Chapter 2. The Palace

"You seem most oddly relaxed for a woman who was in a position to be auctioned off as a sex slave," Shizuru said to Nao as they made their way to the palace.

"Well, you heard Smith, yes?" Nao arched an eyebrow, "I was the daughter of a duke in Artai. Before my castle was attacked by forces from An Nam, my duties as such would have been getting married off to some 'nobleman' to spit out kids for him until I died of childbirth or my womb dried up. After I was taken prisoner and assigned to the slave market, I didn't see it as much of a career change, save for the style of the décor and the level of comfort. A crown princess, such as yourself, you at least have the chance for the throne. I was just a glorified brood mare, either way."

Shizuru considered this, and wondered, not for the first time, if the encroaching forces to the Northwest would have a similar fate in store for her, should Fuuka fall to them.

"And Natsuki?" Shizuru asked, "What are her thoughts on the matter? She was a princess, you said."

"Kruger's a weird place. They have reading and writing, but they don't have a conventional monarchy based wholly on bloodlines. If the princess there found a guy she liked who was a skilled huntsman, or a much beloved poet, or anyone of standing reputation, she'd have been free to take him as her husband. People who show merit, I guess."

Natsuki was riding in a trap behind Shizuru's carriage, her face beaming with a smile that could have melted molasses, as she talked to her younger sister in a very animated way. Takeda was riding with them, his arm in a sling and ensconced in plaster. The twin bones in his forearm had broken when the weight of the lion had landed on his forearm, and a local doctor had been able to set it and quickly encase it in plaster to immobilize it.

"Eight weeks," the doctor had said, "You come see me or your court doctor or whoever in eight weeks."

Shizuru found herself stealing glances at the strange girl, feeling a fondness she couldn't quite explain. True, the girl had saved her life by engaging a stray lion. But it was equally true that Shizuru had felt a draw to her since first seeing her. There was something about her gorgeous eyes, her long flowing mane of midnight blue hair, and her defiant stance that sang to Shizuru's heart in notes only she could hear.

Shizuru was met at the gate by the Captain of the Guard, a man by the name of Dyne, who was informed of the trap behind them and given orders to allow passage.

Shizuru had just disembarked from her carriage and was giving instructions to head maid Aoi Sennou to find rooms for Natsuki, Alyssa, and Nao, when one of the palace guards, a young woman named Chie, approached her.

"Highness, Her Majesty Queen Mashiro requests your presence in the throne room. The words 'immediately' and 'no excuses' may have also been used."

Shizuru smiled wryly at Chie, "That will do, Lady Hallard. I am en route. Nao, please remain to translate for Natsuki and Alyssa. Aoi, please find them accommodations as soon as possible. Natsuki is a freed-woman, so choose her room accordingly. And put Alyssa in her room, as well. Nao, you will have a room in the servant's quarters, but I believe you will find them far more tolerable than the cage you just left."

"Three hots and a cot do me just fine, Princess," Nao shrugged.

Shizuru made her way through the long hallways of Kazehana Castle. The towering ceilings and polished marble floors lent the place an austere look in daylight hours, but always felt cold and lonely to Shizuru after dusk, even with the lamps lit along the corridor.

She found her mother in the throne room, as expected. Portraits of her mother in her youth showed Queen Mashiro with dark lilac hair and vibrant sea foam eyes. Now, however, her hair was faded to a pale lavender, and her eyes were showing the first hints of cataracts. She clutched the armrests of her throne with tired, withered hands.

"So," she spoke to Shizuru in a dangerously spritely tone of voice, "I sent you to purchase a personal slave to attend to your needs. And you return with a foreign princess you've freed from bondage, her young sister who has apparently not even seen ten summers, yet, and a smarmy deposde Artaian duchess. And in the process, our own General Takeda broke his sword arm fighting off a lion. Am I missing anything?"

"With respect, Queen Mother," Shizuru curtsied and kept her practiced smile in place and her own tone as light as her mother's, "You are being a trifle unfair. The foreign princess saved my life. I was obligated, nay, required under Fuukan law to release her from bondage."

"That is fair enough," Mashiro acknowledged, her expression unreadable.

"She was not willing to part without her sister," Shizuru said, "And while I had leave to free her, I had no right to free her sister without a specific edict from you. As such, I felt I had no choice but to purchase the girl so that Princess Natsuki could buy her freedom at a later date."

"A noble enough sentiment," Mashiro conceded, her face impassive.

"And Nao, late of an Artaian duchy, is the only one I know who speaks Kruger, allowing us to communicate with Princess Natsuki and Princess Alyssa. Indeed, if we were to contact Kruger, they might be willing to recompense us for the price of Alyssa's bondage and we could return them to their kingdom."

And here, Mashiro sighed, "You are too kindly to be a Queen, Shizuru. Someone as soft-hearted as you will not be able to protect what you care for, and our people will suffer for that. Unfortunately, there will be no attempt to restore Princess Natsuki or Princess Alyssa to Kruger. That nation no longer exists. It's people are either slaves to the Schwarz Legion, or refugees from the same."

Queen Mashiro held up a scroll, "I can let you read this for yourself, but the short version is that Schwarz, the new power to the Northwest, attacked Kruger recently. The people of Kruger, to their credit, took many of the Schwarz Legion with them. Three Schwarz soldiers dead for every Krugerian. The fought valiantly. However, they fought futilely, as they were outnumbered eight to one. Schwarz lost many soldiers, and they are going to have to regroup and this has slowed their advance. However, they remain a threat."

Shizuru, to her credit, did not shed a single tear, even as she felt them welling up behind her eyes.

"Then, Natsuki has no home to return to, and her sister remains our slave."

Mashiro sighed, and, to her credit, sensed her daughter's invisible tears, "Do not be so melancholy, girl. I am issuing a decree, subsequent to Queen Chikane's, that if a slave who saves a royal has immediate family in bondage, they shall be allowed to go free was well. Alyssa and Natsuki shall have their freedom. They shall not, however, have their old titles. With no land to call their own, we have no need of Princesses not of our own."

Shizuru spoke quickly, "Then bestow new titles on them, Mother, I beg of you. They were unjustly stripped of their freedom. They have been stripped of their home. Now they will lose their birthright as sovereigns. I beg of you, do not make me tell them that their land and their line is broken without giving me something to offer them in the place of those things. It is too cruel."

Mashiro inhaled, then sighed, "Too kindly. Too damned kindly. I wonder where you get that from… Very well. Natsuki will be named a Lady of the Order of Fuuka."

Shizuru blinked, "You're…knighting her?"

"She fought off a lion for your sake. Do you think her unqualified for the position?"

Shizuru shook her head, "No, I believe her eminently qualified. I shall relay the news to her."

Mashiro shook her head, "If only General Takeda had been able to kill both lions. We wouldn't be in this situation now."

"Fair is fair, Mother," Shizuru was now grinning, "We often boast that General Takeda has the strength of a lion, and he lived up to that, today. We cannot ask him, being but one man, to hold the strength of two lions."

Mashiro finally chuckled at that, "No, I suppose that would be asking a bit much. And I am grateful to this girl, Natsuki, Shizuru. I am. You are not only the future of this nation. You are my precious only child. She saved you, and so I am grateful."

"You should have seen her, Mother. She was magnificent," and Shizuru then relayed the story of how Natsuki had stood and faced off against the lion. She added few embellishments, for the story needed few.

"There is one worrisome thing," Mashiro said after a moment.

"Yes, Mother?"

"The men who freed those animals from the menagerie. They were of the Schwarz Legion. And every one of them, to a man, is dead."

"You had them executed? All of them? Without gathering…"

Mashiro shook her head, "No. I wanted at least a few alive for questioning. They took their own lives as soon as they released the animals from their cages. Willingly and immediately. These are not sane or rational people, Shizuru. The members of the Schwarz Legion are fanatics. Whether they come by their fanaticism naturally, or are somehow compelled to it, they are willing to end their own lives on an order. They fear their masters more than they fear death. That is our enemy."

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Natsuki was preparing her sister Alyssa for bed, "I'm so glad you're not in that cage anymore, Alyssa."

"Natsuki, do you think…Mother and Father, are they alright?"

Natsuki did not answer, her emerald green eyes wavering in the light. Alyssa looked away.

"Then…you believe they're dead?"

Natsuki sighed, "I do not know, Alyssa. I think, though, that they were trying to get us to safety. The men who overtook us were not of the Schwarz, or we'd be their playthings, now. But they were only able to take us captive because our own forces were needed at the western border. I think…I think the Schwarz are either working with An Nam, or An Nam is taking advantage of the chaos that Schwarz is causing."

"Natsuki…" Alyssa rolled over in her bed to look at her sister, "I know it worked out for us, but why did you save that girl? The Princess."

Natsuki looked out the window, "I'm not sure. When she asked for me to be brought out of the cage…I thought she was some deviant who wanted to toy with me. But…she stopped that fat bald bastard from stripping me down in public, and she showed no fear when the lion faced her. I thought, 'she is either very brave or very stupid'. And I thought, 'If she means me harm, I will kill her myself, not this beast. And if she doesn't mean me harm, then I cannot let her be harmed.'"

Alyssa blinked, then chuckled, "Natsuki, you are a very kindly idiot."

Natsuki laughed as well, tickling her sister, "That's fine talk coming from someone who just got a nice clean bed and fresh clothes because of me."

Alyssa's giggles died down after a bit, and she managed to say, "Maybe God just looks out for kindly idiots."

Natsuki shrugged, smiling, "It's my only hope."

She pulled the blankets up to Alyssa's chest, kissed her on the forehead, and then went to her own bed, where she found a sleeping gown waiting for her. She was about to remove the filthy rag she'd been forced into as a slave, ready to bid the foul thing a permanent farewell, when a soft knock came at the door.

Princess Shizuru and Nao came in the room, and Shizuru saw Alyssa lying in bed, and spoke in hushed tones, which Nao was kind enough to mimic.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," Shizuru said through Nao, "I only wanted to make sure you were adjusting well."

"Yes," Natsuki nodded, "Thank you."

"Here," Shizuru picked up the dressing gown from the bed, "May I help you?"

Natsuki raised an eyebrow and smirked, "I do know how to dress myself, Shizuru."

But then she winced as a sharp pain hit wen she tried to lift her arms above her head. Shizuru did not fail to notice.

"What's wrong?" Shizuru said, pulling aside the far too wide arm hole of the slave rags to see a massive red and purple spot on Natsuki's left side ribs, "My Lord. That's a terrible bruise. Do you need medical attention?"

Then she saw that Natsuki was staring down at her, looking at her exposed flesh, her face as scarlet as Nao's hair. And Nao vacillating between amusement at Natsuki's embarrassment and concern for her injuries.

"She wouldn't let the guys running the slave pens manhandle her," Nao said, a hint of admiration in her voice "So they worked her over pretty good to try and make her cooperate. Gave better'n she got, though. They left her with bruises. She gave one guy a broken nose and kicked the other so hard in the groin that his grandchildren will feel it."

A single tear ran down Shizuru's cheek, and Natsuki noticed it.

"You don't need to cry for me, Princess Shizuru," Natsuki said softly in her gentle, husky voice.

"When Natsuki will not cry for herself?" Shizuru asked, tenderly.

Natsuki inhaled, then spoke somberly, "My kingdom is gone. I know that well. You came to tell me, but I already heard whispers in the markets. Nao translated all that she heard for me. But now, I have a home, and I have at least one friend. I am blessed, Shizuru. That is how we look at things…looked at things…in Kruger. Before we take stock of our sorrows, we must first take stock of our blessings. And thanks to you, I am blessed."

"Still," Shizuru said, with Nao still providing translation, "For my own piece of mind, will you allow my personal physician to look you over? Her name is Lady Yokho, of the Helene Order. She is very gentle and very discreet, and she will not make you uncomfortable."

Natsuki considered it, then nodded, "If it will keep you from worrying, sure."

"I'll have more suitable garments sent for you in the morning," Shizuru said, "Sleep well, Natsuki."

As she and Nao left the room, Nao turned to Shizuru, "I think someone's infatuated."

Shizuru blinked, "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Hey, nothing wrong with it. She's a looker. It's all the other girls in the pen could talk about. She's the sort men and women go for, y'know."

Shizuru shook her head, "She likely doesn't feel the same way about it. Her feelings to me are mere gratitude. And it would be unseemly of me to take advantage of that. Do you need me to see you off to your chambers, as well, Nao?"

Nao smirked, "I remember the way just fine, Princess. And relax, I may wag my tongue at you a bit, but that's only 'cause you're fun to tease. I won't be sharing my observations with anyone else. Not even with her. Of course, if you don't tell her how you feel, I might tell her how I feel. G'night, Princess."

Nao turned to wonder down the hallways, leaving Shizuru dancing between perplexion and silent anger.

"That one certainly has cheek," Shizuru sighed, after a moment of dithering in the hallway.

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Takeda was walking the grounds of the palace, his arm causing him no small amount of pain.

He spied Natsuki standing on the balcony of her room, staring up at the moon, her own pale skin reflecting the moonlight as though she were its twin.

He had to admit no small amount of admiration for the girl. He had slain a lion, true. But anyone with weapons can kill. A man with a sling can make a good shot and kill a giant from a distance, be it ordained by a higher power, or just luck. But to cow a beast like she had, to force it to acknowledge her on her terms.

What's more, he was no stranger to the slave markets. He knew that a lovely creature like her would have netted a good deal of attention, and he also knew that the slave traders were not ones to spare their fists or even the whip, should it suit them. And still, she may have been beaten, but she was not, he reflected with satisfaction, broken. And the way she had smiled at him when she'd freed him from the weight of the lion he'd slain, warm and gentle.

"I hope I may prove worthy of you, Natsuki," he sighed, staring up at her. He felt a pang of grief when she went back into her room, presumably to sleep for the night. However, given her ordeal, he silently prayed she had a peaceful sleep, and he then went off to try and do the same.