Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Checkmate: Royal Aquisition ❯ Caught ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Caught

Tokio groaned as something hard rammed into her stomach repeatedly. She tried to roll away from it only to find she was tightly secured. Opening her eyes she looked around her.

She was bundled up with a bunch of blankets across the saddle of a grey horse whose reins were being held by Aizu as they galloped in the darkness. Her feet and hands were bound, blankets between her and the saddle, but not offering enough padding for the current pace they were setting. Aizu was high tailing it out of there. She looked behind her and saw the sun was just starting to creep over the horizon. Dawn approached.

“She's waking up!” Megumi shouted and the horses immediately slowed. Tokio began to slowly reorient herself. She felt the binds around her feet give way and she was suddenly swung astride on the saddle. Unsure of her balance she fell forward across the horse's neck. The animal shied a bit, almost unseating her.

“Hold still, dammit! Megumi, give her another dose!” Tokio looked around. Only five people were around. No Sano. Guess they had split up. Probably to throw off guards if Saitou had sent any after them. Tokio doubted he would. Not like she was any great loss.

“More than one every six hours could put her in a coma!”

“Well she's not supposed to wake up so her metabolism must be fast or something!” Aizu snapped. “Just have everyone ride behind us. If she falls off someone pull up and hold on to her.” Tokio's ankles were then bound tightly and tied around the belly of the horse. The only thing that kept her in the saddle was the bunch of blankets all around her. Even then it would be a miracle if she could stay upright in the saddle. Secretly she hoped she fell off and broke her neck. It would serve her father right to have a rescue mission go wrong.

The horses were off again although a bit slower this time to accommodate Tokio's lack of coordination. The sun was hitting their backs now, giving subtle promise of a warm day ahead. Aizu pulled them off the road and into the trees, short cutting across the land. He suddenly reined in, fear evident on his face.

“Shit!” Tokio heard Megumi swear. Megumi never swore. What was wrong? She managed to look up into the clearing ahead.

Saitou sat atop a very dark, menacing looking war horse. Behind him was a small army of guardsmen. They looked fresh, well rested and very unhappy.

 

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“I believe this is where I tell you to give it up, Aizu,” King Saitou said. “Not only have you broken several laws, yours and mine, but you steal a guest of mine without her consent.”

“Megumi, I'm going to gate you out of here,” Aizu said quietly. “Take Tokio and go.”

“No!” Megumi hissed. “He's the highest class mage! He can easily redirect your gate to wherever he wants. It's too risky.”

“I'm going to distract him. At the opportune moment I'll throw up the gate. It'll be fast and unstable. Get ready to jump through it no matter what.”

“Brother-” Megumi began, horror in her eyes. He looked down at her.

“I have lost honor by breaking our laws. You can regain it by bringing Tokio back. It's the only way. If we give in we'll all be prisoners.” Megumi's eyes welled up with tears, but she refused to let them fall.

“I have a war to wage, Aizu, I haven't got all day!” Saitou snapped. Aizu stepped his horse out and dismounted.

“I challenge you, King Saitou. One-to-one death by combat.” Megumi gave a sharp gasp. Neither man could back down. Aizu was no match for the king. Not now and not ever. He had signed his death warrant.

Saitou dismounted and drew his sword. He had a rather sarcastic grin upon his face.

“Fool,” was all he said as Aizu came rushing at him.

 

 

Tokio heard the clash of blades and looked up. Aizu was battling Saitou. There were a lot of blurs of movement and grunts of pain. She squinted her eyes shut, trying to get her blurry mind to focus. How had King Saitou gotten here? Megumi let out a strangled cry and Tokio looked up.

Aizu's blade had been flung far to the other side and he was down on one knee, his leg pooling with blood. King Saitou stood above him, readying for the final blow. Tokio's heart stopped. Her cousin, for all he was an ass, was about to become blood on Saitou's sword.

“Fool, Aizu. Just what did you expect to accomplish by challenging me?” Saitou asked, staring down at the man whose life he would take. Aizu's eyes opened, glowing with the power. Saitou's own shields were already up, but he neglected to notice what Aizu was doing. It wasn't offensive.

“Time,” Aizu said and rolled his eyes into the back of his head.

It all happened too fast for anyone to really know what caused what. The gate opened, Saitou's blade came down, Megumi screamed, Tokio tensed and the horse under her shied. Megumi missed grabbing the bridle as it was ripped from her and her horse jumped in surprise at the other horse's obvious fear. Aizu's head went rolling across the grass and the gate closed.

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Tokio tried to orient herself as the horse galloped back the way they'd come. Her fear only aided the animal's natural fear of the sudden turn of events. The forest trees went flying by at an alarming rate.

Aizu is dead. King Saitou killed him. Why did he challenge the king? Am I worth people sacrificing their very lives?

The world was beginning to come into focus more. The fields were flying by now as the horse jumped over ditches and bushes, lather running down its legs. Tokio strained to stay on as her bound hands gripped the mane painfully tight. Where was this crazy animal going to run to? Would it run off a cliff and kill her? Would it ever stop?

Tokio got an answer to her question all too soon. Having run for several hours before and now running to its utmost maximum out of pure fear the horse collapsed from exhaustion. Its legs buckled and they went tumbling down, Tokio still tied to the saddle.

She felt pain shoot up her spine as the horse completely flipped, half rolling onto its back and her. For several moments she lay there as the horse gave a final shuddered breath. The last thing she remembered was seeing the sun crest over the mountains, bathing her face in sunlight. Then all went black.

 

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Where had she gone? Stupid Aizu had put her on a half broken horse that did what any other animal accustomed to being prey would do. It bolted. Tokio was tied to the saddle. There was no way she would have been able to slow that horse, even if she were an expert rider and untied.

“Sire, we found the tracks. They lead east,” a guard reported. The diplomats had been rounded up. He looked at them, eyes cold and dark. If she was hurt over their stupidity….

“You,” he pointed to one. “Go back to your prince and tell him the new Duchess of Aizu will be staying with her cousin. And if her cousin dies from this foolishness, she will die. The rest I will be willing to exchange for Tomoe.”

Megumi looked at the scary king, eyes wide with fear. She could only hope her cousin was not faring poorly. Her life depended on it.

Her gaze turned to the diplomats still huddled in a group. They would die. Every last one of them. The king would show no mercy when he found out.

Kenshin had married Tomoe. There was no way he'd let her go. Not for diplomats, not for anyone. The man was too far in love. Men in love did stupid things. And the people would suffer for it.