An Old Tale

By: Esuna

Chapter Five: The Traveling Sorcerer

Naniwa Kawashima had introduced Anastasia to a trustworthy pub owner who also lived in Yokohama. He had known her ever since he stepped foot here with his adopted daughter, Yoshiko. The older woman, a widow named Ogen, was good-looking for her age. She had long black hair, which was tied up into a tight bun. The woman only stood half a head taller than the girl with a dark purple kimono on her somewhat plump body. Anastasia remembered coming to this tavern yesterday but she had not seen this woman around when she asked for a job here. However today, Ogen had welcomed her to the pub with such compassion after Kawashima had explained the girl's situation to her.

Now, Anastasia was dressed in a different outfit. It was a beautiful dark green kimono with some floral designs in it. This time, the kimono reached well below her knees and slightly above her ankles. She wore a pair of traditional wooden clogs to match the outfit. The only problem was, she had great difficulty getting used to wearing something like that. But nevertheless, she was beginning to favour this way of dressing compared to her Russian style. Anastasia had also left her long brown hair down, which tumbled over her shoulders and all the way down to her slender waist. She tied a beautiful white ribbon that had a single blue stripe in it behind her thick, wavy curls. Needless to say, Anastasia simply looked stunning.

On the girl's first day of work, she was already a quick learner. She had practically memorized everything on the table menu, from food to beverages, and was fast on her two feet. Ogen was definitely impressed with her. Every so often, she would smile and give the girl a good nod of satisfaction. Although this was Anastasia's first job ever, she was certainly beginning to enjoy this occupation. Not only did she earn some good cash from this, it also kept her thoughts from wandering to a certain young man whom had crushed her heart flat.

"So how was your first day at work?" asked the ever considerate Kawashima on noticing the girl walk into the residence from such a long day.

Although Anastasia looked slightly worn, she still beamed gratefully to the old man, "It was a busy day today but nothing I can't handle. No one in particular had given me any pressure or trouble. I actually felt comfortable working there."

The old man relaxed a little in hearing the girl's sincerity. "Ah, that is what I was hoping to hear," he said, relieved.

The girl smiled gently before she walked up to the old man and took a seat next to him on the tatami. "Master Kawashima," she said, gazing up at him. "I want to thank you for all this. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be working here at all. Thank you," she said again, bowing her head to him with much appreciation.

Kawashima's eyes reflected softly down upon the girl.

"My dear," the old man suddenly said, shutting his eyes for a moment before opening them again, "are you certain about all this?"

Anastasia was somewhat confused by its meaning. Perhaps, he meant whether she was certain about working here in Yokohama. "Um, y-yes. I..."

But Kawashima had already interrupted her with a gentle "no", shaking his head. "That is not what I meant," he said, correcting her.

Somehow, she knew what was coming next.

"Are you certain about leaving Japan? And especially leaving him?"

…Kurando.

Anastasia suddenly felt her heart contract in great discomfort. Just the thought of him, and even a short mentioning of him, was enough to cause the girl to experience another sharp pain gnaw at her fragile chest. She could even picture herself back in Inugami Village, hiding amongst the shadows while she witnessed her beloved Kurando and the beautiful Sayori hold each other intimately under the moonlight. A sharp pain had pierced through her chest right when Kurando leaned down to brush his lips softly against Sayori's. Her heart never quite felt the same after that time. She wondered whether she could ever recover from that.

Perhaps not. Her love for him had grown far too intense. And sadly, his love for another woman hurt far beyond save. Now, the only way she could ever reach salvation was to avoid seeing, hearing, and even thinking of him. Yes, he was hurting her beyond redemption. Most probably, he would never know how badly he was doing so.

Returning to the present again, Anastasia felt light-headed and also tired. Avoiding Kawashima's questioning gaze, she muttered a firm "yes", unsure whether she truly meant it. Noticing the girl's obvious discomfort, the old man did not press her any further with this matter.

"Yoshiko left some udon and miso soup in your room. Please go on and eat that before you go to bed," he stated in a soft undertone.

"Thank you, Master Kawashima," said the girl. She bowed slightly to him as a way to excuse herself. With that, she stood up and walked away from him.

Naniwa Kawashima remained thus seated on the porch for a very long time after Anastasia had gone inside. Ever since last evening, he had been contemplating what could and should be done over this distressing matter. He had known almost immediately that something must have happened between the girl and Kurando. Yes, he was quite sure of it. It was then he decided to deliver a letter to that village. The boy should have received it by now.

Anastasia wobbled into her room as everything around her seemed to swirl like an endless maze. She managed to push her door closed in case Yoshiko or even Blanca would catch her in the middle of this alarming situation. The image of the young samurai still plagued her tortured mind. The girl didn't want to think about him! Why couldn't she get him out of her mind? Why couldn't he just leave her tortured soul alone? She raised a hand over her heavy forehead just as everything seemed to have turned black. The girl's legs buckled under her as she fell roughly on her side.

Before the girl was on the brink of unconsciousness, she thought she had heard a voice whisper something into her ears. It was a very unusual experience – quite indescribable. With her eyes slightly sealed, she looked as if she had just lost her soul to the hands of the devil. A lost soul but an empty shell remained. "Wait for me, Anastasia…" That was the last thing she heard before her consciousness had completely drifted off into the abyss.

The morning came just as quickly as night did. A gentle knock came to the girl's bedroom door followed by a "Lady Anastasia?" The knocking persisted when she did not respond to the person behind her bedroom door. "Lady Anastasia?"

The Russian princess could only stir in her spot while heaving a soft, "hmmm" from her bosom. Other than that, she remained partially asleep.

"Lady Anaaastaaaasiaaa!" the muffled voice cried. "You will be late for work!"

Suddenly, Anastasia's tired green eyes fluttered open immediately. She sat up straight like a vampire out of its coffin. Work? Work! "Oh…Oh my god!" the girl cried as she lifted both hands over her mouth in astonishment. She stood up on her two small feet at once and ran towards the door to open it. A cheery Yoshiko was standing behind the door with her hands held behind her back. She smiled up at the older girl when she had finally opened the door. "I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" Anastasia cried as she flapped her arms up and down in a panic.

"Oh you won't be, Lady Anastasia!" Yoshiko smiled again. "I see you are already dressed for work!"

Anastasia gazed down at herself. She was still wearing her dark green kimono and her wooden clogs from yesterday. Ah, that was right. She had collapsed in her bedroom floor last evening. And because of that, she hadn't even touched her udon and miso soup at all. It had turned unpleasantly cold by now. What a terrible waste of food, she thought.

"Oh, I have forgotten I already changed," Anastasia chuckled softly to the girl. "Let me just rinse my mouth and comb my hair and I will be out in a minute, alright?"

"Ok!" the younger girl said as she turned away to head down the hallway.

That morning, Anastasia had to run through the Yokohama Streets in order to get to work on time. She refused to give Ogen a bad reputation on her second day of work. So consequently, she ran clumsily in her wooden clogs, having almost stumbled face first onto the ground as she tried to quicken her pace. Nevertheless, the girl made it to work on time and in one piece. She was breathless by the time she stepped inside the tavern though. The girl leaned over and placed her hands over her knees, wheezing.

"Mayu!" Ogen called, a little surprised at her disorientation.

Anastasia straightened up to look at the older woman who was standing behind the counter. That's right. Her new identity was Mayu now. Anastasia was no more. She had to get used to her new name from now on in Yokohama. The girl smiled warmly at the older woman as she walked up to her. Leaning slightly against the counter, she apologized, "I'm sorry, Ogen. I was almost late for work."

"Do I look like a strict person to you?" the woman said with a slight frown on her face but with understanding. "I do not take a grudge over something as trivial as that, Mayu."

Anastasia couldn't help but to smile after those kind words. It had kept her warm throughout the day. She worked amazingly fast that day, having served every customer so well that they were extremely satisfied. The only thing she disliked about the job was that she had to sweep and wash the floor, do the dishes, and even clean the restrooms. Even though she shared the tasks with other girls who worked there, cleaning was honestly, not her specialty. Living an ordinary life compared to a fanciful one was truly different. Only by working in Japan did she realize how she had been too sheltered and even pampered when she was living a royal life in Russia. With life like this, she actually did not mind living a normal life compared to her spoiled princess life. In fact, she was beginning to favour the Japanese lifestyle more than ever now.

As the girl collected some dirty dishes off a table, she suddenly felt a hand grope at her bottom. She shrieked in alarm as she swung around to confront whoever that was who touched her. The closest customer to her was a spiky black haired man who was probably in his thirties. He had a dirty, ruddy face as if he hadn't shaven for days. The man sat diagonally behind the girl from where she was collecting the dishes. He was chugging down alcohol with some other grinning, ruddy faced men as if nothing had happened at all.

Anastasia felt her face flush with anger. "Why, you!" the girl screeched, raising her arm as if she was ready to slap the man senseless.

"WHAT?" the drunkard demanded hoarsely. His three buddies turned to gaze at the girl as well, overwhelming her.

The girl still had her arm raised but she fought the urge to give this man a bitch slap when she noticed Ogen begging her with her dark brown eyes not to 'cause any trouble' in the tavern with their customers. She lowered her arm and clenched her tiny white hands by her side. So that was the policy then? The girl was furious but she had no choice but to respect Ogen's wishes. She couldn't risk stirring any trouble when this was not her tavern. Yes, it was someone else's tavern after all…

Without another word, Anastasia turned her back on the man and collected all the dirty dishes into her clammy hands. She headed towards the backroom to drop off all the dirty dishes into the basin. When she returned to the main room, an old man, dressed in a formal Chinese wear, seated near the backroom, had said to her, "You are sure calm when need be, young lady. If I were you, I would have probably kicked him to the moon."

Anastasia widened her bright green eyes as she clasped her hands together. "I beg your pardon?"

He swung his long graying braid behind his back. "Oh, please excuse my sudden intrusion."

The girl gave him a forced smile and shook her head as if to say, "no, not at all".

"Well, I must be off now. Good day," the old man said, nodding once to the girl before he placed his hat back on. He stood up from his chair and left some tokens on the table to pay for his meal. Bowing his head to the girl, he marched out of the tavern with his hands behind his slightly arched back.

Picking up the tokens as well as the dirty dishes from the table, she took them to the backroom again. When she returned to the main room, she went over to the counter to ask Ogen, "Who was that strange old man?"

"Who?" she asked without care.

"The man who was sitting over there," the girl pointed. "He looked Chinese."

Ogen finally knew who she was referring to. "Ah… You must mean Master Zhuzhen?"

"Master Zhuzhen?" she repeated the name.

"Yes. He is a world renowned Chinese sorcerer. He travels around the world to relieve spirits and demons that still wander this planet."

Somehow, Anastasia had a special interest in this 'Master Zhuzhen'. Perhaps, it was the word 'travel' that caught her attention. She began to wonder whether she could travel together with this old man. And maybe even become his apprentice after that? Not only could she work, but she could also travel and perhaps, even end up back in Russia again. She felt the corner of her mouth twitch at the thought of that idea.