uniform she didn't recognise stood near these gates, holding flat, black squares in their hands and as each traveller passed through the arch, they ran their hands over the panels, being issued with a pass and then sent in a specific direction. Towards the back of the oval, raised sections of stone seemed to serve as stations, each bearing a plaque with an individual symbol, and an odd contraption, half tree, half spaceship and bearing a matching symbol hovered just above the soil, waiting for the signal to leave. As Sakura watched, one of the plaques flickered from white to blue, and the furthermost vessel seemed to whirr into life, rising up towards the sky and then disappearing from view completely.
Above their heads, the glittering sheen of a translucent domed roof arched over them, held at each corner by carved wooden pillars, and as she moved closer to the nearest one, she saw it was carved with a number of strange symbols. Tentatively she ran a finger over the wood, feeling the tingle of life beneath, and she stared at Washu in astonishment.
"It's alive!"
"Yes, it is." Washu confirmed, patting the trunk gently. "Jurai learnt long ago to mingle their native magics with their advances in technology. The result is a place of this nature. These pillars are built from blessed wood - and they control the navigation of the entire system. The carriages travel out all across Jurai, and each symbol dictates which sector they go to. We want to go North, fortunately for us...come with me."
"We do?" Sakura blinked. "How will we know which is North?"
"The symbols are Old Era Juraian, as are the characters carved into the pillar you were just gawking over." Washu's eyes twinkled with amusement. "But because Jurai is so cosmopolitan these days, Galactic Tongue has taken over as the main spoken language. Not everyone on this world can afford to be educated in Old Era tongues, but a few symbols survive and act as icons throughout the Juraian Empire to mean different things. See, those two crosses indicate the East. The spreading circle is indicative of the South. The West is characterised by the curl of the serpent tail. And the North...which is where we're going - is marked with a diamond flower."
"That's a flower?" Sakura stared, then shook her head. "All right, if you say so. I'll just follow you."
"Good call." Washu responded amiably, leading her companion up to one of the uniformed men, who peered at her for a moment.
"Two?" He asked gruffly.
"Two to the North. We're going to Kuroiki." Washu said composedly.
"Northern car at the far end of the bay. Left side." The man held out his black panel and Washu ran her fingers over it, glancing at Sakura.
"Just touch it. That's all." She said gently. Sakura bit her lip, but did as she was bidden, and soon the device whirred into life, spewing out two glinting travel cards. Washu took them, thanking the man with a warm smile as they made their way over to the waiting Northern car.
"Here you go." She said, seperating the cards and handing Sakura hers. "This belongs to you."
"But...don't they ask for any money?" Sakura looked blank. "Don't you pay for train tickets on this planet?"
"The Central Transport Network is funded by the Council of Jurai. It's one of the Essential Services and so it's free for all to use." Washu shook her head. "It's one of the reasons you'll find so many people using it. After all, it's common sense. It's inexpensive to run a system like this on the resources Jurai has, but if you were to do what they've done on the Earth and start tearing down trees to map roadways and tracks, you'd cause devastation to the planet's ecology. Jurai's ecology is vital to the survival of the people. So if the governing body provide efficient transport that's free and that doesn't pollute the planet, of course people will use that instead. It's logic."
"I wish someone would think of doing that on the Earth." Sakura sighed, allowing her companion to help her up onto the stone-covered platform. "It would really help my budget, if they did."
She paused, eying the glittering contraption hesitantly.
"That thing is safe? I mean, you said Jurai was unstable."
"Yes, but the problems have been in the South, and there are no notices of service impairment for the North." Washu said easily. "So I think we'll be fine. Follow me, Sakura. It isn't a long trip - a few minutes, no more. And then you'll see why the North uses the flower as its symbol. Kuroiki gets its name from the black-branched trees that only grow in the more alpine regions of the planet. And the flowers are very distinctive...a species native only to this region of Jurai."
"I see." Sakura stepped carefully inside the carriage, sitting down beside the scientist on a low, soft-padded seat as she glanced around at the tiny compartment. "And now what do we do? Do we wait? Does someone check our passes? What happens next?"
"See those slots there?" Washu indicated, and Sakura nodded.
"Yes. Oh! We put the pass in the slot?"
"You're catching on fast." Washu nodded her head, pushing her own pass into one of the empty holes and waiting as the destination list flickered up on the screen above. Deftly she selected Kuroiki, and slowly and carefully Sakura imitated her example, letting out a sigh of relief as it accepted her instructions.
"Keep the pass safe. We'll need it to get back." Washu instructed. "That's just to tell the craft where we're going, so that they know where to stop. It's not like Earth transports, which stop everywhere regardless of whether anyone wants it or not. It only goes where it's called, and where people ask it to go. And speaking of going, hang on tight. We're about to leave - and I remember you didn't like the speed Ryo Ohki travelled at."
"It can't go that fast, surely?" Sakura's eyes widened with alarm as the craft began to rise, but before Washu could answer, it had jerked into top gear, shooting through a dark, winding tunnel that seemed to have no ending. Sakura screwed her eyes shut as she held on for dear life, sure that if they went much faster she'd wind up being scalped. She gritted her teeth, aware of Washu's amused laughter at her side. At length they slowed, and cautiously Sakura opened one eye to find the gleaming blue of the Juraian sky once more visible, and that they were drifting through clouds. Sighing with relief, she gazed out of the window as they began to drop slowly and carefully towards the ground, taking in the view with a mixture of awe and fascination.
"Mountains." She murmured. "But I don't understand, Washu-san. Aren't there volcanoes here too? Why haven't they erupted?"
"Jurai isn't like the Earth. Volcanoes and mountains don't have to be the same thing at all." Washu told her with a smile. "Even back before the time of Tsunami, this area is rumoured to have been this way. But there are no volcanoes in the north. Only the mountains and the occasional alpine snowfall."
"And black trees!" Sakura's eyes opened wide with realisation. "Oh! I see them! I see what you mean! The flowers really are diamond-like!"
"Yes." Washu agreed, getting to her feet and hauling her companion up with her. "And this is our stop, so don't dawdle. We don't want to go flying on a few hundred miles to the next settlement if you don't mind. I don't think we have the time to spare."
"I'm ready when you are." Sakura promised. "To be honest, I won't be sorry to get off this thing. Pretty as the view is, I don't totally trust it."
Washu chuckled, gripping hold of her hand tightly as the craft descended to a gentle stop beside another of the carved posts, this one bearing the symbol of a black tree. The door swung back and carefully the two travellers disembarked, barely on the ground before the transport was once more rising into the blue.
"The town is just over that rise." Washu pointed. "If memory serves, it's not more than a couple of minutes walk."
"You've been here before, then?" Sakura obediently fell into step with her companion, and Washu nodded.
"A long time ago, yes." She agreed. "I told you. I spent some time on Jurai, before Ryoko was born."
"Tenchi said you were twenty thousand of our years old." Sakura bit her lip. "Is that true, or was he winding us up?"
"No, it's true." Washu said carelessly. "I've been around a while."
"I couldn't imagine living that long." Sakura said pensively. "What do you do with all that time?"
"Create things." Washu said simply. "That's always been my calling. Whether for good or bad, I've always put my focus in science. In a sense, it's the only constant I've ever had."
"I suppose it must be pretty hard to form a meaningful relationship with someone if you live practically forever and they don't." Sakura mused. Washu's expression became rueful.
"You really have no idea." She said frankly. "But I'm not immortal. I don't know what my lifespan is, especially not now. When my planet still existed, it sustained my life force and kept me at the age you see me now. But now it's gone, I really don't know what to expect. It's all interesting, really. I guess time will tell."
Sakura pursed her lips, considering this.
"Don't you ever get fed up?" She asked at length, as they mounted the hillside, revealing the sprawling settlement below. "I mean, I would."
"There have been times." Washu agreed carefully. "But on balance, I like life. And I don't worry about the future. I've more than had my share of time, so I won't fight fate when it calls for me. I don't think that will be soon, though. I'm strong as I've ever been, after all. And involved in my daughter's life, which I never thought possible."
"It must have been very hard, being seperated for so long." Sakura reflected. Washu started, then she grinned.
"There's that empathy again." She said lightly. "Don't use it all up on me, Sakura-chan. Save a little bit for this Romio girl - we might need it."
"Oh." Sakura pinkened, looking self-conscious. "Sorry."
"Well, here we are, anyway." Washu pursed her lips, gazing around the main street. "We're looking for the third house on the western border, according to the papers Haru gave me. That can't be too hard to find - I seem to remember that it's over to the left."
"People are giving us funny looks." Sakura murmured, as they walked through the streets, sandstone buildings flanking each side of the path. Every so often there would be an expanse of land flourishing with wild flowers and plants, and in the centre of each was a tall, thick-trunked black tree, blooming with the odd flowers that had become so symbolic of the region. "Do you think they can tell we're not from Jurai?"
"Probably." Washu said cheerfully. "Don't worry too much about it. It's natural curiosity...are you telling me you wouldn't stare at two complete strangers if they walked through your hometown looking lost?"
"Yes, I suppose I would." Sakura acknowledged.
"Here we are. This is the one we want." Washu paused in front of a tall, narrow stone house, a number three carved over the doorway. Suddenly feeling shy, Sakura hesitated, but Washu pulled her forwards, pressing firmly on a flat, clear panel on the wall beside the door.
"Nothing happened." Sakura looked startled. "Is it broken?"
"It shines inside the house - but it doesn't disturb the whole street." Washu shook her head. "It's fine. Trust me."
Before Sakura could respond, the door slid back and Sakura found that they were face to face with a young woman, thick violet hair braided back from her face in a long tail and a small child of two or three clutched in her arms. She was dressed simply, in clothing that Sakura realised wouldn't look out of place on her own planet, and she began to relax. Perhaps this wouldn't be so strange, after all.
"Can I help you?" The woman seemed startled, confusion in her dark red eyes.
"I hope so." Washu offered her a smile. "I'm looking for Romio Asakura. I was told this was where she lived...am I right?"
"I'm Romio." The woman's eyes became wary. "What do you want with me?"
"My name is Washu Hakubi, and this is Sakura Ito. We've come from the Tenju, on the advice of Lord Haru, brother of the Emperor Azusa." Washu said gravely. "I understand that the Emperor has done much to help and protect you over the last ten years."
"The palace?" A strange look crossed Romio's face, then, "I wasn't expecting...but...I suppose I should have. I mean...well...everything being as it is..."
She bit her lip, clearly in two minds as to what she should do, and the small girl in her arms turned a wide-eyed gaze on Sakura, staring at her with unashamed curiosity.
"Funny hair." She said at length, pointing a small, stubby finger at the Earthling, and despite herself, Sakura's hand went self-consciously up to her recently sheared locks. Romio looked embarrassed, casting the infant a glare.
"That's not polite." She murmured, offering Sakura an apologetic glance.
"I'm sorry. She's young and she says things she shouldn't, sometimes."
"It's all right." Sakura assured her, returning the look with a smile. "I feel the same way about it, as it happens. She's very sweet."
The child put her fingers in her mouth, chewing on them as she stared between the visitors one at a time.
"I won't beat around the bush." Washu spied the indecision in her companion's eyes and moved in for the kill. "Bad things are happening on Jurai, and they involve your homeworld, Yousai. Lord Haru sent us to you because he thought you might know more about that planet than he or any of the Council. The Emperor is seriously ill, and so are other members of the Royal House. And it can all be traced to something -we think - that happened on Yousai ten years ago. Since that's the same time Lord Azusa brought you here..."
She trailed off, and Sakura saw all the colour drain from Romio's pretty face. Instinctively her grip on her child tightened, and she bit down hard on her lip.
"I see." She said softly. "In which case, you'd better come in."
"Thank you." Washu flashed her a smile, glancing at Sakura. "Come on, Sakura-chan. Let's do as she says."
Sakura nodded, obediently following her companion into the narrow, brightly lit hallway of the little house. Romio ushered them into the front room, calling for someone as she went and soon a young girl of about seven materialised in the doorway, her clothing tattered and muddy around the edges from some game she had been playing outside.
"Isu-chan, will you take your sister and go across to Natsumi-san's house?" Romio spoke softly, transferring the small child into the older girl's arms and Sakura was amazed at the expert nature with which the seven year old took hold of her sibling. "Call your brother too, and stay there until Papa returns home, or until I send for you. All right?"
"Yes, Mama." The girl nodded her head, offering the visitors a cheeky smile, then disappearing back the way she had come, gurgling infant in arms. Once alone, Romio let out a heavy sigh, dropping down into a vacant seat and indicating for her companions to follow suit.
"If we are to speak of Yousai, I don't want them to hear it." She said by way of explanation. "It's not something I talk about often."
"There was a good reason why you left your homeworld, I imagine." Washu sat back against the cushions of her chair, eying her keenly. "But it's not something which the Emperor has disclosed to us in full detail. I know it's asking a lot for you to trust us, as complete strangers to your home. But we need to get to the bottom of this. Bad things are already happening, as you must already realise. I know that something happened on Yousai a decade ago, and that it involved the Emperor and Arian magic. What I don't know is what."
"He was not the Emperor then." Romio murmured, twisting her hands together. "He was the Crown Prince...but in some ways, he was still the shining knight who saved me from myself. As you seem to know, I was not born on Jurai - although this is my home now, and my husband is a native Juraian. Even he doesn't know the full extent of my coming here, although he realises that I aided the Imperial family in some way in the past."
She bit her lip, glancing at the floor.
"What exactly do you wish to know?" She asked softly. "About Yousai?"
"If you can tell us, we'd like to know why you left." Washu said pragmatically. "What exactly it was Lord Azusa rescued you from."
Romio hesitated for a moment, and Sakura offered her a smile.
"I know you probably don't want to remember." She added. "It must have been frightening, having to leave your world like that. Right? But people we care about are very sick already, and likely to get sicker if we can't help them. So we need your help. Just like the King of Jurai did then. Will you tell us? Please?"
Romio sighed, then she nodded her head.
"I was just an ordinary girl on Yousai, when I was a small child." She said heavily. "My family were not rich, you understand...but we got by. I don't know if you are familiar with my world, but there are a number of different peoples living there. The most significant are the Shizukasari. They rule the region but they do so well...Yousai is generally at peace."
She clasped her hands together, her knuckles whitening as she remembered.
"However, my parents were killed by bandits when I was young." She said slowly. "And I was left to fend for myself. I'd been injured myself - they'd thought me dead - and I should have died. But I was helped - I was saved by a young woman, whose face and name I did not yet know. She asked me to enter her service, and I agreed. I then discovered she was Ramia Saotome, and that she was to be the next Lady of Yousai."
"Saotome!" Washu's eyes opened wide with alarm, and Romio nodded.
"Yes." She agreed. "Ramia-sama was born of Airai, and she told me, of a powerful family there. When she was wed to the Lord of Yousai, she hoped that she would use her influence to take control of the planet completely. She sought to claim worlds in Airai's name, and to re-establish an empire that world had once had. Only she said she needed allies - that another powerful family were their deadly foes and that her people had to struggle just to keep above water."
"The Akara." Washu pursed her lips. "Go on."
"Ramia-sama's magic was alien to me." Romio looked troubled. "But I soon realised how deeply I was involved. She had control of me - of my very soul - and I could not evade her control or her observation. She was truly the most powerful being I have ever known...and I was afraid of her. And yet, I also wanted to serve her well. She had saved my life and given me a new place to belong, after all. I was determined that whatever she did, she must have a good reason. And that whatever happened in the short term, in the long run her plans must be beneficial for all of Yousai."
"Under the control of a Saotome? I highly doubt it." Washu said darkly. "So what went wrong? What happened?"
"Lord Shigeki discovered somehow that Ramia-sama was plotting against him." Romio said sadly. "I do not know how or from what source. It wasn't from my lips. But he sent to Jurai for aid, and I was taken and interrogated using that serum they use for criminals on this world. I did not want to betray my mistress, but I couldn't fight its effects. So I did. I told them everything, and they let me go."
"I suppose Ramia wasn't very happy about that, huh?" Sakura asked gently. Romio shook her head, and to her surprise, the Earthling could see tears in the girl's eyes.
"I discovered then how powerful she truly was...and how little she cared for anyone but her own self." She murmured. "She placed a hex on me, and sought to kill me. But Jurai's forces helped Lord Shigeki to imprison her inside the old feudal tower that stood at Shinoshi's dock, and I was saved from death by the Crown Prince's own divine magic. He promised me sanctuary on Jurai, if I was to tell him all I knew about Ramia-sama. I...I was afraid, and so I agreed. He has kept his half of the bargain well, too. My life here is happy and peaceful, and all I could ever have wanted."
"But Ramia isn't dead." Washu's eyes narrowed. "And more, she was Lady of Yousai...imprisoned inside this tower you mentioned. That means she's Misao's mother - the child who Ryoko brought back to the Earth with her. Suddenly a few things slot into place. Misao's abduction no longer seems so random - obviously Ramia wanted to use her as a figurehead in some way, which means that Ramia must also be using her magic to control Haki, and that he's acting under her auspices. None of this has been random at all. It's all been the carefully woven plan of a skillful witch."
"But Lady Ramia is still locked up, right?" Sakura looked startled. "Surely she can't hurt anyone from there?"
Romio bit her lip, shaking her head.
"When I first came to Jurai, I had symbols of her curse all over my body." She whispered. "Some faded with time, others still remain faintly on my skin, as a reminder of how she betrayed me. But when the Lord of Yousai died, it was said that he too bore the symbols of a curse. Ramia-sama was sealed within her tower at this time, but I distinctly remember that she took something with her, when called to answer her husband's questions. She had a carved chest in her chamber, and inside this box she kept likenesses - images of the people she sought to destroy with her dark arts. Before she left me, she showed me quite blatantly my own reflection, mirrored in the tiny doll in her hand. She dropped it as she left, as if she believed I was beyond all help and no longer of any interest to her. But she carried another to her prison with her - and from the fleeting glance I got at it, I believe it was the image of Lord Shigeki."
Sakura's eyes opened wide with horror.
"You mean...she's practicing voodoo on these people?" She whispered. "She's using effigies and striking them down without even looking at them? Is that possible?"
"It's possible, and it's also very likely." Washu said darkly. "I wish I'd paid better attention to Najya when she'd told me about the different clans on Airai. A lot of things are coming together, though, Sakura. And they're things we need to act on. If Kagato's father was a Saotome, then he and this Ramia were related through blood. Kagato's dark arts are easy to explain when compared with a mage capable of controlling people's very souls from within a sealed tower. I imagine Lord Azusa's magic is strong and is hampering her abilities, but she must be a phenomenal witch to be able to wield that kind of power even in her current state."
Romio blanched again.
"If she gets free again, she might come looking for me." She whispered. "If she knows I'm alive, and that I've told so much about her. Please..."
"Romio-san, noone is going to let you be hurt." Washu assured her, getting to her feet. "That was the Emperor's pledge to you, wasn't it? Protection in return for information?"
"Yes." Romio agreed. "But it's so much more than just me, now. I have a husband, and I have three small mouths to feed...they need me. I don't want...she'd take them and...she'd use them to get at me."
"As far as Ramia knows, she killed you." Washu shook her head. "And she won't find out otherwise from us. Of that you can be sure."
"Then what do we do now, Washu-san?" Sakura asked softly. "We go back to the palace, and tell Tenchi and everyone there what we know?"
"Yes." Washu agreed grimly. "And then, I think, we'll head to Yousai. Strikes me that if that's where the witch is sealed, that's the place we'll find the root of Tsunami's sudden instability. I'm reminded of how easily Kagato corrupted Juraian magic before...obviously the Goddess has a weakness against Arian magic, and Ramia's exploiting it in some way. The sooner we find out how, the quicker we're able to stop it."
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The fever still raged on.
Seiryo turned away from the window, casting a troubled glance at the fragile figure that lay in the thin pallet bed on the other side of the room. Even from this distance, he could hear the quickness of her breathing and see the uncharacteristic flush of her cheeks, and he bit his lip, moving to her side as he gazed down at the delicate form of Jurai's second princess. He brushed her brow briefly with the back of his hand, feeling the clammy warmth of her skin, but she did not react to his touch and he wondered if she even knew that he was there. With a heavy sigh, he dropped down into the chair beside the bed, folding his hands in his lap. Anger and frustration coursed through his body as he gazed at her, and inwardly he berated himself for somehow allowing this to happen.
"It's on my watch." He muttered. "I'm supposed to protect Sasami-sama from all harm, or what kind of an advisor am I? My ignorance about magic has allowed this to happen! I don't know what I'm dealing with or how to help her, but I can't just do nothing. Suki would not forgive me if I allowed her friend to die, but it is more serious than that for more people than just my kin. Sasami is Tsunami, Tsunami is Jurai's soul. If I let her die, I will have consigned my whole world to some horrible fate...and to think I swore fealty to my King and promised to defend Jurai against all enemies. How could I be so naive? Why am I so arrogant - assuming that magic is worthless just because I'm too damn afraid of its effects to properly consider all its ramifications!"
"Lord Tennan?"
The sound of a voice broke through his heartfelt inner tirade and he jerked back to reality, turning to glance in the direction of the noise. As he registered the speaker, a tired smile crossed his features and he got to his feet, bowing his head in the direction of the timid young maiden.
"Lady Misao." He said quietly. "Have you come to visit Princess Sasami? She's no better, I'm afraid. Much as it frustrates me, I can't give you any good news."
"I know." Misao's pretty face became grave, and she shook her head, dropping into a curtsey as she moved to one side. "But it isn't...I haven't come to see Sasami. Not this time. Someone else has - a kinswoman. From the planet Earth. I said I'd bring her here - since I don't know what else I can do."
"A kinswoman?" Seiryo looked blank, and then, as he registered Misao's companion, surprise flooded his malachite eyes. "Lady Ryoko? What on earth are you doing here?"
"Getting to the bottom of something." Ryoko said succinctly, stepping into the room and stopping dead at the sight of Sasami's feverish form. She cursed, moving to the beside and placing a hand on the Princess's brow. Then she wheeled around, glaring at Seiryo in anger and indignation.
"I thought you were supposed to be Sasami's right hand man these days. The one who helps her and takes care of the things she needs." She said in low tones. "What in hell did you think you were doing, Seiryo? She's running a fever high enough that I can tell she's sick, and I can hear her breathing from here. Some protector you are, letting this happen!"
"It's not my fault!" Seiryo reacted indignantly, his own troubled conscience flaring his temper as he shook his head impatiently. "I don't pretend to understand how Jurai's magic works, and I really had no idea that Sasami-sama's fever was caused by anything other than exhaustion until we had word from the planet Jurai. Even Kamidake didn't know right away, and he's one of Tsunami's Chosen. How do you expect me to forsee events I can't have any possible way of predicting, pray? I'm not a psychic and I can't see the future!"
"You don't have to see the future, you moron." Ryoko grabbed him by the hand, pulling him firmly to one side and Seiryo could see the righteous fury sparking in her bright golden eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Misao withdraw hurriedly from the room, and inwardly he was glad that the young girl had retreated, unwilling to involve her in any kind of confrontation. "You just have to see the past. Yousai's past. That's all. And put a few salient points together."
"What are you babbling on about, you deranged pirate woman?" Seiryo wrenched his hand from her grip, glaring at her angrily. "And don't yell at me in here. This is Lady Sasami's sick-room, not some playground yard where you can screech at the top of your voice. Have some respect for her condition, at the very least."
"I'm not deranged, and I'm sick of your attitude." Ryoko said darkly. "Even if Washu thinks you're all right, I don't necessarily agree with her. You might not be a possessed demon from hell these days, but I don't think you're all that great, and I don't think Sasami should have elected you as part of her retinue. But I did think you were a member of the Galaxy Police Elite, once upon a time. How can you miss something so blatant that it's pretty much standing right in front of you?!"
"Right now you are the thing standing right in front of me, Lady Ryoko." Seiryo said acerbically. "And you're making no sense at all, I'm afraid. Maybe if you stopped the histrionics and told me what was on your mind, we could attempt to have an adult conversation."
"Precisely." Ryoko said darkly, her eyes narrowing as she fixed him with a cold stare. "I'm standing right in front of you. Look at me very carefully, Seiryo-sama. What do you see?"
"Do you want an honest answer to that?" Seiryo arched an eyebrow, and Ryoko flexed her fingers, hot electricity flaring from their tips.
"If Sasami wasn't sick in here, and she didn't need her rest, I'd teach you a lesson on how you talk to pirates." She said icily. "But for the time being, I'll let you off with a warning. This is more important, you arrogant clot, and I'm going to make you listen to me whether you want to hear it or not. This whole thing is your fault, because the reason behind Sasami's illness is right here under your nose. It's obvious. Plain as day. And yet you, Galaxy Police Elite Agent of the Year, you couldn't even string the ideas together and come up with a theory. How does that make you feel?"
"Confused and a little irritated, at present." Seiryo said flatly. "And you're giving me a headache. I know you've been living on the Earth a while, but please. Speak coherently. I'm sure you can, if you put your mind to it. After all..."
"Lady Ramia." Ryoko cut across him, pushing him away as she spoke. "She's the one behind all of this madness."
"Lady Ramia is locked up behind a Juraian seal in a tower that has held her for ten years." Seiryo said tiredly. "Do you think that we hadn't pursued that line of enquiry? Of course we had. But the woman hasn't seen daylight except from a window in a decade. How do you suppose she crept out and put a spell on Sasami-sama?"
"I don't know that, because I'm not a witch like she is." Ryoko said darkly. "But listen to me, will you? It's her. I know it is. After you people left the Earth with Misao, I had a run in with my old acquaintance, Haki. And you know what I discovered? Misao-sama's kidnap wasn't an accident, or random, or just done on a whim. Nor was his attack on Yousai. Ramia freed him from his subspace prison to do her bidding, and she promised him his life in exchange. Trouble is, she's still locked up in that stupid tower, so so far he's failed her."
Seiryo stared at her blankly, and Ryoko sighed, tut-tutting under her breath.
"You really are the world's biggest moron when it comes to magic." She said scathingly. "Ramia is from Airai. If you believe Haki, she's a member of some clan known as the Saotome, and according to him, my father Kagato was also born of that line. He was a bastard. Illegitimate. That's why I told you to look at me. I'm Kagato's descendant, and I have amber eyes. The same colour as Lady Ramia, and the same colour as that little monster who attacked us, on the Earth."
"Misa." Light dawned in Seiryo's eyes at this, and Ryoko glared at him, impatient.
"So now is it starting to glue together, Lord Tennan?" She demanded. "I don't know how she's doing it, but she must have help on the outside. That wretched bird - who might or might not be this Misa girl - for starters. The bird was the one who brought the beads and freed Haki, but it did it in Ramia's name. And those beads are cursed to the point where Haki can't lay a finger on me. Reading between the lines of what he told me - unwillingly - I guess that's because I'm Kagato's daughter, and Kagato was part of the same family. After all, there's no sense in sabotaging your own kin, right?"
Seiryo rubbed his temples, sighing heavily as he processed all the information.
"You're right about something. I know nothing about magic." He said at length. "But I do seek to help Lady Sasami, not hurt her. And if I had realised that Ramia-sama was capable of orchestrating any harm to my Princess while she was here, we would have left the moment I saw Karasu in the sky. As I said, we dismissed the idea because of her imprisonment. That people were using her as a figurehead, we had already reasoned for ourselves. But that she might be manipulating people from inside the walls of her jail...I don't understand how it is possible. Lord Azusa's seal is strong and passing in and out of Tounochi is difficult, if not impossible."
"I can't get inside. I tried, but it repelled me." Ryoko said shortly. "If nothing else, it proves some of Haki's words true - I must be part Arian. Certainly the guards that came after me thought I was. Fortunately for me, Misao has a good memory. Else I might've been the next one sealed in an ugly old tower. They seem to think anyone with Arian blood is the devil incarnate."
"At this point in time, I'm inclined to agree with them." Seiryo said frankly, casting a fleeting glance at his sleeping charge, then out across the landscape towards the glittering shadow of Tounochi. "If she's really in there, casting spells...but if that is true, how do we stop her? If she's powerful enough that she can harm Tsunami, then how do we break her hold?"
"No idea." Ryoko shrugged her shoulders. "But whatever we do, we should do it fast. Ryo Ohki is on Jurai - I know that Washu took her there, and I think that they'll be coming to Yousai as soon as they reason out what I have. But Ryo Ohki is also telling me that it isn't just Sasami who's affected. Other people are, too. Ayeka. Azusa. And my Tenchi, on top of that. If it were down to me, I'd break into that tower and pound the crap out of that witch myself. It's sort of what I intended to do, anyway. But access seems to be a bit difficult at the moment...and noone seems to know how to find a way in."
"Well, I don't know much more than you." Seiryo owned at length. "But if Washu is coming here, maybe she'll know something. She's seen so many things, she might just have an idea on how to stop an Arian mage from casting dark spells over people. Sasami-sama is fighting, that's for sure, and she's strong. But I don't know how long that strength will hold out...or if the intention is to kill the Princess. Bad as that would be for Jurai, I rather fear something else. All the more, in fact, on hearing your words."
"Such as?" Ryoko eyed him suspiciously, and Seiryo grimaced.
"My own experiences tell me that a controlled ally is better than a dead enemy." He said simply. "And if Ramia wants freedom from her tower, it seems a good idea to aim right for the core. Why get a pirate to do the job, when a Goddess will serve just as well? By weakening Jurai, the seal around Tounochi can't possibly last forever. And if she did choose to take control of Tsunami's will -we'd all be in a lot of trouble."
"No kidding." Alarm flickered across Ryoko's features at this, and she faltered for a moment, gazing at Sasami. Then she shook her head.
"If she even can do that, it won't matter, because we won't let her get a chance." She said at length. "We mustn't. I'm going to tell Ryo Ohki to hurry and bring the others to Yousai. We need help and as much of it as we can get, if we're going to try and protect Sasami and our own lives from this woman's mad rampage. From what Lord Oshima said, she's not averse to putting death curses on people, even from within her nasty little tower. So the sooner we put an end to her little game, the better for everybody!"