Chapter 3: The Castle
"S-Satoru, my l-lord," Sae stuttered, fear for her life squeezing her heart painfully.
"Is it true that you and your brother aided another prisoner in escaping?" he continued coldly.
"N-no, my lord." She answered, but this time making sure her voice was at a deeper pitch.
A smooth eyebrow lifted on his surprisingly handsome face. "Are you calling my general a liar, boy?"
"No!" Sae practically exclaimed taking a step forward. She instantly realized her mistake when she felt a hand grab her by the collar and roughly jerk her back. She stumbled back but quickly regained her footing. "I mean no, my lord," she tried again meekly, looking down at the ground.
The lord made a dismissing noise in the back of his throat and turned to Youhei. "I presume you are the eldest?" he inquired, coolly.
Youhei nodded stiffly, "I am, my lord."
"Then perhaps you can explain why you are here?" A chill lay behind his question.
"Because we stole from one of your tenants," Youhei replied a second later.
The eyebrow lifted again. "That would, indeed, be a good reason. But no, boy. You and your brother as well as everyone else are here to serve me." The lord turned back to the general. "I will not hang them, General Wong. I expected criminals when you told me about the trouble they seemed to cause you, not a young male and dirty little mongrel." He said chillingly, staring down at the general. "I expect better performance from you, general."
The bulky general bowed deeply, "I'm truly sorry, my lord, it will never happen again."
"For your sake, General Wong, it better not," the lord face remained impassive. "The boy will be put into training, while the dirty one will be put into the kitchens." With that he walked on gracefully, his expression never changing.
The general followed but not before throwing Sae and Youhei a hateful glare.
Sae let out a small breath she hadn't known she had been holding. She felt Youhei also relax slightly beside her. Relief flowed over her in waves. They hadn't been hanged. They weren't going to die, after all. The realization brought a small amount of ease back into her heart. During the whole journey to the lord's castle, she had feared that despite everything Youhei and she planned, they were still going to die in the end. Now that she knew they weren't, it took a lot to keep herself from sagging in relief.
It took no more than twenty minutes for the lord to finally finish going down the row of villagers and assigning them a position in his castle. Once he was done, Sae heard him speak in that dangerously chilly voice of his to his general once more before gracefully turning around and returning to his castle. Sae couldn't help but admire the strong, prideful stance of the lord. His flowing white hair swayed softly in the evening breeze. It had to be a crime to be that beautiful and cold at the same time.
"EVERYONE HAS BEEN GIVEN A POST! ONCE YOU ARE GIVEN YOUR SERVICING CLOTHES YOU ARE TO FOLLOW WITH THE GROUP YOU ARE ASSIGNED AND BE SHOWN TO YOUR HEADQUARTERS!" bellowed the general for one last time. "MEN, YOU ARE DISMISSED!"
The soldiers quickly disappeared only to be replaced by an army of castle servants. When a small, pudgy woman announced kitchen duties, Sae quickly walked in her direction. The woman gave Sae a measuring glance before searching through a small bag of clothes she had at her feet and throwing a top and a pair of pants the color of dull gray at her.
"Women to the trees on the right! Men to the left!" announced a voice among the crowd of people. Women and men automatically started dividing into two groups of genders and headed off to change into their new clothes in privacy.
Panic rising into her throat, Sae slowly started following the male side of the group. She tried looking for her brother, standing on her toes to see over the heads of all the ridiculously taller men. When she didn't see him, Sae felt her stomach start to knot together. If anyone were to find out that she was a girl, she'd be killed for sure … or worse.
She was walking past a particularly dark spot when a hand clapped over her mouth a second before she was pulled behind a tree.
"Ssshh, it's me," Youhei whispered, when Sae began to struggle.
Calming down, Sae grabbed the front of his shirt. "Youhei, what am I going to do?" she asked in alarm.
"Come on," was all he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her deeper into the woods; away from the group of men that could be heard cursing and muttering in the dark. They made it at least twenty feet away when Youhei stopped and turned back to Sae. "Change quickly and I'll keep watch, alright?"
Sae nodded and instantly started to strip off her dirty clothes into the new, cleaner ones. The sense of panic didn't leave her until she had the new shirt and pants clad securely over her body. She was putting her hat back on when a voice startled her out of her wits.
"I knew it!" came Touya's accusing voice.
Sae looked up and froze at the sight of him leaning against a tree, his face masked in the shadows.
"I knew you couldn't be a boy," he continued, walking towards her. "Even if there are small males, you're just too slim and delicate to be a boy."
Once she found her voice, Sae had paled and began to ask pleadingly, "Please don't tell!"
"Leave her alone," said Youhei threateningly, coming to stand next to her. "If you go back running to the lord, you'll have to go through me first. And I swear I'll kill you before you ever utter one word."
Touya shook his head, looking back and forth between brother and sister. "Who ever said I was going to tell? I just wanted to know if I was right." A rueful expression overtook his features. "I just like knowing I wasn't fooled."
Youhei relaxed a little but not completely, "So I have your word that you won't say anything about this to anyone?"
Touya nodded solemnly. "You have my word."
"Good," Youhei nodded back and then turned towards his bewildered sister. "Come on, Sae, we don't have all day! Get that hat back on, pronto."
Sae finished shoving the last remaining strands of hair into the hat and narrowed her dark eyes at her brother. "Happy?"
"Very," A smirk.
Touya chuckled, "That was actually quite brilliant Youhei, dressing your sister up as a boy. Never would have thought of that."
Youhei puffed out his chest proudly. "It was brilliant, wasn't it?"
"Well, I'm not so sure anymore," commented Sae, poking him in the chest. "You never explained to me why you even made me dress up as a boy in the first place. The soldiers treated the girls much better than the boys. I have the cuts and bruises now to prove it! I don't see any reason why I couldn't have stayed a girl. At least they got easy jobs in the mansion. I heard one girl saying all she had to do was make the lord's bed! But not I, oh no, I get kitchen duty."
Touya and Youhei shared a look before looking back at her in pity.
"You really don't know, do you?' asked Touya softly.
"Know what?" she demanded.
Youhei answered instead of Touya. "It had been rumored by many of the villages that the lord uses the woman for more than just cleaning, Sae. So the girls weren't touched by the soldiers because the lord wants them pure so that he can take what he wants, should he choose to. The girl you mentioned earlier about making the lord's bed is probably the first girl he has chosen to satisfy his carnal appetites. And it doesn't matter if the girl is willing, Sae, he'll take her if she wants it or not."
Appalled, she started in disbelief at the two males in front of her. There were many thoughts running through her head. Images of those poor woman who had suffered at the hands of the lord. The dishonor many had probably felt at being treated to brutishly. She could only be grateful that her brother had saved her from such a fate.
"Hey, is anyone out there!" called a male voice.
"Yeah! We're coming!" Touya yelled back.
"We better go," Youhei said a moment later, running a concerned eye over her petite form. "Are you going to be okay, Sae?"
She nodded and forced her legs to start moving. Youhei and Touya joined her, each walking on either side of her. She was glad for their presence. Even Touya's. Although she barely knew the guy, Touya had promised to keep her secret therefore she felt he was trustworthy.
"So where did you get assigned, Touya?" Sae asked, curious to know if he'd be with her.
"Training," he replied. "Whatever that means."
"Training to be in the lords' army," Youhei cut in. "I got that too."
"Great," Sae muttered darkly. "So while you two are off learning to fight I'm stuck in the castle cleaning dishes and mopping up the floors."
Both Touya and Youhei chuckled.
The trio made it out of the woods and into the clearing just in time to see the future trainees for the lord's army start heading out towards the open fields while the maids and castle servants started walking into the front entrance.
Youhei silently turned towards Sae, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a hard hug. "I want you to take care of yourself, sister. I don't know when we will see each other again but when we do I want you whole and alive," he said seriously, pulling back to look into her dark matching eyes. "Alright?"
Sae nodded. "You too Youhei, be careful. You're not invincible you know."
Youhei stepped back with a look of feigned hurt, "I'm deeply injured, dear sister, that you have so little faith in me. I may not be invincible, perhaps, but I am better than anyone in this whole castle."
Sae rolled her eyes and laughed.
Youhei's expression turned serious again. "Truly Sae, be careful not to let your secret be known. Remember that your name is Satoru and you are my younger brother, alright? Promise you'll keep the secret."
Sighing, Sae nodded. "I promise."
Youhei nodded and with a look of sadness touching his dark eyes, he saluted her and headed off in the direction the rest of the training soldiers had gone.
Sae felt a small pat on her shoulder and she turned to look over at Touya. He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him for you."
Sae smiled back, with a hint of relief. "Thank you. You take care of yourself too, Touya."
He nodded and followed after her brother.
Sae watched them go with a sinking heart. What her brother had said was true, there was no way to tell when they'd all see each other again. She knew that it was most likely that they would not be together for a very long time. But she hoped that despite the odds going against them, they'd find a way.
"Hey, you there! Boy, are you coming?" called the pudgy woman from the large entrance of the big mansion.
With one last look at her brother's disappearing back, Sae turned and started running in the direction of the little fat woman and towards the start of a new life she knew was about to begin.
Thirty minutes later, Sae found herself standing in the middle of what seemed to be a crowd consisting of only woman.
In normal circumstances the situation wouldn't be so awkward since she was a female herself. But seeing as she was pretending to be a boy, Sae shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. It seemed that she was the only male to have been put inside the mansion. All others had been assigned to be either training or doing labor outside the mansion.
Apparently all the surrounding women knew that too for there was a continuous flow of whispers and fits of giggles every time they looked in her direction. Sae would glance back over her shoulder every time they got especially loud, only to abruptly stop at her glare.
Sighing, Sae faced forward once again and tried to ignore the particular giggling of a girl who pointed up and down at her small frame. She tried to pay attention to the mansion's lead housekeeper and the rules in which every person was expected to follow. As it so happened, there had been a reason for the general's relentless march. There was to be a small house party to take place in a few weeks and the lord was in need of more servants. Thus, the whole reason for Sae, Youhei, and the rest of the villager's presence.
Many of the young village women would be assisting in helping the guest to their chambers and making them as comfortable as possible; which basically meant doing everything and anything they asked them to do.
Sae was saved from that kind of aggravation, however, and was thankful once again that Youhei had thought to dress her as a boy. Since many of the guests were to be other lords -therefore male- the girl's would be assigned to them. The lord's made clear that they preferred to look upon the faces of young beauties instead of men. Which sat well with Sae. She didn't think she could handle any lord's heated looks or wandering hands any better than she could if she was put into a pig's pen with groping paws.
Fortunately for her, Sae was assigned to stay in the kitchen cleaning up after the messes the cook's made during the day. By night she was to be a serving boy at dinner for the lord's and lady's; bringing in their meals and refilling their glasses should they need it.
It didn't sound so bad, especially since Sae could avoid any real social encounters with anyone. Keeping her secret was her top priority. That meant doing everything she was told efficiently and without complaint.
The task sounded easy enough, until the pudgy housekeeper told her to fetch some water from the well and shoved two empty buckets into her hands.
"But-" Sae started to protest, looking up helplessly at the housekeeper. "I don't know where the well is."
The housekeeper waved her away. "Go find someone who does then, you insolent boy," And scurried off to set up all the other village women around the household.
Sae looked around and found everyone in the large stone kitchen bustling back and forth, looking less than approachable. She bit her lip, thinking that perhaps not complaining would be harder than she thought.
"Excuse me," said a small soft voice. "I know where the well is, if you'd like me to show you."
Sae whipped around in relief and came nose to nose with a young girl with fiery red hair and deep blue eyes. "Oh sorry," Sae muttered, taking a step back since she practically knocked the poor girl down.
"That's alright," the girl smiled kindly, her originally plain face lighting up. "I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose."
Sae cleared her throat. "Thank you ...uh…" Sae trailed off, looking at the red head expectantly.
The girl blushed, "Asumi."
"Asumi, thank you." Sae said with a smile, reluctantly charmed by the shy girl. "My name is Sae- Satoru," She stumbled awkwardly, hoping Asumi didn't catch her stumble.
Seemingly oblivious, Asumi's smile widened as she curtsied, "A pleasure to meet you Satoru."
"The pleasure is all mine," Sae returned smoothly, for the first time that day enjoying her role as a boy.
"Asumi! Stop flirting with that boy and get back to work!" a gruff man with a long beard grunted, waving his stirring spoon threateningly.
Asumi jumped the same time Sae did, but blushed a red hue. "S-sorry," she stuttered, hurrying towards the exit at the back of the kitchen. "Come this way Satoru, I'll show you the path to the well."
Sae picked up the two wooden buckets and quickly followed Asumi out the door and into the fresh air. She trailed after her around the castle wall and down farther towards the woods. Asumi finally stopped at the edge of the clearing and turned towards Sae. "Just go through here until you reach a small pebbled path and follow it until you reach a stoned well. It's easy enough to find and it shouldn't take you long to get there and come back."
"Thank you," Sae said genuinely, smiling. "You are very kind."
Asumi blushed again and said a quick good bye before scurrying back around the castle.
Sae watched her go for a second, hoping that she found a friend in this shy, sweet girl before turning back to the woods and walking through the narrow trees. Asumi had been right. It didn't take long to find the path and find the well. It was easy to spot since it stood in the middle of a small clearing, on top of a little green hill. Sae smiled at the serene picture it made. It was almost fantasy like to gaze at the gray stoned circle, bathed with the sun's yellow rays.
Shaking off the feeling of nostalgia, Sae walked towards it. Once she stood in front of the well, she tied the rope around the hanger of the bucket and slowly started to lower it. She had it all the way to the bottom before pulling it up, heaving it up with all her might. She did the same with the other bucket and not long was she heading back down the hill, with two buckets filled with water.
She was almost to the start of the path when she heard the sound of distant tinkling laughter. It was soon followed by a high, squeaky voice that sounded very aggravated. Filled with a sense of curiosity, Sae carefully placed the buckets down and headed in the direction of the entrancing laughter.
She had to walk past a dark path, tall shadowing trees engulfing it, until she saw bright light shining at the end. Her feet barely made a sound as she tip-toed closer and closer to the noise. She made it to the edge of the woods only to find another clearing, bigger than where the well sat, filled with a golden meadow. Sae gazed in awe at the lovely swaying of the tall grass and the clear blue sky that seemed to shine brighter here.
Sae suddenly ducked behind a tree when she heard the girlish laughter fill the air once again. She poked her head around the tree trunk to peek at the source of the noise. At first she could see nothing but the beautiful meadow. Then, very suddenly, a small little girl ran out from the tall grass, laughing merrily. Followed a second later by a small green looking toad. Who looked anything but merry as he talked rapidly after the laughing girl.
Sae's nose wrinkled at the grumpy looking creature. He was so out of place in this enchanting scenery. She couldn't fathom how the little girl could look so happy when she had such an ugly thing scolding after her. But when she saw the black haired girl run back over to the miserable looking creature to give it a flower and saw the way his face softened for a mil of a second before scoffing at the gift, Sae knew that he had a soft spot for her and was sure the girl knew it too.
Sae was about to turn around and leave the two friends alone when she heard the little girl start to exclaim in happiness. "Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru! Look at what Jaken and I found!"
Sae stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn't help but whirl back around and glimpse past the tree again. She saw the little girl running towards a tall, graceful figure walking slowly in the distance.
Sae sucked in a tight breathe, fearing that the lord would strike down the girl for daring to act so freely towards him.
She was shocked, however, when the girl stopped right in front of him, grinning widely, and held out one unique looking flower, talking cheerily about her discovery. The lord listened with a patient expression until the small girl finished and answered her with a tone that sounded softer than Sae thought him capable of.
She realized a moment later that her mouth had been hanging open and snapped it shut. She could not believe her very eyes. She had heard terrible stories about the cruel, heartless lord that despised all humans. Since last she checked he still hated them. Yet there he was, listening patiently to a small human girl and looking almost … fatherly.
Sae shook her head and pulled back. That couldn't be right. The Lord of the Western Lands was not kind in any way, let alone fatherly. There must be a good explanation for his tolerance towards this human girl. Perhaps she was the adopted child of a lord or lady. She didn't know, but she knew that the lord would not be treating this girl kindly unless she was important in some way.
Wanting one last look, Sae edged around the trunk and peeked back at the trio. The girl was still chattering happily but now she had her attention centered on the toad looking creature. The lord, on the other hand, was looking up and staring straight in her direction.
Gasping, Sae ducked behind the tree and sprinted off back towards the well in panic. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, praying that she had been mistaken and the lord hadn't been looking at her. She reached the clearing but didn't stop to check if anyone was following her and continued towards the two buckets of water. She swiftly picked each one up and continued running down the pebbled path, unconcerned that the buckets were spilling over the rims.
It wasn't until she made it back to the castle that Sae put down the buckets and tried to catch her breath. She took in huge gulps of air as she bent over at the waist, hands placed over her knees for balance. She took a minute to pull herself together before straightening and cautiously looking back towards the woods.
There was nothing there but the trees and darkness surrounding them.
Sae gulped, promptly picked up the buckets, and walked briskly towards the kitchen's back entrance, never once looking back.
*Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. Any violence, perceived abuse, or negative behavior should not be taken literally. The plot is for entertainment purposes only. This author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material.