Chapter 1: The Market

"I could have done this for you, Princess," General Masashi Takeda said as he and Princess Shizuru of the House of Fujino made their way through the marketplace.

"I find the whole thing to be rather unseemly, truth to tell," Shizuru noted that the place they were heading to was well away from the stalls where merchants were selling produce, livestock, and fish, far removed from the pottery and flatware, and off from the stalls selling prepared food for immediate consumption. Indeed, to see someone of her stature in such a place was rare, albeit not unheard of.

"I have never been pleased with the idea of a slave trade to begin with," Shizuru said, "A king or queen who sees the subjects beneath them as property will not be concerned with a nation's prosperity, only with their own. And just as our nation takes slaves from the vanquished, so, too, might our people be taken if we meet a more powerful foe. Would we want done to us as we do to others?"

The pair were accompanied by Shizuru's Lady-in-Waiting, Miyu of the House of Greer. Miyu's face was impassive, as always, Takeda noted. He himself had his own views on the subject, but he nodded at the Princesses words, "The slave trade is long established, Princess, and even if we were to recommend eliminating it, it would not sit well with the other nobles or the general populace. Still, you raise valid points. You're thinking of the reports we've heard from the Northwest, then?"

"I am. But even if I must have a slave, per mother's insistence, I will choose for myself who will serve me."

"That is your right, of course, Princess," Takeda sighed, "I'm in need of a new slave, myself, I fear. My last man, Tate, he earned enough to buy his freedom. The law's the law. I let him go, bid him well, and even arranged for him to take a wife. Doughty young woman with strange salmon colored hair. Kept it tied in odd spiraling curls…"

He trailed off as they reached the slave market. It was a very busy section of the marketplace, with many people selling, and, as Shizuru noted with a visible disdain, being sold. Shizuru noted that there were several large pens, with dozens of people in each one. They were crowded, cramped, and there was no light in their eyes. Shizuru suspected that the steel bars that kept them in were unnecessary in most cases, as they were all sitting around in silence, leaning up against the bars.

"Some of the dealers will hold auctions. Others prefer to allow wealthier clients, such as yourself to have first pick of the…" Ordinarily, Takeda wouldn't stumble over the word, but he knew of Shizuru's disdain for the practice of slavery, "…stock."

"Vulgar," Shizuru said, "That pen over there. Something odd."

Shizuru was noting a pen at the farthest end of the area, where there were just as many slaves as any of the other pens, but for some reason, despite how cramped and crowded it was, almost all of them were crowded to one side of the pen, save for one girl, standing opposite everyone else, her back to the crowd, staring out at the world, her arms crossed over her chest. All Shizuru could really see of her was a mane of long midnight blue hair and a bare shoulder of porcelain white skin.

Shizuru rapidly went to the pen, and was followed quickly by General Takeda and Miyu. She found a man barring her path, a portly man with a long beaklike nose, tufts of blonde hair on the sides of his otherwise balding head, and eyes the color of chipped ice. He smiled at her with a rather oily look, and peered at her through a pair of tiny glasses perched on the top of his long nose.

"Princess Shizuru, may I be of assistance?"

Shizuru frowned, "You know who I am? You have the advantage of me, sir, for I know not who you are."

He bowed, "John Smith, at your service. The Queen Mother sent word that you would be coming, and I have a fine selection for you in the pen at the start of the street…"

"What is going on in this pen?" Shizuru demanded.

"Nothing to concern Her Highness, I assure…"

Shizuru had a practiced, placid smile that she often showed in public. It was gone now. Her crimson eyes regarded him coolly, and her tone became very flat, "You presume to tell me what should or should not concern me?"

He bowed again, "A slip of the tongue, Highness. I merely meant that it was a matter beneath your notice."

"I have noticed. Explain."

He nodded, his smile still in place, "As you see, I have four pens. Each one is divided by the type of labor the slave in question would be expected to perform. The pen here at the entryway are good for domicile services. They are docile, humble, meek, and…" he grinned, "Obedient."

"Go on."

"The next pen is for slaves who are better suited to outdoor work. Strong. Hardy. Sometimes requiring a bit of…correction, but once set to work, well suited to the tasks you assign them. Farming. Gardening, the like. They are durable."

He continued, "The third pen is our more incorrigible types. They are best suited for hard labor. Mines. Excavation. Digging caissons for bridges. They need a good deal of heavy work to keep them from…getting ideas."

Then he turned to the pen in question, "This pen is for those slaves who are not fit for housework or field work, and would never survive the mines. They are typically the captured nobles of faraway lands, and their best work is done…on their backs. That is why they are kept here. They have no training in cooking, cleaning, sewing, and would be too frail to learn such things. They are only fit for one thing, and most decent folk, such as yourself, would not be interested in being seen with their sort. So…"

"And why are they all crowded away from that girl?" Shizuru asked.

Smith sighed, "That one…has not been broken in yet. And she is more incorrigible than any of the others I've ever encountered. The others…are afraid of her. They're afraid that if they are seen associating with her, they'll share the punishments she's earned."

"Punishments?" Shizuru arched an eyebrow.

"She is too…spirited…to do the work we need her for. Typically, with such a case, we have one of the bigger, stronger slaves from the mining set…break her in."

"I want to see her face. Ask her to turn around," Shizuru said. Smith was about to protest, but a look from Takeda had him sighing.

"I will try, Highness, but she does not speak our tongue, and she does not take orders well."

Shizuru walked to the cage, and called out in a gentle voice, "Young lady?"

If the girl heard her, she gave no sign.

"What tongue does she speak?" Shizuru asked.

"Nao," Smith called. A girl in the same cage with scarlet hair and lime green eyes stepped forward. Shizuru thought she looked a bit incorrigible herself, as she didn't seem to be as cowed as the others in the cage, more bored and uninterested.

"You needed something?" Nao arched an eyebrow.

"You speak that girl's language. Tell her the Princess Shizuru wants to see her."

Nao shrugged, and then repeated Smith's words in another language. The girl turned her head, but her body remained otherwise unmoving. Shizuru saw a verdant emerald fire in a withering glare, and she felt her heart skip a beat. She also recognized the language, though she did not speak it herself.

"Is that…Kruger you're speaking?" Shizuru asked.

"Yeah. She seems to know it," Nao said, "I'm from Artai, so we're sorta neighbors. Near as I can gather, she's a princess, and she was traveling when a bunch of guys jumped her caravan, and she wound up here."

Shizuru looked at Smith, "How much are you asking for her?"

"Highness, she's not suitable a servant for a woman such as…"

"I asked you how much,"Shizuru repeated sharply, her tone now very dangerous.

"Every slave has a set rate of thirty dil. But Highness..."

"I will buy her from you," Shizuru said.

Takeda interjected at this point, "Princess, she's clearly spoiling for trouble. It might be advantageous to heed Mr. Smith on…"

"Let me see her."

Shizuru waited while Smith opened the cage. He grabbed the girl by the arm and dragged her out of the cage, which seemed a very difficult thing to do, despite the girl being only half his size.

He pushed her in front of Shizuru, "We shall now do the inspection…"

Takeda grunted, "I don't care for this part, myself. Poor devils shouldn't have to disrobe in public."

"Disrobe?" Shizuru blinked.

"That you might inspect the wares and insure that she is healthy and disease free, Highness," Smith said, reaching for the ties on the loose fitting garment the girl wore.

"You will do no such thing!" Shizuru declared sharply.

Smith simply smiled his oily smile, "The law is the law, Highness. Slaves being sold MUST be inspected to prevent the spread of disease and illness. I cannot make exceptions, even for you. The edict was passed by Queen Mashiro herself, and I cannot defer to her daughter in such a matter, when she is the higher authority."

"Then at least take her somewhere private where she is not to be humiliated in front of the whole crowd on the street!" Shizuru commanded.

There was a sudden commotion from up the street, and several panicked cries. There were also inhuman noises, of a sort Shizuru had never heard before. To the startlement of all present, a gazelle ran past them, not even paying them any mind and seemingly in a mad panic.

A man came into the alley, a look of pure terror on his face, "Quickly, you must flee! Some strange men in black robes, they attacked the menagerie and released the animals! The beasts are loose and attacking people!"

Takeda drew his sword, "Princess, Lady Miyu, behind me!"

Shizuru and Miyu did as instructed. There was a thunderous roar, and they saw a pair of lions coming up the street. One of them charged. Takeda, to his credit, correctly gauged the beast's approach, and thrust his blade to meet the creature's lunge, succeeding in impaling the creature's throat on his blade. It swiped at him with its paw, catching his face, and he fell to the ground, the beast then falling on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no escape to be had. It was not that Princess Shizuru was unafraid. She knew fear, much as anyone. However, she determined that she would not show fear. If the remaining lion were going to charge and kill her, , it would not elicit a scream from her throat, nor would she whimper or cower before it. If this was to be the moment of her death, she decided, let her at least die facing her killer and showing him no fear.

There was a sound of metal scraping stone, and to Shizuru's bewilderment and surprise, she saw the slave girl she'd been attempting to purchase standing in front of her, now holding Takeda's sword. She looked over her shoulder at Shizuru, saying something calmly in her native tongue.

"She said, 'Get in the cage, you'll be safer there,'" Nao called from the self-same pen.

The second lion, having seen its comrade fall, approached more cautiously. But the scent of blood in the air must have provoked it, or perhaps it sought to avenge its fallen friend. Either way, it was advancing. The green-eyed slave girl simply stared at the beast, holding her borrowed sword. Shizuru, who was trained with a blade for her own protection, recognized that the girl's stance was practiced and precise. She knew how to hold her weapon.

Her eyes, glaring daggers, met with those of the great cat, and she actually took a step forward.

Shizuru heard the cage slam shut, and she turned to see that John Smith had locked himself in the cage with the young women he planned to sell, and had, in effect, barred Shizuru and Lady Miyu from seeking safety. Miyu, for her part, continued to watch impassively. Her ability to remain calm in any situation was one of the things Shizuru rather admired about her friend and companion.

"The beast is attempting to circle her, Princess,"Miyu said, watching, "He sees her, not us, as the threat."

"What should we do if he attempts to use us a a lure?" Shizuru asked.

Miyu shook her head, "That is not how animals think. Instinct is to face the threat or flee from it. Beasts are not concerned with taking hostages. That is an act of men."

Shizuru watched. The large cat was attempting to circle the girl. But the girl was also attempting to circle the cat, and it seemed to know that.

"She knows beasts," Shizuru said, "And she is unafraid."

Miyu shook her head, "She knows fear, Princess. She is human. Like you. Like me. But she is controlling her fear, and it is tempered by her wrath. She, like this beast, was caged. She, like the beast, seeks recompense for that action. But she is no beast. She is human. She trusts her instincts, but she also has her wits. See, she tests the cat's resolve with a feint."

Indeed, the girl had lunged at the lion, sweeping at it with her sword, well short of the beast, but testing it. The lion, not to be outdone, held its ground and swiped with its paw. But, Shizuru noted with a hint of intrigue, the lion didn't move from its spot, while the girl was still advancing towards the creature, no change in the sharp glare in her impossibly green eyes.

The two circled each other again, and the lion was now backing away. It was as if it sensed an unrelenting killing intent from the girl, and decided it was happier with its previous arrangement. It began to walk off , never taking its gaze off of the girl.

The girl watched the beast walk off, until it was gone from sight. Then she walked over to where the other lion lay dead on top of Takeda, and motioned to Shizuru and Miyu. The two of them watched her push on the corpse of the lion, and they helped her roll the dead beast off of Takeda.

There was a cut on his cheek that looked like it was going to scar, but he was still breathing, and he looked relieved to have the weight of the lion's body off of him.

"Thank you, Highness," he exhaled, "I think I need the services of a doctor, though. I heard a snap when the infernal cat landed on me."

He turned to the girl, "You kept the Princess safe. Thank you."

From the cage, Nao repeated Takeda's words to the girl. She nodded, giving a shaky smile. Then she tapped her chest, saying, "Natsuki."

Shizuru looked at Nao, who shrugged, "I think it's her name. 'Cause 'Summer Princess' doesn't make much sense in this context, otherwise."

"Natsuki?" Shizuru repeated. The girl beamed.

"Natsuki," she smiled, tapping her chest again.

"Shizuru," Shizuru said, putting her hand over her own chest.

"Sh…Shizu…ru?" Natsuki sounded out the unfamiliar name.

"You saved my life, Natsuki," Shizuru exhaled. Then she smiled, and looked at John Smith, "She did, didn't she? She saved my life."

"Indeed, Princess," Smith said, not quite sure why the Princess was asking him.

Shizuru's smile was back, and it wasn't her placid, uninterested smile. It was the smile of a cat that had found a particularly tormentable mouse to play with.

"Then your confirmation, in front of witnesses, will suffice. Natsuki, for your act of heroism in protecting a member of the royal family, by the authority vested in me by the crown of Fuuka, I hearby release you from your bondage."

Smith was aghast, "You can't do that!"

Takeda looked at him, "You are mistaken. In 1507 A.R., Queen Chikane was saved from a group of brigands known as the Orochi by a slave girl named Himeko, and she issued a decree that if any slave should protect a member of the royal family of Fuuka from a mortal threat, they were to be released from bondage as a sign of gratitude. If the slave is the property of another, then the owner is compensated, of course, but Natsuki is now a free woman."

Nao, standing next to Smith, smirked as she translated the words to Natsuki. Natsuki suddenly looked very concerned, and started pointing at one of the other pends, and speaking rapidly and incoherently.

"She says she's not going anywhere without her sister," Nao said.

"Sister?" Shizuru quirked an eyebrow.

Natsuki ran to another pen, and reached in, taking the hands of a small blonde-haired girl with striking blue eyes, saying, "Alyssa."

"I will purchase the girl, as well," Shizuru said, then looked thoughtful, "And while we're at it, I will also purchase the translator, there."

Nao looked suddenly interested, "Really? You want me to work for you?"

"If you don't want the position…" Shizuru smiled sweetly.

"No, no, I'll gladly work for you, Highness," Nao said.

"Then that will be ninety dir," John Smith said flatly.

"Certainly," Shizuru looked at him, "But first I will have to ask you to recompense me."

"Recom…May I ask for what, Princess?" Smith asked slowly.

Shizuru held up a metal object, "A finder's fee for the key you dropped when you left me and my lady-in-waiting to be mauled by a lion."

Smith sighed, "Take them with my compliments, Princess. Just get me out of this cage."

Shizuru turned to Natsuki, once her sister and Nao were out of their cages, and spoke softly, "Natsuki, you saved my life, and for that I am grateful. However, by law I cannot simply free your sister. However, I am willing to employ you as a bodyguard until such time as you can buy her freedom. And I have no use for a child so young, so her service to me will consist in lessons from Miyu on deportment and etiquette."

After Nao translated that, Natsuki nodded her agreement, embracing her sister. Nao then turned to Shizuru, "I don't suppose there's any benefit to working as a translator for you, huh?"

"Well, I will be fair. In addition to translating for Natsuki and I, you will be tasked with teaching her and…Alyssa?" Natsuki nodded, "Alyssa the language of Fuuka. Once they speak the language fluently, I will free you from bondage."

Nao turned to Natsuki, smiling ruefully, "God, I hope you're a quick study."