jychan: And I am the ever slacker. I wholeheartedly apologize to you guys for slacking off. T_T *blocks the tomatoes and grins* Now, I will be posting up the next chapter for Shinyen! (Finally!) I don't own Saiunkoku Monogatari nor its characters. :)

27. A Plan For Escape

"Are you kidding me?" was what Li Koyuu replied to the Empress of Shinyen while the said Empress raised her eyebrow on what the Saiunkoku delegate remarked while the said delegate apologized for his earlier reaction, "I'm sorry for such impudence," and he continued, " but I cannot simply fathom that the Ran Clan would kidnap the princess. I mean, Ran-shogun loves the princess."

"Excuse me?" Kaori asked as she widened her eyes upon what Koyuu said, who explained his earlier words, which resulted to a dumbfounded Kaori. She cannot imagine how it happened and the fact that Ran Shueei, a member of the main family branch of the Ran Clan, has feelings for her younger sister, doesn't seem proper on why the Ran Clan kidnapped her blue-haired younger sister. 'That is unless...' she thought as she opened her mouth, "The things have turned to a very complicated turn. This isn't good. Li-dono, please inform this information to the Emperor of Saiunkoku."

"Wait. Are you saying that Ran Clan has indeed kidnapped Hidari-hime?" Koyuu asked, in defense towards the clan of his 'best friend'. Albeit the fact that he was talking to an Empress, but this is a very important matter that they were talking about. "I mean, that Ran-shogun must have kidnapped Hidari-hime so that he can acclaim Hidari-hime's heart." The Empress reasoned out while Li Koyuu was taken aback on the explanation of the Empress.

"Kogo Kaori, Ran-shogun wouldn't do that. There was a girl that he pined for the longest time in the past and yet, he didn't resort to that action. I don't think that it was Ran-shogun who did so. I'm also in doubt with the fact that the Ran Clan could do this. And besides, Ran-shogun has already married the princess." He replied as the Empress widened her eyes in surprise. "Married?" The Empress asked as Li Koyuu nodded in affirmation of her question.

The Empress sighed in desperation and said, "There are a lot of things that have indeed happened with my two sisters. Indeed, I have no clues where they were but to think that one of them would get married. That is indeed shocking." The other party didn't bother to make a remark on the Shinyen Empress' words. Indeed, in such a small amount of time, a lot of things have indeed happened.

"Shueei..." was what Hidari-hime could just whisper as she noticed that she was blindfolded on the spot. She noticed that her body was tightly bound by ropes as she couldn't move her arms. Her blindfold was wet from her tears. As much as she wanted to get rid of these ropes and perhaps escape, she couldn't. She wasn't a good fighter like her older sisters. And now with what was happening, she cursed the days when she pretended to be sick when she was supposed to learn handling swords. She knew self-defense, but it was more on defending and not the actual attacking. She silently sighed as she just heard some noises from a distance.

"Yamamoto-sama would be proud of us."

She heard a deep and low voice as she stayed in her position, hoping that the people who kidnapped her would think that she was still asleep. Thus, they wouldn't be able to do anything to her. She bit her lower lip as she tried to remember the name which was so familiar to her. She just couldn't remember when and where she had encountered the name, but still, it was so familiar to her.

"Although the Ran Clan didn't agree with kidnapping the princess, but we were still able to kidnap the woman."

Another voice said as she gasped in realization. She immediately closed her mouth, hoping no one was able to hear her gasp. She cursed inwardly for her immediate reaction towards the news. But, she thought, why would the Ran Clan try to kidnap her? Wasn't she engaged to Ran Shuuei, a prominent member of the said clan? She sighed inwardly and continued to eavesdrop on the conversation between her captors.

"But then, won't the Ran Clan get all the credit for it?"

She heard another person say it. But, it didn't take long before the other replied, "Silly. Of course, we would tell Yamamoto-sama about it."

The men continued with their conversation while Hidari simply tried to find out on her current location. She had to find out where she was. Despite the fact that it was dangerous, she had to figure out a way to escape. Even if she doesn't remember a single thing about this 'Yamamoto', she had a gut feeling that that man was up to no good, especially since he was the one who ordered those men to kidnap her. She also had to figure out about the Ran Clan's participation in this. She sighed as she felt a loud bang. It seems she was inside a room, after all.

"Are you awake now?" A man asked as she didn't bother to move at all. She had to deceive them that she was still asleep. She had to.

"Oh well. It seems she's still asleep. Poor lass. To be used up by Yamamoto-sama against her older sister and in the end, she would still be killed with her older sisters." The man said as he took off blindfold. "I'll have to take this off. It's very wet and I don't think I would appreciate the fact that I would have to take care of her if she gets sick with colds." The man continued as Hidari continued the act of sleeping.

"Hidari-hime, eh?" The man sighed as he stood up and took his leave while the door shut close. And with that, Hidari tried to open her eyes for a bit to see if there was a person inside the room. She sighed in relief when there was no one inside the room. Thank goodness that man took off her blindfold. It makes things more easier for her in that way. She was able to see the things that surround her.

She stood up and noticed that there was a window inside the room. She stood up and was still able to move. It seems her legs weren't bound by ropes, after all. She bulged the window open with her arms, she couldn't see anything except for trees, but she could smell water. She was somewhere where water was abundant. Hopefully, she was still in Saiunkoku. At least, her death would be late for a bit.

But no. She would not accept the fate of death easily. Even if she died trying, but she would have to escape. No matter what happens. At least, she wouldn't let that Yamamoto succeed in whatever plan he had. For sure, Shuuei would avenge her death if she died in the process of escaping. She looked at the fading sun by the window. At least, she would have to wait for a couple of hours before she would escape.

jychan: And I updated. Yes. I updated. School starts on the 17th (tomorrow), I had time, so I did this. Well, at least, you're able to sigh in relief, eh? :)