Chapter 13:
Complications
As promised, the Emperor himself came to visit Brynn that very afternoon accompanied by six armed and armored guards. Brynn had to wonder what they thought she was going to do, injured and unarmed as she was. In light of the damage she had done to the guards of the prison it didn't seem too ridiculous, though. They respected her enough to be careful, which meant they wouldn't make the same mistakes so many of her other enemies had. That would be a problem when it came time to escape, no doubt they had guards on her too, though she couldn't see them.
"Good afternoon," the Emperor said, his voice the silky, cultured voice of a learned noble and diplomat. "I trust you are feeling better?"
Brynn resisted the urge to make a snide comment. That wouldn't do anything but get her in trouble now. "I am," she said, conscious of her accent. "And you, my lord?"
"I am well," the Emperor replied. "I am troubled with curiosity though. What brought you here, and why did you wish to free my errant cousin?"
"Your cousin?"
"The lady Hanazawa."
"I see. Why do you ask?"
The Emperor smiled serenely. "I wish to know."
"Why do you wish to know?"
The smile faded. "I would have that you would answer my questions, and not the other way around."
"I came because my master asked me to. I'm sure those two women must have told you as much."
"Ah yes, your master was Kurai Touga? My cousin's betrothed?"
"Yes."
"Elaborate please. How did he come to be your master?"
"He came to where I was living, and he trained me."
"I can hardly be as simple as that."
"It's not, but I don't care to go into all the details. I'm sure they would bore you, my lord."
"I would not be so presumptuous. Tell me, has your master been in your company all these long years?"
"No, he left five years ago to return here, to his homeland."
"And then he came back to you again to request your help?"
"Yes."
Another smile, this time quietly triumphant. "To free his traitorous betrothed?"
"To free his wrongfully imprisoned betrothed," Brynn corrected politely.
"Wrongfully imprisoned?"
"My master said that she was accused of treason against the Shogun, but that she had done nothing wrong. I believed him."
"I assure you that the accusations against my cousin were well founded."
"Well, regardless, that's why I came."
"You must know that you came on a fool's errand."
"I don't know, I succeeded didn't I?"
"In freeing my cousin, yes, but you were also captured."
"A minor inconvenience. As soon as I'm well I'll be free. Don't doubt that."
"How if you can never wield your swords again?"
Brynn started. "Excuse me?"
That triumphant smile came back. "Pardon, but surely you must know that without proper treatment those wounds my soldiers gave you will not heal properly. You will be a cripple."
It was difficult, but Brynn managed to keep the horror she felt from showing up on her face. Crippled? Unable to fight? He had to be exaggerating.
"Of course, I will see to it that you are given proper care, so long as you behave yourself," the Emperor continued mildly. "I am, as I said before, curious, and answers that sate my curiosity will result in your continued well being."
The word, 'bastard,' came to Brynn's mind, but she didn't say it. Instead she said, "You are very generous, my lord."
"You are very wise to see that. I will send Asako and Yoruko to you after I leave. They will prepare you for transportation to my palace."
"Pardon?"
"Surely you did not think I would stay here until you had finished your convalescence. You will join me at my palace of course."
"When… when will we be leaving?"
"As soon as Asako and Yoruko have prepared you for travel. This evening before the sun has fully set."
The Emperor left, some of his guards leading him, and others following close behind.
***
Brynn tried to delay. She tried everything she could think of to slow the twin sisters down, but Asako and Yoruko were liberal with their use of pain as a tool to get her to behave, and Brynn was conscious of the fact that they were undyingly loyal to their Emperor. Nothing she did could slow their agenda even a minute, though she even tried insulting them. All that earned her was a brisk slap from Yoruko and rough treatment from Asako. Even as she was half-carried over to the teleportation circle by two guards she continued to try to find some way to delay her departure until her friends could arrive and rescue her. Her failure filled her with melancholy and a sense of the inevitability of what was happening. For the first time in a long time she was helpless, a leaf tossed about on the winds of fate and the currents made by others.
The Emperor, his guards, the twins and Brynn all stood within the circle, and Yoruko chanted the spell that would activate it. Then the prison winked out of existence, and Brynn found herself in a beautiful garden. She looked around, feeling very small, and very, very alone.
***
Night fell over the prison island, and the Blades crept up on the prison. Immediately Yoshimo knew something was wrong. Something was out of place. The dead had been buried, the grounds wiped clean of any signs of battle, that was all perfectly normal, but something was definitely amiss.
Guards at the prison gate were felled by heavy blows to the head, left unconscious in the shadows, and the Blades slipped into the prison proper. One long, low building served as the guard's headquarters and also the place where particularly ill-behaved prisoners were kept, according to Yukiko. That was where they went, sneaking across the grounds. They were seen by a group of guards, but well placed arrows felled their foes before they had a chance to sound the alarm. They made their way into the low building, and guided by the light that came from one of the rooms, they made their way into the quarters of the captain.
The new captain, only having been in command since that afternoon when his superior had been slain, was busily writing a letter to his fiancée, when the Blades interrupted him. Minsc picked the unfortunate man up by the front of his kimono, spilling his papers and his writing brush.
Yoshimo, his face grim and serious, said, "The prisoner you took this afternoon, where is she?"
"What?"
Minsc shook the man roughly, and Yoshimo asked again, "You took a prisoner this afternoon, yes? Where is she?"
"Why do you want to know? Who are you? Who are all these barbarians?" He opened his mouth to shout for his guards, but found the point of a dagger sticking into his throat courtesy of Imoen. The red-headed mage couldn't speak the captain's language, but the message her dagger sent transcended language. Try it, it said, try it and see how long you live.
"None of that matters," Yoshimo said sharply. "All that matters now is where you put Brynn."
"Who?"
"Brynn! Your newest prisoner. Are you stupid?"
"The one we took this afternoon?"
"Yes!"
"The one that caused all the trouble and killed the guards and my honorable predecessor?"
"Yes! Yes that one, fool!"
"The… the Emperor took her when he went back to his palace."
"What? When?"
"A few hours ago! Just before the sun set!" the poor captain was shaking now, and with good reason. With Imoen's dagger pressed against his throat, and Minsc's mighty paws holding him a good foot in the air, not to mention Yoshimo's deadly serious expression and anger, he had very real things to worry about. A glance beyond his three closest interrogators he saw many, many more serious, angry faces and many, many sharp, deadly weapons gleaming in the light of the lantern.
"Damn it!" Yoshimo swore, turning around and stalking about the room. "Put that fool down, Minsc, he's of no use to us anymore."
"I suggest you calm down," Jaheira said, using her own calm tone as an example. "Such aggravation will get us nowhere."
"Calm down?" Yoshimo demanded. "Calm…! No, you are right," he said, collecting himself. "Yes, calm is what is needed."
"Now, I suggest we leave before the guards find us," Jaheira continued. "I would like to keep everyone together."
Yoshimo nodded. He forced his face into an expression of impassivity, but his eyes blazed darkly. "Come, let's go. We have work to do."
The Blades snuck out as quietly and quickly as they had snuck in, and soon they were back to their submarine and on their way back to the ship. This quest that had outwardly seemed so simple had suddenly gotten very complex indeed.
To Be Continued
________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Now here's the important question for you to ask yourself: Why does the Emperor want Brynn alive? The answer will be coming up in the next couple of chapters.