San had the shock of her life when she heard the words, "I am the Prince Mononoke, and I am here to reclaim my mate, the Princess Mononoke! We have followed her scent here, and I demand her release!"

Leaving the ladies-in-waiting cowering in fear in her room, San flew out into the hallway and outside, looking for who was speaking. It sounded like. . .but it couldn't be. . .

She reached the courtyard, and there they all were: Taro, Jiro, and Ashitaka. Tears stung her eyes, and San didn't know what to do beyond holding onto all three of them and never letting go. She had never been so happy in all of her life, and she told herself that she was not crying at all.

"Taro! Jiro! Ashitaka!"

Space

Ashitaka was breathing a sigh of relief when he heard San's voice.

"Taro! Jiro! Ashitaka!"

The next thing he knew was that she was there, and she had her arms around him. It was reflex that made him wrap his arms around her and whisper that everything was all right. She clung tighter, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. He could stay that way for the rest of the day. . .

"How come he gets a hug?" Taro muttered.

"Yes, what are we, apes?" Jiro replied facetiously.

"Oh, you two," San said, breaking away from Ashitaka to hug her brothers. "How did you three find me?"

"We followed your scent," Jiro explained as San scratched behind his ears. "It wasn't easy, I can tell you that much right now."

San switched to Taro. "And we thought it would be better if we presented Ashitaka to the Emperor as your mate. That way, he'd have some say in what happened to you."

"That was clever," San commented. "Now, what's your plan for getting us all out of here? Quite frankly, I hate this entire place and all the humans in it."

"Careful, San," Ashitaka said quietly. "You don't want them to hear you!"

"They can't understand us," San said, smiling. "We're all speaking Wolf."

Ashitaka blinked. "You'll have to explain this one to me."

The Emperor and Jigo stood nearby politely, allowing their guests to become reacquainted. Hearing a beautiful young girl and a young man he'd seen only months ago growl at one another was a little disconcerting, but Jigo decided not to let it bother him. The Emperor was beaming, and the monk couldn't remember ever seeing him look so happy. Here he had two (or four) living novelties at his palace, and if Jigo was reading the situation correctly, then the Emperor most likely wouldn't let them go anywhere without becoming known as the man who had had a Prince and Princess of Spirits at his court.

Space

"So you're telling me that you accepted his invitation?" San snarled, not believing what Ashitaka and her brothers were telling her.

They had just told her how they'd gotten inside the gates and into the courtyard.

"What did you want us to do?" Jiro asked. He had stretched out on the ground and was quite happy to begin a nap, but San's disbelief kept him from getting to sleep. "By accepting his invitation, we got to see you. That's what we wanted. I suppose it doesn't matter that we were all worried sick about you, does it?"

"I'm not explaining very well," San said, scratching Jiro's muzzle by way of an apology. "I guess that what I'm trying to say is that this place is a prison, and it's awful. I was pretty sure he didn't intend to let me go, so I was planning to escape. Now that I've seen him look at you three, I'm certain of it."

"How are you sure, San?" Ashitaka asked.

She glanced over at the emperor and the monk. "They both look like human children who have gotten new toys that they've wanted for a while. That's the best way I can describe it."

Ashitaka nodded. "We're new, so they're bound to be like that," he said. "I guess that all we can do right now is wait until they relax their guard a little, and then we can escape. I don't think that they would try to come after you a second time."

"Why not?" Taro asked.

"Well, because it was hard to get hold of her in the first place, right?"

"Yes," Taro growled in agreement.

"So, that will make them less eager to come after you again," Ashitaka pointed out. "Besides, we can prepare for any possible return. I know all about traps and things that would make it much more difficult to find you."

San looked thoughtful at this.

The Emperor walked up then, interrupting them and saying that he couldn't deny his guests his hospitality any longer. Taro and Jiro followed the stablemaster to clean stables for their rest, and Ashitaka was led inside to a room adjoining San's. He had a bath, and, once clean, was given clean clothes. After a meal with San, they curled up on her bed for a rest. San didn't want to be separated from Ashitaka, and he felt the same.

Space

Taro and Jiro looked thoughtfully around the stable that had been set up for them. Plenty of straw to lie in, a large tub of fresh water, and a few haunches of what seemed to be deer for them to chew on had been strung from the ceiling.

Taro claimed a haunch for himself and began eating.

"I can't wait until we get home," he said.

"Why's that?" Jiro wanted to know.

"We can tease San about how she looked!" Taro explained gleefully. "Did you see what she was wearing?"

Both brothers started laughing. A stablehand walking outside began to wonder what all the growling was about.