Firebird's Song Chapter Eleven: A Danger Returns

He stared at her, hardly daring to believe it.

"How… how do I…" unable to continue the sentence, he squeezed her again, trying to express his happiness in that manner. "Haru, are you sure?"

"Ishi is, and she has several years of experience in this field. We're going to be parents!" Her tears of happiness flowed down her cheeks as Baron contributed his own, his heart overflowing with joy.

Finally! It had happened! Only nine months or less before he could bear his entire soul to this wonderful woman. There was so much she deserved to know, and so much that he yearned to know about her. Soon they would both be free from the accursed barrier between them, and he would be free from that triple accursed blackmailing cat. The feline lord could hardly wait. Suddenly, his wife's face lost its wonderful radiance.

"Baron, what will we do if our child's like you? The townspeople probably won't be too supportive of us if they know the truth."

He hugged her again, knowing full well it wouldn't happen.

"I'll be with you when the baby's born. If we need to, we'll move again. All will be well, love."

Satisfied, she leaned back into his embrace, perfectly content as she sneaked a handful of the dark berries.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryuichi tiredly stumbled into a tavern half a continent away, and ordered something strong enough to put him out for a week. Needless to say, the passed time hadn't been nearly as pleasant for him as it had for the young couple. Never being good at sea, he had also kidnapped a young sailor to do the dirty work, but the man had jumped ship as soon as the samurai dozed off. He floated for a while before a ship took pity on him and fished him out of the sea. By going from ship to ship, it took him nearly three months to reach Alon, when it usually takes two. He was still feeling sorry for himself when another man joined him at the table, swaggering slightly.

"Mind if I join you, good sir?"

Ryuichi looked up, surprised that the drunkard was fluent in Kalmian. Good thing, since his horrible grasp at Alonian just made people laugh when he tried to inquire about the cat-man.

"Not at all. I didn't expect to find a civilized tongue among these barbarians."

The dark haired man fell into his seat, grinning widely.

"You look like someone who has a pretty big story, with that katana."

The samurai protectively put a hand over the hilt, but sighed.

"Yes. I'm trying to find the thief that took my bride away on our wedding day."

The drunkard laughed, and took a swig from his wineskin.

"I should have known a woman was involved. They always are with the bigger problems. Was she a looker?"

Ryuichi sighed.

"Yes, but what caught me was her music. No one can play a flute like she. I waited ten years for her to finish growing up, and she was still slightly underage when I approached the emperor for her hand."

His companion's eyebrows shot up as the bartender slid over a foaming tankard to the warrior.

"She was a princess?"

The samurai laughed lightly.

"Oh, no. No one knows who her parents are, but the emperor had been taking care of her so she would play for him. I can't count the number of times that she made work cease in his wing of the palace, everyone too entranced to move."

The stranger nodded, though slightly skeptic. The samurai took a long draught from his drink.

"Who stole her?"

Ryuichi pulled a disgusted face, not pleased with what passed for drinking in the west.

"I never saw his face, since he was all covered up with a cloak, but I and the emperor think that it was the cat creature."

The drunkard shot up from his seat, his eyes wide with disbelief. The warrior looked up at him, a slight spark of hope threatening to take flame.

"Do you know him? Or where I can find him?"

The strange man's eyes seemed to light on fire as the disbelief faded.

"A stolen bride. That alone won't save him. If you never saw him, how do you know he was a cat creature?"

"Because the week before our wedding, a girl found a cat monster kissing my bride's hand before jumping over the wall that was supposed to keep her safe."

"Wasn't she scared?"

"Of course. Oh, you mean my flute-girl? No, looks don't bother her much, since she's blind."

The man stared.

"A blind girl… my, that's completely different. Did she know he was a cat?"

"She felt his face and hands after he defeated me in a match, or so the servants told me. And when he announced to the palace that she had accepted his proposal over mine, she didn't say a word to the contrary. She was clearly bewitched, since she would never disobey the emperor's command, or choose a dirty cat over the finest samurai in the Kalmian islands!" He finished his tall mug with one long swig. "The only reason I didn't kill him right then and there was because he cast a spell to make a cloud appear in the area and mask their escape. He even managed to damage everything in the stables, including the horses, so we couldn't give chase for hours."

His drinking companion was pacing the floor, outraged.

"I should have thought about blindness. How long ago did this happen?"

The samurai shrugged.

"Nearly four months ago."

The man sighed loudly, relieved.

"Than there's still time. Have you been able to learn anything about the cat-man?"

"Not a thing. My understanding of Alonian is severely impaired."

The drunkard grinned broadly.

"You know what, friend? I like you, and I want you to be reunited with your girl. More to the point, I want the cat-creature dead, so I will help you. The cat demon is allied with the Alonian king. He wished for a wife to help make a new race, but since none of the girls here would have him, he had to go traveling for one. I wasn't worried at the time, but learning that he caused a national incident, well." He sat back down to look the samurai in the eye. "She's probably carrying the firstborn as we speak, but when I find them, I can kill the child and disenchant her for you. She will doubtlessly be happy to be with you again, but that will not be enough."

The samurai hadn't noticed that his beverage had changed color slightly when he was drinking it. His eyes had already glossed over, and he was staring dumbly at the man in front of him.

"No, it won't," he agreed, the tone lost of emotion. The strange man leaned closer to the samurai, his eyes sparking with purple lightning.

"You will return to your emperor, and tell him of the Alonian king's disregard of national boundaries. Do everything in your power to destroy Alon for your humiliation." He dropped a few gold coins on the table. "This is for your passage. Make haste, and you will get your bride back."

The samurai nodded dumbly, swept the coins into his kimono, and left the tavern. The dark man watched him leave, a storm brewing in his eyes. He shook his head, still disbelieving.

"Only three years?" He hadn't expected the king to find a girl until he was gray, if even then. Unmar paid for his drink and the foolish samurai's. He left the tavern as well, coming to a large fountain. He looked up at the gargoyle topping it.

"Nap's over Toto, time to get to work."

The stone crow slowly extended his wings, and turned into flesh. A silver link, similar to a slave ring, glistened in the pale moonlight from one of his scrawny ankles. He hopped off the high fountain and landed next to his master, miraculously growing in size. The magician expertly hopped onto his back, and grabbed a fistful of feathers as the giant bird took off.

"Where do you wish to go?" The crow's voice was almost mechanical in the inquiry.

"Eastward. My old friend doesn't leave trails obvious enough for clueless samurais to follow."

Now, to start thinking about the full treatment of this blind bride…