Chapter Four
The dishes at dinner might have been produced by hours of exacting work and from the finest ingredients, but as far as Kougaiji was concerned, the knowledge that he had Sha Gojyo sitting in his room -- or worse, escaping from it and running into the guards -- turned them to ashes in his mouth.
Fortunately, the Princess didn't seem inclined to make much conversation either, except for the odd vagrant flow of discussion about the weather, the fortress' weavers, and the local food production.
"Take this turnip soup, for instance," she began, indicating the current course which had just been brought in. "We find --"
Elsewhere in the castle, a deep-toned bell began ringing. The guards at the door snapped to an even tighter degree of alertness than before, and the Princess blinked, before rising to her feet. "Prince Kougaiji," she stated, abruptly more formal, "this humble person apologises for the inconvenience, but must ask you to return to your quarters while she investigates the possibility that the fortress is under attack."
"Of course," Kougaiji was forced to reply. On the positive side, this let him make sure that the half-youkai wasn't doing anything stupid that would get him into trouble. On the negative side, this left him back with the half-youkai. He nodded in response to the Princess' smile, and followed the guard out of the room. Perhaps if I find a window and throw him out of it . . .
---
Hakkai cracked his knuckles thoughtfully. Perhaps, on reflection, he shouldn't have let Gojyo wander into quite this much trouble, merely in order to make a point about tripping over his own feet when confronted by a pair of naked breasts. On the other hand . . . He shrugged. There were certain tactical advantages to rescuing Gojyo from mild danger. The half-youkai was always very appreciative afterwards. And if anything serious had happened, he'd have known about it. Surely he'd have known about it.
Kanan
He bit his lip. No, surely he'd have known about it.
And as to . . .
There was the sound of footsteps approaching. Firm, regular, heavy-booted footsteps. With an ease that spoke of long practice, two of the kitchen women raised a thick drape that helped shield a pile of vegetable racks from light and smoke, and gestured their three visitors behind it. Goku ducked behind it speedily, meat bun still in hand. Sanzou complied with casual speed and a disinvolved attitude of bored annoyance. Hakkai paused to mutter, "Sumimasen," as the drape fell back into place, leaving them in a thin margin of space between dried roots and heavy sacking.
The footsteps entered the kitchen, and paused. There was a brief rustle of noise that might have been a general episode of curtseying.
"Everything under control, Bie Liao?" a strange voice inquired.
"No problems, madam," Bie Liao's voice replied. "What's going on, if I may ask?"
There was an exasperated sigh. "We've got an intruder. The guard who got a sight of whatever it is said that it was small and moving fast. Came over the wall, apparently. We're searching the place, so stick to the main passageways if you have to go anywhere in the fortress. If anything unusual comes in here, scream for help and run. The guard will handle it. Don't try to be heroes."
"Of course, madam." There was a pause. "Oh, were we supposed to be getting a new girl today? Tsubaki over there was counting the days, and she thought . . ."
The other voice snorted. "That's all we need. No, don't worry about it -- we got the new girl in, but she was assigned to the prince we've got visiting on his request. Apparently he saw her across the courtyard and . . ." Some sort of descriptive gesture must have followed, because there were various female snickers on the other side of the curtain.
Hakkai's eyes narrowed as a wave of pure frost washed over his mind. Dark memories keened and struggled to be recognised. If anything had happened to Gojyo, if someone had hurt him the way that Kanan had been hurt . . .
"So she's settled," the stranger said. "Have one of your girls take a tray up, will you? Apparently the Princess didn't get to finish her formal dinner with her visitor, and I imagine they'll both want to keep their strength up."
"Yes, madam. Of course," Bie Liao replied.
Retreating footsteps. A door closing firmly.
Goku poked his head out around the drape, sneezing from the dust, and was propelled out fully by Sanzou's foot as the monk emerged.
Hakkai came last, flexing his fingers thoughtfully. A youkai prince . . . could be handled. He'd handled Chin Iisou. He just needed to make sure that Gojyo was safe. And the easiest way of doing that was to go and investigate personally. This had to be some sort of karmic justice. As usual.
He gave Bie Liao his most pleasant smile. She returned a dubious and suspicious stare, which argued for her intelligence. "Sumimasen," he said, still smiling. "It'll be easiest to get our friend out of there if one of us goes to fetch him and to convince him to come quietly. So . . ."
"So?" she inquired.
He petted Hakyuruu, still perched on his shoulder, reassuringly. "Would one of the ladies here be able to lend me a dress?"
---
Lirin whipped enthusiastically down the latest corridor, and wedged herself between a cupboard and the ceiling. This was too exciting! This was neat! This was almost as good as going to beat up the Sanzou-tachi! She could hear the sound of running feet several corridors back, but they didn't have a chance of catching her. This was brilliant!
Oh yes, she was supposed to be finding big brother so that she could tell him something really important. And it was important! Her-lady-mother hadn't known that Lirin was hiding under the bench when she came in to talk to Nii Jieni, but then nobody had, because Lirin was a champion hider! But then Yaone hadn't wanted to believe her when she said that it was really, really important that she go and tell Kou about it, and nor had Doku, and nobody respected her.
So she'd decided to run away and do it herself. That'd show them.
Now she just needed to find big brother Kou. He had to be somewhere here! And it was really, really important that she talk to him.
Ooh! Another set of guards. But they wouldn't catch her . . .
---
Yaone guided the dragon into a smooth landing next to where Kougaiji's dragon was sitting. She'd left Doku in the woods outside. They'd spotted Lirin's dragon, and come down to question it, but the animal had been singularly unhelpful. What did I really expect? The sudden development of intelligence, in order to tell us where she'd gone and what her plans had been? Well, it would have been nice . . . Doku had agreed, after some argument, that he'd be better placed hunting for Lirin outside, in the hope that she hadn't actually got into the fortress yet, rather than trying to get into the place and having to argue the whole forbidden-to-males thing. It hadn't taken more than the entire trip plus about half an hour extra to convince him. If only he was always that easy to persuade into things . . .
She waved a small hand at the two tall women who were approaching, their halberds held at a ready position. "Good evening," she called politely. "My name is Yaone, and I need to speak to Kougaiji-sama urgently."
"Hm." The two guards looked her up and down. One of them finally nodded. "Certainly, madam. If you'll just come along with us, we'll let the officer of the guard check things out. I hope you'll forgive the formality, but there's some sort of intruder at large."
Lirin, Yaone thought with an internal sigh. She blinked her eyes and looked as innocent as possible.
The second guard grinned at her as they began walking with her down towards the central courtyard. "Actually, a lot of us were expecting you to turn up with your prince."
"Oh, really?" Yaone asked, attempting to combine airy nonchalance with casual comprehension. Why would they expect a chemist to travel with the prince? A darker thought began to uncurl inside her, casual daydreams intermingled with sheer panic. What if they think I'm his concubine or something? What if I'm expected to . . .
"Of course," commented the first guard. "But don't worry. He's absolutely safe here. Nobody could possibly get in."
"Except an intruder?" Yaone queried politely, tone delicately sweet and sub-acid.
Both guards straightened as though drenched in icy water. "There's a guard on duty outside his door," the second guard stated, noticeably more briskly. "But as his bodyguard, you will of course be allowed to stand guard there yourself."
For a moment Yaone considered correcting them. But on the other hand, if they thought she was Kougaiji-sama's bodyguard, she'd probably have leeway to move around inside the fortress, and nobody would question her right to do so. She might even be able to get Lirin out of there -- even if she had to tie the dear girl up and gag her and carry her out under one arm -- without causing further disturbance. Much better than being thought to be Kougaiji-sama's concubine. Really. She tried to ignore the vague sense of dissatisfaction, It could be worse.
---
Outside, Doku shuffled around in the rain. There was no trace of Lirin. Absolutely none. Nil. Nada. There was plenty of mud, but there was a distinct lack of youkai princess.
He barked his shin on something in the dark, and cursed. It did a lot to relieve his feelings.
Then he examined the thing he'd tripped over, in the vague hope that it might contain a Lirin-related clue.
Sacks of turnips, again significantly lacking in bouncy little redheads. They'd been carefully put to one side of the path and covered with camouflaging branches to keep them safe from the rain, which was why he'd managed to trip over them. He spared a moment's annoyance for whoever had thought that particular site was a good one.
Doku stared broodingly at the dark fortress, and an idea slowly percolated through his head. He considered it. Logical enough. Practical enough. Perhaps even containing the traces of inspired genius. After all, even if men weren't allowed inside, someone had to deliver provisions, and there had to be a back entrance for the kitchen . . .
---
The dishes at dinner might have been produced by hours of exacting work and from the finest ingredients, but as far as Kougaiji was concerned, the knowledge that he had Sha Gojyo sitting in his room -- or worse, escaping from it and running into the guards -- turned them to ashes in his mouth.
Fortunately, the Princess didn't seem inclined to make much conversation either, except for the odd vagrant flow of discussion about the weather, the fortress' weavers, and the local food production.
"Take this turnip soup, for instance," she began, indicating the current course which had just been brought in. "We find --"
Elsewhere in the castle, a deep-toned bell began ringing. The guards at the door snapped to an even tighter degree of alertness than before, and the Princess blinked, before rising to her feet. "Prince Kougaiji," she stated, abruptly more formal, "this humble person apologises for the inconvenience, but must ask you to return to your quarters while she investigates the possibility that the fortress is under attack."
"Of course," Kougaiji was forced to reply. On the positive side, this let him make sure that the half-youkai wasn't doing anything stupid that would get him into trouble. On the negative side, this left him back with the half-youkai. He nodded in response to the Princess' smile, and followed the guard out of the room. Perhaps if I find a window and throw him out of it . . .
---
Hakkai cracked his knuckles thoughtfully. Perhaps, on reflection, he shouldn't have let Gojyo wander into quite this much trouble, merely in order to make a point about tripping over his own feet when confronted by a pair of naked breasts. On the other hand . . . He shrugged. There were certain tactical advantages to rescuing Gojyo from mild danger. The half-youkai was always very appreciative afterwards. And if anything serious had happened, he'd have known about it. Surely he'd have known about it.
Kanan
He bit his lip. No, surely he'd have known about it.
And as to . . .
There was the sound of footsteps approaching. Firm, regular, heavy-booted footsteps. With an ease that spoke of long practice, two of the kitchen women raised a thick drape that helped shield a pile of vegetable racks from light and smoke, and gestured their three visitors behind it. Goku ducked behind it speedily, meat bun still in hand. Sanzou complied with casual speed and a disinvolved attitude of bored annoyance. Hakkai paused to mutter, "Sumimasen," as the drape fell back into place, leaving them in a thin margin of space between dried roots and heavy sacking.
The footsteps entered the kitchen, and paused. There was a brief rustle of noise that might have been a general episode of curtseying.
"Everything under control, Bie Liao?" a strange voice inquired.
"No problems, madam," Bie Liao's voice replied. "What's going on, if I may ask?"
There was an exasperated sigh. "We've got an intruder. The guard who got a sight of whatever it is said that it was small and moving fast. Came over the wall, apparently. We're searching the place, so stick to the main passageways if you have to go anywhere in the fortress. If anything unusual comes in here, scream for help and run. The guard will handle it. Don't try to be heroes."
"Of course, madam." There was a pause. "Oh, were we supposed to be getting a new girl today? Tsubaki over there was counting the days, and she thought . . ."
The other voice snorted. "That's all we need. No, don't worry about it -- we got the new girl in, but she was assigned to the prince we've got visiting on his request. Apparently he saw her across the courtyard and . . ." Some sort of descriptive gesture must have followed, because there were various female snickers on the other side of the curtain.
Hakkai's eyes narrowed as a wave of pure frost washed over his mind. Dark memories keened and struggled to be recognised. If anything had happened to Gojyo, if someone had hurt him the way that Kanan had been hurt . . .
"So she's settled," the stranger said. "Have one of your girls take a tray up, will you? Apparently the Princess didn't get to finish her formal dinner with her visitor, and I imagine they'll both want to keep their strength up."
"Yes, madam. Of course," Bie Liao replied.
Retreating footsteps. A door closing firmly.
Goku poked his head out around the drape, sneezing from the dust, and was propelled out fully by Sanzou's foot as the monk emerged.
Hakkai came last, flexing his fingers thoughtfully. A youkai prince . . . could be handled. He'd handled Chin Iisou. He just needed to make sure that Gojyo was safe. And the easiest way of doing that was to go and investigate personally. This had to be some sort of karmic justice. As usual.
He gave Bie Liao his most pleasant smile. She returned a dubious and suspicious stare, which argued for her intelligence. "Sumimasen," he said, still smiling. "It'll be easiest to get our friend out of there if one of us goes to fetch him and to convince him to come quietly. So . . ."
"So?" she inquired.
He petted Hakyuruu, still perched on his shoulder, reassuringly. "Would one of the ladies here be able to lend me a dress?"
---
Lirin whipped enthusiastically down the latest corridor, and wedged herself between a cupboard and the ceiling. This was too exciting! This was neat! This was almost as good as going to beat up the Sanzou-tachi! She could hear the sound of running feet several corridors back, but they didn't have a chance of catching her. This was brilliant!
Oh yes, she was supposed to be finding big brother so that she could tell him something really important. And it was important! Her-lady-mother hadn't known that Lirin was hiding under the bench when she came in to talk to Nii Jieni, but then nobody had, because Lirin was a champion hider! But then Yaone hadn't wanted to believe her when she said that it was really, really important that she go and tell Kou about it, and nor had Doku, and nobody respected her.
So she'd decided to run away and do it herself. That'd show them.
Now she just needed to find big brother Kou. He had to be somewhere here! And it was really, really important that she talk to him.
Ooh! Another set of guards. But they wouldn't catch her . . .
---
Yaone guided the dragon into a smooth landing next to where Kougaiji's dragon was sitting. She'd left Doku in the woods outside. They'd spotted Lirin's dragon, and come down to question it, but the animal had been singularly unhelpful. What did I really expect? The sudden development of intelligence, in order to tell us where she'd gone and what her plans had been? Well, it would have been nice . . . Doku had agreed, after some argument, that he'd be better placed hunting for Lirin outside, in the hope that she hadn't actually got into the fortress yet, rather than trying to get into the place and having to argue the whole forbidden-to-males thing. It hadn't taken more than the entire trip plus about half an hour extra to convince him. If only he was always that easy to persuade into things . . .
She waved a small hand at the two tall women who were approaching, their halberds held at a ready position. "Good evening," she called politely. "My name is Yaone, and I need to speak to Kougaiji-sama urgently."
"Hm." The two guards looked her up and down. One of them finally nodded. "Certainly, madam. If you'll just come along with us, we'll let the officer of the guard check things out. I hope you'll forgive the formality, but there's some sort of intruder at large."
Lirin, Yaone thought with an internal sigh. She blinked her eyes and looked as innocent as possible.
The second guard grinned at her as they began walking with her down towards the central courtyard. "Actually, a lot of us were expecting you to turn up with your prince."
"Oh, really?" Yaone asked, attempting to combine airy nonchalance with casual comprehension. Why would they expect a chemist to travel with the prince? A darker thought began to uncurl inside her, casual daydreams intermingled with sheer panic. What if they think I'm his concubine or something? What if I'm expected to . . .
"Of course," commented the first guard. "But don't worry. He's absolutely safe here. Nobody could possibly get in."
"Except an intruder?" Yaone queried politely, tone delicately sweet and sub-acid.
Both guards straightened as though drenched in icy water. "There's a guard on duty outside his door," the second guard stated, noticeably more briskly. "But as his bodyguard, you will of course be allowed to stand guard there yourself."
For a moment Yaone considered correcting them. But on the other hand, if they thought she was Kougaiji-sama's bodyguard, she'd probably have leeway to move around inside the fortress, and nobody would question her right to do so. She might even be able to get Lirin out of there -- even if she had to tie the dear girl up and gag her and carry her out under one arm -- without causing further disturbance. Much better than being thought to be Kougaiji-sama's concubine. Really. She tried to ignore the vague sense of dissatisfaction, It could be worse.
---
Outside, Doku shuffled around in the rain. There was no trace of Lirin. Absolutely none. Nil. Nada. There was plenty of mud, but there was a distinct lack of youkai princess.
He barked his shin on something in the dark, and cursed. It did a lot to relieve his feelings.
Then he examined the thing he'd tripped over, in the vague hope that it might contain a Lirin-related clue.
Sacks of turnips, again significantly lacking in bouncy little redheads. They'd been carefully put to one side of the path and covered with camouflaging branches to keep them safe from the rain, which was why he'd managed to trip over them. He spared a moment's annoyance for whoever had thought that particular site was a good one.
Doku stared broodingly at the dark fortress, and an idea slowly percolated through his head. He considered it. Logical enough. Practical enough. Perhaps even containing the traces of inspired genius. After all, even if men weren't allowed inside, someone had to deliver provisions, and there had to be a back entrance for the kitchen . . .
---
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