Chapter 5

Ashitaka stood with San's brothers on the hillside overlooking the capital and felt a little tremor of fear go down his spine. This city was the largest he had ever seen, and it dwarfed Iron Town by an exponential margin. How on earth would they find San in all of this?

"What do you think?" Taro asked, gazing down at the human buildings.

"Their scents leads to this place," Jiro said, sounding angry. "I think this is their destination. The only question is, where is she?"

They looked at Ashitaka. After all, he was the human.

Ashitaka considered his words. "Jigo, the monk, works for the Emperor, so it stands to reason that San would be at the palace."

They both looked at him. "Palace?"

Ashitaka examined the buildings below and spotted a place up on a hill across the valley that overlooked the city. "That place, right there."

Taro and Jiro regarded it and Ashitaka could tell they were taking in the many soldiers that guarded it. Jiro growled, and Ashitaka looked at him questioningly.

Jiro noticed. "Fresh meat," he explained.

Ashitaka felt sick.

"I don't think we could charge that place and take her back. There are too many places inside of it where they could hide her," Taro said thoughtfully. "I think our only chance would be to meet this man as his equals."

"How would that make any difference?" Jiro asked.

"He won't be expecting someone with as much power as he has to come and demand San back," Taro explained. "We can intimidate him into giving her up."

"I hope so," Ashitaka said, feeling worried. "What will we do now?"

Taro bared his teeth. "I have a plan, but you're a large part of it."

Ashitaka became even more worried.

Space

San was ready to kill both of the ladies who were keeping her "company." They spent the day trying to amuse her, doing needlework, calligraphy, playing board games with one another, and talking. They kept offering to teach her the needlework, calligraphy, drawing, or games they played, but their constant talk drove her mad. They chattered and gabbled like two hens, and what they talked about made as much sense as chickens' cackling. San was very tired of hearing their voices all the time. Did human women never enjoy the quiet?

Not that it was ever quiet here. There were distant sounds from the city below, servants moving about at their work, and the drilling of the soldiers outside. In all, there was hardly ever a moment of quiet during the day or night.

San woke up one morning, groaning inwardly at the thought of spending yet another day listening to the two chicken ladies. She seethed at this Emperor who had had her kidnapped and then wouldn't even bother to see her! She was tired of waiting for this idiot man to make up his mind. As soon as darkness fell that night, she was leaving, and she didn't care how many guards there were!

Suddenly Nyoko fluttered into the room, looking highly excited about something. Kinu followed her, giggling.

"You won't believe what's happened," Nyoko gushed. "You won't!"

"You'll never guess in a million years!" Kinu cried delightedly.

"What?" San demanded, not in the mood for their overzealous enthusiasm.

"The Emperor wishes to see you, and we're to help you prepare!" Nyoko cried as Kinu minced her way over to a storage chest. "We're to help you decide what to wear!"

San stared at them. "I'll wear clothes, won't I?" She said this rather angrily, for her own clothes had not been returned to her. Kinu and Nyoko tried a dozen times a day to get her into ridiculous-looking outfits, but San always insisted on the simplest of robes for herself. She knew that if her brothers found out about all of the fancy clothing, she would never hear the end of it.

"Of course you'll wear clothes," Kinu said, pulling out dress after ridiculous dress. "It's just a matter of deciding what you'll wear. You are, after all, a princess."

San glared at them both, but it didn't quell their determination to dress her up. It took an hour, and as one they stood back from her and surveyed the results with a critical eye before pronouncing her ready.

San looked at what she was wearing and groaned, not caring to spare their feelings. She was not wearing this anywhere! The kimono had hems that dragged along the ground, and she just knew she would trip on them. The colors made her look like some idiotic flower, and the way they had pushed back her hair with a band of silk made her head hurt. "I'm not wearing this," she told them, fighting back a snarl. "I look awful."

"You look wonderful," Kinu assured her. "It's time to go, Princess. The Emperor is waiting."

San glared at them both and glared at everyone who stared at her on the way to the Emperor's throne room. When she, Nyoko, and Kinu entered, everyone grew quiet and stared as one of the court officials announced her name.

"The Princess Mononoke!"

Nyoko and Kinu led her up to the foot of the Emperor's throne and bowed low, but San remained upright, scowling.

"Bow, San," Kinu urged her in a whisper. "He's the Emperor!"

San stayed where she was. She saw the Emperor smile, rise, and descend the steps. Jigo also appeared right behind the Emperor with a smirk on his face that made San's blood boil. Oh, how she would love to kill that monk for putting her through this!

The Emperor stopped just before San and looked her in the eyes and examined her features before turning to Jigo and saying, "You lied to me. She is not beautiful at all."

San's anger reached breaking point. She had been kidnapped just because this man had heard that she was beautiful? Oh, the monk was going to die!

"She is not beautiful, but she is divine," the Emperor continued as the court listened. "A lily in a bed of weeds, that is what she is."

San heard people all around her agreeing with the Emperor's assessment. She supposed that she would agree with someone too if he had such a large army.

The Emperor turned and went back to his throne, and San wondered if that was all. If it was, she would be furious for all of the wasted fuss.

"Hear me now, my people," the Emperor said. "The Princess Mononoke is my honored guest, and she shall be treated with all honors due a princess. Revere her as you would me."

After that came a long line of people, each person taking a moment to bow to her and murmur a few words. San was bored within moments, and she didn't understand what was going on. A few hours later she was allowed to "retire" as the Emperor put it, and she was returned to her room by Kinu and Nyoko.

"Well, that's over," she growled, getting out of the ridiculous clothes as quickly as she could with little regard for snapped ties and strings. "Where are my clothes? I have to get started if I want to cover any distance before dark."

Both women stared at her. "What do you mean?" Kinu asked.

"Well, he wanted to see me, and he's seen me. Now I go home, right?" she said patiently. "Honestly, what a waste of time."

Both women broke out laughing, and San snarled at them both. "What?"

"He didn't mean for you to leave," gasped Nyoko. "You're his guest; you heard him say so yourself! He wants you to stay!"

San could have screamed.