Masago: Whoa! Where am I?
Panda-chan: This is the introduction to chapter two!
Masago: What's an intro-duck-shun?
Panda-chan: We just say that this story has nothing to do with stealing anything from Samurai Warriors or anything like that. It's nothing more than a fanfiction.
Masago: Oh. I see.
Panda-chan: Also, it took me a long time to find Masago's name. I tried to find Japanese names that didn't have fanciful meanings in them. I finally came upon Masago, which means, "sand" in Japanese. I was going to use Shizu at first, and then I changed my mind.
Masamune: Shizu, eh? So that's why you accidentally wrote Shizu twice in that one paragraph in chapter one!
Panda-chan: Yeah! My bad!
Mitsue: Can we just start the chapter please?
Panda-chan: Sure thing! Here's chapter two!!
The Princess and the Dragon
Chapter Two: "I have come to repay you."
Two days passed since I officially became the servant of the Date clan. Thanks to the servant Masago, I was able to know all of the rules of being a servant. Meals were every six hours (which didn't consist of much), and the rest was working. The work we did was usually tending some vegetable gardens around the camp area. The vegetable gardens were the indispensable part of life around the campsite. Unfortunately, the vegetables would take a long time (longer than usual) to actually grow, so I heard from Masago. When a vegetable did happen to grow, it would either be given to Masamune or sent to the nearest marketplace to get money in return. It was a difficult life for only being in it for two days.
But one thing that made me thank myself for working like how I was now was that Masamune hadn't called me into his tent. After what Masago had told me when I first met her, I was thankful. But still, something felt extremely uneasy. A day after Masago told me that information, she stated that it had been a while since he came upon a beautiful servant. And one quote that Masamune had said to me kept going through my head:
"I hate to see a beautiful face get hurt."
"Rei-chan!" Masago ran over to me.
I still wasn't used to be called Rei. Since my real name is Mitsue and Rei is merely an alias, I never reacted to anything until a few seconds after a command or question was asked. Because of this alias, I didn't realize Masago was talking to me until I saw her staring at me after she had called my fake name.
"Yes, Masago?"
"Rei-chan, I need to do a favor for me!"
"You meanto sat 'I need you to do a favor for me', not 'I need to do a favor for me'." I corrected Masago's sentence.
"Right," Masago flushed in embarrassment. I didn't blame Masago for her poor grammar and education; it was because she never could afford any lessons, so she told me. "But look!" Masago lifted up a brown sack, and as I slowly looked inside, I saw two ripe tomatoes and three ripe cucumbers.
"Great! More crops!"
"Yeah!" Masago then handed the brown sack over to my hands, where I took it with gentleness, like a deer caring for her fawn. "But I need a favor for you for me," I didn't want to correct Masago's bad grammar again to prevent further embarrassment, so I shut my lips and listened. "I already have to do some more work, so I need you to take these vegetables to Date-Sama for me."
I immediately wanted to run out of the campsite and leave for good once Masago said this. I was already two days into avoiding being with Masamune-Sama, and now was the time to give him crops? What if he tried to do anything?
"Masago-San, I cannot take these." I pushed the sack back to her, who looked confused as I handed the bag back into her own hands.
"But, how come?" She questioned me.
"Because I…" I didn't know what to say to Masago. Should I confess my fear of seeing Masamune-Sama? What would she do if I told her this, anyhow? "Nevermind. I shall take them, Masago-San." As I said this, Masago's face lit up like the sun on the horizon. She happily handed back the brown bag filled with the newly picked crops and gave me a smile.
"Thank you so much, Rei-chan!" Masago grinned one last time before running back to whence she came from. And there I was, quivering as I clutched onto the brown bag.
It took me a good ten minutes or so before I inhaled my courage and walked over to Masamune's tent. I was shivering in great fear in the process of walking towards the tent, but I swallowed more courage and bravery as I stepped closer to the largest tent in the campsite. As I was about fifteen feet away or so from Masamune's tent, I stopped my tracks. I looked ahead of me and saw a young woman walk over to the tent. From many feet away, I could tell she was beautiful. And not only beautiful, but also royal as well.
She had elbow-length, wavy reddish-brown hair that reminded me of a sea of poppies. She wore a light green kimono with dark blue floral stitching on it with a yellow obi. I would've probably been wearing something like that if I was still in my kingdom, and I must admit, I was jealous. Compared to the simple cotton clothes I was currently wearing, I looked like nothing but a mere servant girl.
This enchanting woman slipped inside of the tent, her two guards talking with Masamune's guards. I still stood there, unsure of who that beautiful woman was and why she was there, but I walked over, carrying the bag over my shoulder. It isn't very polite to eavesdrop onto other people's conversations, especially when it comes to royalty, but I wanted to know who that woman was, so I pretended to walk beside the tent to keep the guards attention away from mine. I stood by the left side of the tent, dropped down on my hands and knees, and put my ear gently against the tent. When all was nearly silent outside, I heard voices coming from inside of Masamune's tent.
"It's about time you noticed a visitor, Masamune." This was probably the woman who just entered the tent not even a minute ago.
"Why are you here, Kotori?" This voice was Masamune's.
Kotori. I knew I heard of that name somewhere before, but where?
"I have come to repay you." Kotori responded.
"You have nothing to repay, Kotori. Get out." Masamune snapped.
"Oh, yes I do," I heard Kotori coming closer to where I was, as if she saw my shadow, but she didn't say anything, which relieved me greatly. "I need to repay you, my dear Masamune. It's been almost a full year since you visited my castle. I miss your company."
"So you came all the way here to tell me that?" Masamune questioned. I heard Kotori chuckle at this.
"Oh, Masamune, you haven't changed a bit." Kotori walked around in the tent. "But your puny little army is still as weak as ever."
"They are not weak!"
"Are you certain about that?"
"I am! My army will help me conquer Japan, you just wait!"
"You can't promise me something that won't really happen." Kotori chuckled again. Masamune growled at this comment and then sighed shortly after.
"Forget it. You wouldn't understand anyway, because you only care about yourself."
"That's harsh." Kotori whined in a forged tone. I saw Kotori's figure walk around inside of the tent again. "Anyway, did you hear about that runaway princess?"
"Runaway princess?" Masamune repeated.
"Yeah. It was about five days ago or something like that. Her kingdom was struggling in the midst of the war, so she ran off. Apparently she's in disguise as a peasant girl and sold away all of her kimono and jewelry." Kotori said. "Those items must've been like candy to starving children to those commoners who took the kimono and accessories."
"Why are you telling this to me?" Masamune asked.
"Because if you happen to see her anywhere, tell me."
"How come?"
"You see, me and Mitsue Murakami-Sama, the runaway princess, had a little pact."
"A pact?"
"That's right. We promised each other about three years ago that if anything bad happened in her kingdom during this objectionable war, her kingdom would fall into my hands." Kotori giggled. "We were actually friends when we were stupid children, but we then saw each other in a new light as enemies."
I suddenly remembered the name Kotori. Ever since we were young girls, we had been friends, because our fathers knew each other very well. But ever since the war, our kingdoms turned against each other in rage and abhorrence. We made a promise that whoever's kingdom fell first would be ours automatically. I completely forgot about that promise we made when I ran away from home. And now, I began to regret running away for the very first time. My kingdom was now to be in Kotori's hands.
"And what would you do to Mitsue if she is ever found?" Masamune asked Kotori.
"We would just have a friendly little conversation, that's all." Through the tent, I saw Kotori's figure perfectly. And while she said friendly little conversation, I saw her index finger go horizontally across her throat.
Kotori was out to kill me.
And it didn't help me when I heard Kotori laugh evilly like a demon.
"Stop it!" Masamune hissed. "If she ran away from her kingdom, that would mean a surrender, wouldn't it? There is no use in killing her when the deal you made with her is already broken enough!"
"I'm not satisfied with her running across Japan to find a safe and happy life," Kotori said. "She must have her blood spilt to make our deal complete."
There was a long silence; Kotori's demonic chuckles heard here and there, and finally, after minutes of me shivering in dread and Kotori giggling evilly, Masamune finally sighed.
"Kotori, leave now. I command it."
"Fine, be that way, Masamune dear," Kotori walked over to Masamune and touched his face with her hand. "But remember, be on the lookout for that princess before Nobunaga takes your head." Kotori couldn't help but chuckle again as Masamune shoved her away from him and she walked over to the door of the tent.
"Kotori-Sama." Her guards said in unison as she exited the tent.
"Let us go. We camp out one mile from here."
"Yes!" They both said in perfect unison, running towards their horses. Masamune was still inside of his tent, muttering to himself. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I think it was because of how afraid I was at the moment.
Once I heard the horses trot away, it was my cue to finally come out from beside the tent and to the front entrance to finish my favor Masago asked me to do long ago. I told the guards that I had food to give to Masamune, and they let me inside of the tent. I hadn't been inside of his tent since I first became a servant, which was only two days ago. Masamune was standing in the corner of the tent, still muttering to himself. He wasn't aware of my presence at all.
"Masamune-Sama," I spoke up. He was a bit startled by my presence, but he seemed slightly relieved when he saw me. "I have brought you—."
"Rei." He walked over to me. Grabbing my wrists roughly, he pulled me closer to him, where his eye met mine. "Tell the other servants to stay away from Kotori."
"May I ask who Kotori is?" I questioned, acting as if I never heard the conversation that happened only minutes before I entered the tent.
"The princess of Miyazu. She was here just a moment ago." Masamune let go of my wrists and paced around the tent. "You haven't seen a Murakami Mitsue anywhere, have you?"
"No, Masamune-Sama, I have not. Why do you need to see her so badly?"
"I want to make sure Kotori doesn't get her filthy hands on her. That princess is innocent, as well as cowardly." Masamune said. I tried my best to gulp down my words towards his spiteful comment, and I kept my mouth closed like stitches. "Kotori cannot be trusted. No one can trust that devilish woman. She's even worse than Nohime."
"Masamune-Sama," I spoke up. "Are you happening to be…planning anything towards…any female servant?"
"What do you mean by that?" Masamune squinted his eye.
"I mean to say that…" I stammered quite a bit, which reminded me of how Masago would slightly stutter in some of her sentences, as I struggled to realize what I was going to say to Masamune. "Nevermind. Forget all that I asked."
"If you say so." Masamune peered down at the brown bag I nearly forgot that I was holding. "Are those crops?"
"Yes. I was delivering them to you. Please take them." I said, handing Masamune the bag of tomatoes and cucumbers. Masamune peeked inside of the bag.
"Five items?" Masamune questioned in slight disappointment. "Oh well, it was better than last time. Say, doesn't that other commoner girl deliver the crops to me?"
"You mean Masago-san?"
"Yes, her." Masamune stared up at me, as if I weren't supposed to say Masago's name at all. I bowed down quickly and hurriedly walked towards the exit of the tent.
"Rei."
I turned around and looked at Masamune.
"Never address servants with 'san' again. Who do you think you are?"
I nodded my head solemnly and exited the tent, bowing down to the guards before walking away. Oh, how I desperately wanted to say, "I am Mitsue Murakami!"
.......................................
"Rei-chan! I have to thank you for giving those crops to Date-Sama!" Masago came up to me, as it was our time for sleep.
When it gets dark, all of the servants go to their tents to sleep. But instead of sleeping, this is our time to converse with each other while not getting scolded at to get back to work. Masago and I developed quite a friendship and always talked with each other. There were some other kind servant girls that talked to me, too, and they were the only friends that I seemed to have now.
"It was nothing. I was just doing a simple task given to me." I smiled.
"You are so lucky, Rei-chan," A servant girl named Kiku said. "I have never been inside of Masamune Date-Sama's before. Only a few other servant girls have, like Masago-chan."
"It is nothing so special, to be completely honest." I stated.
"Easy for you to say, Rei-chan," Kiku kept going on. "I work for Masamune-Sama, and yet, I have never seen his face before."
Kiku was probably a few years older than me, but she had the spirit of a child trapped inside of her. She would daydream and always imagine she would live in some foreign castle of some kind. If only I had told her all of my stories of royalty, she would be nothing more than an envious young woman wanting to be in my place as princess. If only she knew how much a princess can be worn out by her own position.
"What is Masamune-Sama like?" Another servant girl I befriended, named Kana, asked of me. I figured that she had never seen Masamune's face either.
"He overreacts to many things that I say to him," I stated. "And yet, he has treated me…in a strange form of kindness."
"If he shows you some kindness, then he must be an amazing gentleman." Kana sighed in jealousy of also not meeting Masamune.
"He also told me to tell all of the servants to 'stay away from Kotori'."
"Wait," Masago spoke up. "Does he meant the princess Kotori from Miyazu?"
"Masago-chan, you meant to say 'does he mean the princess'." Kiku corrected Masago's poor grammar again. Kiku was the only one, beside myself, who had grammar lessons taught to her, because her family was actually able to afford them when she was younger.
"Darn it all! I thought I had it that time!" Masago grumbled angrily in frustration.
"Anyway," I cleared my throat. "Kotori from Miyazu apparently came to visit Masamune-Sama earlier today before I delivered him the crops. He said to me that we need to avoid her."
"But why?" Kana questioned.
"He told me," I stopped myself from sighing too loudly. "He told me something about a runaway princess she was after to kill."
"A runaway princess you say?" Kiku asked.
"Yes."
"Who is the princess girl anyway?" Masago asked. I was about to answer Masago's question until one of Masamune's guards entered our tent.
"Hey! All of you get some rest! We told you to get sleep half an hour ago!" The guard stared at all of us like a bird of prey before he stared at me. "Everyone get to sleep except you." I didn't realize he was talking to me until Masago nudged me in the side. I pointed to myself and the guard nodded his head roughly. I stood up and he led me outside.
"Did I do something displeasing?" I asked him.
"How should I know? Masamune-Sama just told me to come and get you." The guard replied with no kindheartedness.
Instantaneously, the fear from earlier today about going to Masamune's tent returned. What did Masamune want with me now? And somehow, the shivers crawling up and down my spine like spiders seemed to answer that question for me. My heart, pounding like a rabbit's, wanted to burst out of my chest and flee from where I was, but I had no choice but to follow the guard to the large tent. It took a little while to reach the tent, where the guards led me up to the entrance. Candles were dimly lit inside, like when I first met Masamune. The pounding in my chest increased even more as I put my hand to the entrance of the tent. Before I could even touch the material of the tent to go inside, the person on the other side of the entrance swiftly moved it away to open the tent. Masamune Date was standing right before me.
"There you are." He said, a smile across his face.
To be continued!
Panda-chan: Ooh, a cliffy! CLIFFFFYYY!
Mitsue: Oh God, what's going to happen to me?
Panda-chan: You just have to find out when the next chapter is updated!
Masamune: Panda-chan, you do so well in making me look like a sex addict.
Panda-chan: Oh, thanks Masamune! You would probably do the same for me, too!
Masamune: That wasn't a compliment.
Panda-chan: Whatever!
Masago: See you guys in chapter…chapter…uh…
Panda-chan: THREE!
Masago: Yeah! That's it!
Panda-chan: BYE! SEE YOU THEN!!
