Chapter 21

No Way Out

"You don't believe that I'll protect you?" Nobutada asked Katherine calmly, once Algren and his silent bodyguard had left to stand before Katsumoto.

Katherine finally turned her gaze away from the direction that Nathan had taken, she blinked in surprise at the young samurai's question. "I don't know what to believe anymore." She replied rather dryly and tried hard to avoid eye contact with him.

"How so?" Katsumoto's son questioned, taken aback by her answer. Why was she making things so difficult? Everything was so simple and easy to comprehend; Nobutada was charged to protect her! Nothing bad would fall upon her as long as he was here. What was up with this girl? So many young female villagers would give anything to even see a small glimpse of their Samurai lord's brave son, and this one here had him as her very own guard and protector, yet she didn't care? And that American soldier was rather possessive of the girl. He needed to relax a little bit...she wasn't his wife, sister, lover...wait. What? Again, with the confusing jealousy...Nobutada was going too far with this. He shouldn't be bothered with these strange westerners.

"I don't want to talk about it." Katherine said coldly, shifting her eyes from the floor and to the chamber where she used to be confined. She really didn't want to communicate with this man right now. It didn't matter how polite and nice he and his father were to her at the moment. That could change in few seconds. Deep down these people were still bunch of killers and barbarians with very outdated and uncivilized ideas. All Katherine could think about was Nathan...part of her wished she could actually go along with him. But she knew they wouldn't allow such a thing. She hoped Nathan would come up with something clever and the two of them would manage to escape their captivity.

"You don't trust me?" Nobutada raised his eyebrows.

Was he serious? Katherine stared at him in disbelief. "Why should I? You're the enemy."

He didn't know what stung him the most; the fact that Katherine's response was so cold and disrespectful, or the fact that she called him her enemy. It was probably the latter.

Nobutada couldn't think of any kind of response. It was true, they were enemies...in some ways. But then again, things had changed a little bit. His father had welcomed the two foreigners as his guests. Surely, they could try and be civil and understanding towards one another before the Spring would arrive.

"Is that what you want me to be?" He asked at last, causing Katherine to lock eyes with him in surprise. It was up to her; Nobutada had been trying really hard to be polite and easy-going with her, but she wasn't cooperating. She was the one being disrespectful and cold to him. She regarded him as the enemy...maybe it was time for Nobutada to look at her that way as well. Ujio had been right. He was being a little too naive and kind to the foreigners.

This sentence really got Katherine and she couldn't think of an appropriate comeback. She paused, obviously confused. Nobutada didn't wait for her to answer him, he turned around and exited the house, leaving Katherine to wonder if she had been too harsh about her choice of words.

Algren returned from Katsumoto's temple very astonished and puzzled. His talk with the Samurai lord was quick and ...just very confusing in total. But one thing was clear now; the woman who cared for him was Katsumoto's younger sister, the two boys were her sons, and the red warrior that he had murdered in that battle and whose armor he saw earlier, was the woman's husband. Algren couldn't believe it! He had widowed the beautiful woman, and those little boys were orphans thanks to him. Algren couldn't understand how despite all this, the woman treated him like a guest in her house. If was crazy! These people were so bizarre and abnormal! And Katsumoto, the leader of the rebels, was himself very strange and surprising human being. It was beyond Algren's comprehension. Why did he keep him and Katherine alive? How long were they planning to keep them both here? And for what reason? To converse with Katsumoto in English? Algren was so frustrated! He had witnessed many strange things during the wars he participated in, but none were as surprising and unusual as this!

He walked back to Taka's place together with the silent samurai who was following him around like a guard dog.

Katherine was sitting on the porch, anxiously waiting for Nathan to come back. Without him, she would be doomed in this Godforsaken wasteland! All she could think about was how to escape from the village once and for all. She never asked for this! Few months ago, Katherine was comfortably leaving in her lovely mansion that stood outside the busy streets of London. She loved and missed her home, her nanny Elizabeth, her two best friends Annabelle and Henry, she even missed her overbearing aunt Emily, and most importantly, her dear father. Katherine had such dreams and prospects; she always wanted to be part of Theatrical Syndicate. Maybe settle down somewhere in America, marry the man she'd love, have couple of children...she never dreamed of this! To be stuck in another side of the world with bunch of barbarians!

A soft and gentle autumn air blew past her, as her chocolate brown curls fell down as the rain showers. She sighed heavily, her heart ached and she just wanted to close her eyes, open them, and wake up in her father's arms. Katherine knew she was being weak to think that way...but she couldn't help it. Her mind was still occupied with these thoughts when Nathan returned, the elderly samurai trailing silently behind him. Upon seeing him, she eagerly flew up to meet him.

"What happened?" She asked, as Algren slowly made his way up on the porch. "What did Katsumoto say to you?"

"Nothing..." Algren responded quickly, his eyes focused on the entrance of the house.

"Nothing?" Katherine was stunned. Katsumoto didn't say 'nothing' to her. They actually had some kind of a conversation.

"He just introduced himself to me, then I had to introduce myself...oh, and he told me that General Hasegawa had asked him to cut of his head." Algren explained, remembering the unusual encounter he had with the Samurai leader.

"What about us?" Kitty questioned. "Can we get out of here before Spring?" She whispered the last sentence, hoping that the silent samurai wouldn't understand anything.

"What?" Algren exclaimed in shock. "We're staying here till Spring?"

"That's what Katsumoto told me." Katherine confirmed. "The passes are about to freeze over and we are to be here till they open up again. He didn't tell you?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Algren questioned, slightly angry. What?! The passes were closed?! How on earth was he supposed to escape now?! There was no way out of this. "Katherine, don't you understand? There's nothing we can do now." He stated sternly, his heads flying to his hair out of frustration.

Before Katherine could speak up, Nobutada and Taka appeared on the porch, motioning the two of them to come inside and join them at the table. Without another word, both she and Algren followed them and kneeled at the table where Magojiro and Higen were already seated. There was silence, no one said anything. Most of them were still deeply engrossed in their own thoughts, except for little Magojiro, who had nothing but mischief in his mind.

Nobutada was not in a mood to be friendly and talkative with these people; Kitty had made it perfectly clear to him that she didn't want to speak with her 'enemy'. Fine, he would treat her the way she deserved to be treated. Katherine was also very quiet, her heart slowly sinking at Nathan's words. So there was no hope...was there? She was stuck here for good! The hope of Nathan saving her was gone! He said it himself that there was nothing he could do. Was this really it? Algren's thoughts were however, occupied with something else; Taka. He gazed at her in astonishment, as she served him and everyone at the table, the food she had prepared. Algren watched her intently, seeking any sign of animosity he was certain she must feel. He had murdered her husband! Taka on the other hand, looked rather respectful and calm as she handed him bowl of rice. She treated him with utter politeness and dignity.

Outwardly, she managed to conceal her feelings however, deep down...she just couldn't stand to be near him! Hirotaro was dead because of this American! It had to be her husband sitting at the head of the table...not this man! Besides, he smelled so bad...like the pigs.

"You hope I choke on it?" Algren smiled and mumbled softly. Taka bowed politely, not understanding the words he said, neither was Nobutada paying attention to his words. Katherine however, heard her friend and looked at him surprised. What did he mean?

"You want to poison it and watch me fall over the table and die like a dog?" Algren continued in a low tone, as Taka and Nobutada ignored his words not even trying to comprehend them. Katherine's eyes widened. Why was he speaking like that? What was up with Nathan? Why would Taka want to kill Algren like that? That woman was the kindest person in the village so far. What was going on? Katherine was so tired of all this!...Of being confused all the time, having to understand the ways of these people, she was starting to feel very homesick! What was she doing here anyway? She wasn't even that hungry...and she could no longer stand to eat so much rice. Katherine took a deep breath and excused herself, standing up and walking away.

"Tell my brother that I can't stand this much longer." Taka spoke up calmly, after Katherine had left, knowing that the American wouldn't understand her language.

"You tell him." Nobutada stated, slightly irritated that Katherine had decided to leave.

"At least make him take a bath. He smells horrible." Taka threw in, her voice remaining as soft as possible.

Katsumoto's son responded with a mere chuckle and said no more.

Little Magojiro, bored out of his mind, started making funny faces at Algren, but Taka gently stopped her boy for misbehaving. Higen stared at the American man curiously; this man had defeated his courageous father. How come? Should he be angry and hostile towards him? He was confused but nevertheless, very intrigued with the strange guests.

Algren was starting to feel very awkward and uncomfortable. Why did Kitty leave him with these people? He was so out of his element. He didn't even know their language...he continued to eat his food silently, part of him wondering what he and Mr. Graham's girl would do here in the village with the samurai for so long.

Katherine was in 'her' chamber, the door was slid open and she was very close to bursting out and crying. Her stomach twitched with anger, her heart sank with sadness, her eyes were filled with droplets of tears...so many heightened emotions. She needed have an outlet somehow! Her vision was blurry from all the watery tears, but she swore she wouldn't even drop a single tiny tear under the same roof where her captors were living. Suddenly, her gaze focused on a crimson object standing upright right across from her room. She slowly got up to inspect what it was...it looked like an armor. Katherine found herself in the same area where Algren was earlier. The small chamber that was made into a memorial for someone special to this family. Her eyes widened in astonishment when she recognized the armor of the red samurai who had murdered Gant brutally and in the end got killed by Nathan. Why was his crimson armor here? Why where candles and incense burning? Who was this mysterious samurai? She jumped in a skittish manner when Taka's older son, Higen entered the room. Young boy looked rather surprised to see her.

Katherine cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. I was just uh...leaving."

The boy gazed at her quietly, understanding look crossing his features. He seemed so mature for his age. "I'm Higen." He said politely, bowing his head at her.

"My name is...Kitty." Katherine managed to spit it out. Why was this nine year old intimidating her?

"It's an honor to meet you." The boy smiled at her. Higen had seen the interesting girl many times but they were never formally introduced. So he was quite pleased and also impressed with how this foreigner could speak his language.

Katherine didn't know whether to leave or just stay and continue having a conversation with this bright boy. She decided to go with the latter in order to satisfy her curiosity.

"This armor... does it belong to someone?"

The boy's soft smile vanished and instead was replaced with a sad expression. "It was my father's." He said softly.

Katherine's eyes almost popped out of their shells. What?! Nathan had killed Taka's husband? The ruthless red warrior who had murdered Gant was the father of Taka's children? Great! Just perfect! More awkwardness, confusion, troublesome and unpleasant situations. She needed to get a fresh air as soon as possible! Or she'd go crazy with all of this!

Katherine marched out of the house only to meet thoughtful Algren at the porch. It was a warm and charming evening, the sun was beautifully setting down, the air was crispy and fresh...obviously, the winter was in the horizon. It was approaching slowly and quietly.

"Kitty!" Nathan exclaimed upon seeing her.

"Did you know that we're in the household of the samurai you killed?" She blurted out suddenly.

"Katsumoto was kind enough to inform me." Algren answered, sounding unamused. Ugh, all he could think about today was that! And just that! He couldn't get his mind off of it.

"I can't believe this." Katherine mumbled in shock.

"I'm a horrible person." Nathan announced and set down. He hated himself! Why was he still alive...he deserved to be dead!

"Don't talk that way." Katherine warned him immediately. "You did nothing wrong. He was trying to kill you. That man murdered Gant, he was definitely not a victim." She came closer to Algren, trying to brighten him up a little bit.

"I made that woman into a widow and her sons into orphans." Nathan stated sharply, his eyes filled with sorrow and regret. "How can she still care for me? She should've poisoned me by now. These people are so odd and so strange." Algren growled in frustration.

"Which is why we need to find away and escape." Katherine announced determined, her hands flying to her hips.

"It's not possible...not anymore." Algren shook his head. "I guess we just have to wait for Spring. But Katherine, I promise as long as I am here...no one and I mean no one will hurt you." He told her gently, his finger tips brushing her cheeks gently.

"You're giving up already?" Katherine questioned, as she moved away from his touch.

"There's nothing we can do except wait for the arrival of Spring."

"So, you just want us to accept our fate and be prisoners?" Katherine argued, her eyes fumed with anger. Was he serious? She trusted Nathan the most and this is what he had in mind? To just give up and mope around? She did not expect this!

"Katherine, listen to me." Algren stood up, placing his hands on her shoulders. "There's no way out, we won't be able to escape. If anything, we'll anger the samurai and who knows what they'll do to us. You need to understand that we got lucky. Let's just do as they say and get to know our enemies as Katsumoto wants. In the Spring, the passes will open up and we'll get out of here." He tried to explain the situation reasonably to her. Of course, deep down Nathan didn't fancy the idea of being stuck in this place either but what else could he do? He was not a magician...and he sure as hell knew that crossing the line with the samurai was probably a bad idea especially, if they tried to escape.

"What if we won't get out of here? What if they're lying?!" Katherine exclaimed furiously. "I don't want to be here! I hate these people, I hate this place and I hate you!" She cried out in sheer anger and stormed out, picking her skirts and running towards the rice fields. She had been keeping her emotions for so long! She needed an outlet...an outburst! Katherine was so angry at everything! Yes, she was being childish by throwing a temper tantrum, but she couldn't care less...she had been through so much! She deserved to be mad!

"Katherine!" Algren called after her however, he received no response whatsoever.