Disclaimer: Do I really need to say this again?
Balsa and Tanda were waken just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon by an alarmed yelp from the warriors on guard. As soon as their vision cleared, they saw why. They were transitioning between Nayug and Sagu again. This time, however, they were not on land in both places. In Sagu they had managed to travel to the Aogiri Pass, the mountain they were on in Nayug had carried them high above the center of the pass. And the pass was no doubt very thick with poison. If they fell, none of them would survive more than five seconds if they survived the fall.
The warriors that had been sleeping leapt to their feet instantly. They had seconds to get to where they would be able to stop their long fall. If they fell to the road, the fall was long, but they had a chance of surviving. The poison gave zero chance. Jin pulled Chagum from the ground and ran as fast as he could, dragging the young prince behind him with an apology. Balsa struggled to her feet, her wounded leg still stiff, with help from Tanda and they ran as fast as they could for where the cliffs of the Aogiri were becoming more pronounced.
The unburdened warriors made it to the safety of the sheer cliff wall, which they quickly took hold of. If they didn't need to fall, they wouldn't. Jin and Chagum began falling as they fully transitioned to Sagu. With a powerful leap from Jin, he and Chagum were carried within grabbing distance of the cliff walls. Tanda and Balsa, however, hadn't even made it to the safety of the road as they began falling.
"BALSA! TANDA!" Chagum called desperately as he watched the two of them begin plummeting for the deadly canyon below.
Balsa's skirt flared as she and Tanda felt the ground disappear beneath their feet. Tanda's arm tightened around her waist. Balsa heard Chagum yell for her, but her full attention was on the man at her side. Tanda wasn't yelling, he just held her close to him. He knew there was no way he could have made it pulling her along. She could hardly jog with her leg. Yet he had stayed by her, just as he always had.
As they fell passed the road that was still several feet from reach, Tanda's gaze turned to her and held her eyes with his. There were tears coming from his eyes as the wind stung them, she could feel tears in her own eyes. He had pulled her around so he could wrap his arms around her waist. She still had her arm around his shoulders and her other hand tightly grasped her spear. As Tanda leaned closer, Balsa recalled the year before when Shaman Torogai had told her about the woman that wanted to propose a marriage for her daughter with Tanda. At the time she had responded that it sounded like a good match, but now she realized that the sinking in her heart at that time hadn't been only because of the knowledge that she could never see Chagum again. She didn't want to loose Tanda. She wished that she had realized it then, instead of now at the end.
Chagum watched as Tanda and Balsa fell closer to their certain deaths. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he yelled. Just before they would disappear into the depths of the deadly mists, he saw Tanda reach for Balsa. Before, she would have responded by discouraging him, but as he watched, she too leaned in and, for the first time ever, the love each shared for the other blossomed as they kissed for the first and last time.
"My stupid apprentice said they were traveling east. That means they should be around the Aogiri if they made good time with Balsa wounded." Torogai and Shuga, who had a bandage wrapped around one of his hands, were riding as fast as they could toward the Aogiri pass. It was about mid-day and the sun was high. The horse was panting as Shuga pushed it even harder. Torogai's eyes were gazing off into the distance as she calmly stroked the beast's lathering neck. They hadn't been able to relay the conclusion they had come to the previous night before they were forced to leave the palace. Since that morning, they had stopped often for Torogai to try and reach Tanda, but there was no answer.
"If our conclusions are correct, I hope they were in a safe place when they came back. The Crown Prince is our final hope. I do not wish to report that he has passed away ever again." Torogai grunted her agreement, secretly hoping for the safety of Tanda and Balsa as well. She had known both since they were very young and she often thought of them as dearly as her own children.
"Don't push the beast so hard. Killing him will get us there no faster." Shuga stammered his agreement in surprise and pulled the horse back to a trot. He looked down at the old Yakue Shaman. She hadn't attached one of her many names for him, she was very worried.
"We will find them," Shuga finally said, determination colored his voice. Torogai looked back at him over her shoulder. Despite the strength that she heard behind his voice, his face looked less sure to her knowing gaze.
"No need to get false hope, boy." Shuga didn't respond. The woman was rather pessimistic by nature. Saying anything more would do nothing to change either of their minds. Both would hope for the safety of the group in their own way.
They had slowed the horse to a walk as the pass began getting steeper, then Torogai's sharp eyes caught sight of something moving at the ridge of the pass. Her eyes widened and, as the exhausted horse came to a stop, she knew Shuga had seen it too.
"Do you think . . .," Shuga's voice drifted off as he nudged the horse to move again, bringing him to a trot. The distant figures became more obvious as they drew closer. Shuga's face broke into a gleeful smile as he recognized the warriors.
"It's them." His voice was colored with relief, but Torogai didn't join him even though she could see Chagum as well as the warriors. There were two unmistakable, motionless bodies being carried by the two largest warriors. Even with the distance between them, there was no mistake in what they could see in their demeanors. It still took several minutes to reach them and both took the time to prepare for the worst. Both dismounted when the reached the group, who had stopped when they saw them. They looked over the faces of the warriors, then to Chagum. Torogai sighed. She could easily see that the young prince was trying desperately not to cry. Shuga could see the same thing.
Their gazes finally fell to the two motionless bodies that were laid on the road next to each other. Both faces were pale and their lips were almost completely white. Their lips, however, were turned up in smiles.
"What happened?" Shuga was glad the shaman had asked, because he wasn't sure he could have kept his voice from shaking. Mon took a deep breath and sighed. His eyes were turned down.
"We were brought back from Nayug at sunrise. Just like before. We were over the gorge though. The healer stayed with the spear-wielder to help her. They couldn't even make it to where they would fall on the road." Torogai leaned down and looked closely at Balsa's bare left arm. There were small cuts that indicated a sharp wire had wrapped around her body. The tears in Tanda's sleeves told the same story.
"And?" Torogai's voice didn't waver as she took in the news. Tears were flowing down Chagum's cheeks and dripping off his face to fall on the ground at his feet.
Rai saw where she was looking and continued at a nodded from Mon, whose hands were clenched into fists.
"I tried to get a wire around them before they fell into the mists. I caught them, but they still fell through the mists. We got them onto the road, but by the time we got down the cliff to them, they were as you now see them. We don't know . . . ." His voice trailed off as Torogai continued her inspection, but what was in her eyes was determination.
Jin put his hand on Chagum's shoulder when his shoulders began shaking as he tried to hold back his sobs. The warrior's face was dry, but the pain he was in showed just as clearly on his face as if he had been crying, as it did on every other warrior's face. Shuga lowered his head respectfully to the two on the ground in front of him. He lifted his eyes to the men in front of him and quickly lowered his eyes again. He hated being the bringer of bad news.
"The palace was attacked last night." Faces flashed up from the ground in alarm. Torogai continued before Shuga could open his mouth again.
"The palace was no doubt taken. We don't know the fate of any that were there. I do not think they will have killed the emperor or his family yet, but we cannot go back. We'll go to Tanda's. Saya and Tohya were going to wait for us there. The invasion seems to have been directed only at the palace." Torogai sighed as she finished her inspection, all were surprised at the smile on her face.
"Who dared to attack the New Yogo Empire?" Mon's voice was colored with hidden rage. Similar rage could be seen beneath the surfaces of the rest of the warriors. Chagum's face only showed horror at the thought of again loosing his family.
"We will discuss this more at Tanda's. Let's go, we need to get them to bed." Mouths fell open at her comment. Chagum's face lifted for a moment and the sunlight shimmered off the tears that still wet his cheeks.
Sorry it took so long again! Been keeping really busy Hope you all like this chapter and keep reading! Please R&R!
