The Demon and the Nightingale

Chapter 4

                The first thought that entered Aryah’s (who was once known as Princess Ariadne) head was Where are the trees? Did someone cut them all down?

                “Miss Aryah? Miss Aryah? Are you feeling better?” She could hear the voice of her former handmaiden Lihyal, now called Lani, calling from far, far away. She was kneeling beside her ex-royal mistress, with her usual gentle but worried expression whenever Aryah got involved in one of her foolhardy escapades.

                Aryah blinked several times. Eventually, she could make out the wooden beams and bamboo thatching of the ceiling. She was lying on the low cushioned bed of her room.

                Turning her head, she saw the familiar paper-lined walls, simple but elegant furniture consisting of a black, lacquered table with a wooden tea tray, a round teapot of snow-white porcelain and matching teacups on top. The wardrobe in which their garments are kept made of wood with striking inset geometric designs of bamboo. Silk-covered padded cushions placed here and there. Her beloved lyre located in its usual spot. Just a little beyond it, the sliding door which led to the second sleeping room assigned to Lani was closed, bathing the rest of room in a soft but light and calming glow of the afternoon sun.

                The quarters Lord Matsuda generously gave to her and Lani. So safe, so familiar, as if danger was a vague and far-off figment of one’s overactive imagination, and had very little chance of even coming near them …

                Danger!!!

                Aryah screamed in fright as she recalled what just happened before she fainted. Every single literally bloody detail. It was … it was …

                What in heaven’s name did I just witness?!! Who could have thought how, how … red … blood can be … how much of it can come out of … of … of someone! And the smell of it! … I wanted to vomit! … And that man! … if he really is a man … Is he for real? … Who could he be? …

                “It’s all right, my dear! You’re safe and here with me. Back home. Our place at Lord Matsuda’s manor.” Lani held Aryah’s arms in a firm but reassuring grip and gave her a gentle shake to wake her up.

                The younger woman struggled to sit up. Lani drew her close in a warm, comfortable hug. “There, there, Miss Aryah.”

                Aryah gently dropped back onto her pillow, no longer so frightened.

“Miss Aryah?” Lani gently persisted. Even though they were no longer princess and maidservant, Lani still fussed and worried for her like an older sister or a very young mother. “You still look a little pale.”

                “I do? Well, I still feel somewhat dizzy.”

                “Go back to sleep then.” Lani started to stand up and leave her room.

                “Lani?”

                “Yes?”

                “Please don’t leave me just yet.”

                Lani went back and took her place next to Aryah. She took her hand in hers and smiled.

                “Who brought me back here? Who rescued me?”

                Lani bit her lip, a sure sign that she’s worried.

                “I really don’t know, Miss Aryah. You were found alone at the back entrance of the manor, near one of the flower gardens. It was one of the gardeners, old Kazuo, who found you. Based on what he said, you sustained some serious bruising on parts of your body, but you were otherwise unharmed. You were then brought immediately to Lord Matsuda’s attention. He summoned one of his personal physicians to attend to you, but he gave strict orders that no one should gossip about this, and that we should continue our respective duties as if nothing has ever happened.”

                “I see. How … strange.” Aryah pursed her lips in thought. “Has anyone in the manor seen the man who brought me here?”

                “What man?”

                Aryah lay back on her pillows with a sigh. “I only remember bits and pieces, but someone definitely rescued me from whoever kidnapped me.”

                “That wouldn’t be far from the truth, Miss Aryah,” Lani replied. She looked around to make sure that nobody was eavesdropping on them and leaned closer to whisper something to the younger woman.

                “I heard some of the other servants gossip about a certain man Lord Matsuda employs to do … certain tasks …”

                “What sort of tasks?”

                “Tasks that no one else wants to do, because they are too dangerous to carry out by others. Or tasks that have to be done quietly. Very quietly.”

                “Why must they be done quietly?”

                “From what I have gathered, it’s often secretive in nature. Gathering confidential information, uncovering secrets. I heard a few of these tasks involved an assassination - or two …”

                Aryah’s eyes widened in surprise - and curiosity. “Oh, my! Who would have thought that a gentle and refined gentleman such as Lord Matsuda would resort to such things?”

                Lani shrugged. “I guess that’s the way it is with these people.”

                “I suppose so. But if you really think about it, they are not too different from the people of Northern Valedonia. They just have their ways of doing things. And Papa himself isn’t above resorting to tactics like Lord Matsuda. But anyway, what you said just now made me remember what happened before I fainted.”

                “What do you remember?”

                  “I wasn’t able to see much because those damned kidnappers covered my head with a thick cloth hood. Everything happened so quickly, and I could barely see or hear anything. But before I knew it, those two horrible men were suddenly gone and the ropes that tied my hands were gone too.”

                “Oh my! How unsettling that must seem. I am just so glad you were rescued in time!”

                “But that’s just it, Lani. I don’t know who rescued me.”

                “Did you get a good look at this person?”

                “Unfortunately, no. All I know is it was definitely a man. He was tall for a Yashima man and was dressed completely in black. His face was covered with a black cloth mask and he wore a small conical hat.”

                “Well, if you ask me, that sounds like the sort of person Lord Matsuda would employ if he wants him to carry out certain … tasks.”

                “I have no doubt about that,” Aryah replied.

                “And then what happened next?” Lani gently prodded.

                Aryah squeezed her eyes shut at the gruesome and literally bloody memory. “Ugh! He said I was safe now, but we both heard a sound. One of the kidnappers he thought he killed was still alive. And he … he …”

                “He what, Miss Aryah? What did he do?”

                Aryah swallowed. “He drew out a sharp, short sword from behind him and, and he … he … well, I never knew the human body could have so much blood inside it.”

                Suddenly, there was a soft tapping at the sliding door entrance to Aryah’s quarters. Lani walked up to it and slid it a few inches open. It revealed Kana, one of Lord Matsuda’s trusted senior ladies-in-waiting.

                “Good day, Miss Lani. Lord Matsuda is asking if Miss Aryah would be fully recovered enough to be able to meet with him in private,” the middle-aged woman spoke.

                “Yes, she just woke up half an hour ago after a long and deep sleep,” Lani replied.

                “Ah, that is good to hear. Can you kindly help her to get ready, please? Lord Matsuda will be waiting for her in his private study in the eastern wing.”

                “Yes, we will be there in a few minutes,” she replied in a calm and cordial tone. By subtly emphasizing that short single word, Lani hinted to Kana that she will be in the same room as them. As far as Lani was concerned, nothing but death itself can ever part her from Aryah.

                Kana smiled, a sign that she understood this perfectly.

                “I will inform his lordship,” she answered as she made as she bowed gracefully and closed the sliding door entrance shut.

                Lani turned to Aryah, who was already sitting up straight from her bed.

                “Do you think he knows, Miss Aryah?”

                There was a rueful line in Aryah’s smile.

                “Of course he does. That’s why he wants to have a private talk about it. He had a feeling there is something more to this than just a mere kidnapping.”

                “Are you well enough then to meet with Lord Matsuda?”

                “Quite well, dear friend. I’m eager to inform him that his suspicions have been confirmed.”

                                                                           ---------------------

                In the dark spaces of the bamboo-thatched ceiling, something moved. But it moved so quickly, it could have been a trick of the eye. A scurrying mouse or lizard that is often found in most houses. It was a movement that is often easily ignored. A movement that may not have been there at all.

                Of course, he heard everything they said. And if he ever felt any twinge of guilt that he had been spying on them for a long time, and on her in particular, it vanished in an instant. As long as she was safe and sound, that was all that mattered.

                Kai smiled as he slipped between the gaps of the ceiling and the roof and climbed out onto the rooftops to swiftly and silently make his way home to the Yamanoha clan hideout.