Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Dangerous Alliance ❯ Assassin! ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4

Kaoru had been at the palace for three days. Three days and not once been able to catch Prince Himura. The man was a ghost. Everyone had seen him but couldn't tell her where he was presently. Even the pages had no idea and they always knew where everyone was.

Sano was trying to keep her occupied. He really was. Kaoru was just not in the mood for card games, gambling, drinking or flirting. Megumi was not help either, constantly saying things in an almost condescending manner, but not outright insulting her. Kaoru knew the woman disliked her. She had since she was ten. Some things never changed.

"Where's the practice yard?" Kaoru asked, standing up. Sano had gotten some of the ladies together for a sewing circle. That would have worked. If Kaoru liked sewing. A Queen did not have to sew. Other people made her clothes. She had more important things to learn.

"The practice yard?" Lady Tae asked, uncertain why the Queen would care.

"You know, where they practice," Kaoru said with a little less patience.

"Oh the men are always getting all sweaty just about this time of day. It could be fun," another woman said.

"I don't care what the men are doing. I can't sit around all day. I want to practice. Someone have a page boy tell Sano to meet me in the practice yard in twenty minutes."

"And if he refuses?" came a carefully haughty voice. Megumi no doubt.

"Sano never refuses me anything," Kaoru said with an innocent smile.

Sano swore. Damn Jou-chan had him come out here in the blazing sun and now Megumi was mad at him for something, but she wouldn't tell him. Told him to ask his precious Queen. Now what had he done?

"Sano, how good of you to join me," Kaoru said as she stepped out into the yard. She'd changed into the hakama and gi, wooden bokken in hand.

"Aw man, I should have known. How come I have to be your target practice?"

"Because I doubt any other man here would have the guts to. They all think we women are this delicate breed that cracks under pressure."

"Well that's true…"he began, then noticed the glare she was giving him. "For most women," he quickly added. "Obviously not you, Jou-chan."

"One day you aren't going to cover your ass quickly enough and some woman is going to deck you."

"But until then I am as suave as ever."

"You only think you're suave. Pick up the practice blade."

"Any word of the eastern border?" Kenshin asked Aoshi as they walked down the hall.

"Even though their ruler is not there the country is still functioning well. A council rules in her stead but no laws pass without her. Nothing seems amiss."

"How can she get away?" Kenshin asked more to himself than to his military advisor.

"Obviously we are missing some key element."

"Obviously," Kenshin agreed, stopping at the window that overlooked the practice field. Aoshi looked out. Kenshin did not. He sat deep in thought.

"Something isn't right," Kenshin said with a frown.

"Would you look at that," Aoshi said. No smile was on his face but there was obvious amusement in his eyes. Kenshin looked out.

Sano was getting his ass kicked by a woman. Not just any woman. Queen Kamiya. She was pretty fast with that practice blade.

"So her father taught her how to fight. No wonder an assassin hasn't picked her off yet."

"She's not bad," Aoshi said. Coming from him that was a compliment.

"She would not last a minute in a true battle," Kenshin said.

"You forget she is a sorceress. I highly doubt her talent stops at lighting candles. She used a portal gate to get here from Edo." That was news to Kenshin.

"So that's how she got here so fast. A portal gate that close?"

"Castle to castle apparently. It's how the rulers of Edo always travel to Kyoto."

"King Kamiya was no mage."

"No," Aoshi replied. "Can you think of a time he visited without either his wife or daughter?"

Kenshin thought hard. He did not know about the time before he was adopted into Hiko's house, but never did Kamiya come without one of the two women in his memory.

Suddenly both men straightened. Something wasn't right. They looked at each other, then down at the practice yard and shot off at lightening speed.

Sano fell over, breathing hard and clutching a rib.

"And that is for flinging your arm over my shoulder when you were drunk," Kaoru said, practice blade flung over her shoulder as she stood over him triumphantly.

"You are a vicious Queen, vicious I tell you. What do you do to real criminals?"

"I let Misao take care of them. Here, I'll be nice and grant you a pardon," she said, holding out her hand. Then an odd sensation came over her. Sano's eyes widened.

"Jou-chan, look out!" he yelled. Kaoru jumped aside just in time to miss the real sword coming down where her head had been.

"Die you Edo witch!" the large burly man said. People all around were confused. Where had this man come from? Was he seriously attacking the Queen of Edo?

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, bringing her own blade forward. A wooden stick was not going to cut it against a real sword but it was better than nothing.

"I'm the man who's gonna kill you, Gohei." He charged her and brought the sword down. Kaoru had no time to move so she countered. Her wooden blade took the brunt of the attack, snapping in two. She had a three inch stick in her hands.

"And now you die," he said.

It all happened so fast. She saw the sword coming at her. Then the world went streaking by as strong arms picked her up. Red hair came into vision, then they slid to a stop. Meanwhile Gohei found ten swords at his throat, two of which Lord Aoshi himself was holding.

"Attempted assassination of a foreign royal? What's the punishment for that again?" Prince Himura asked nonchalantly.

"Death. Nice and slow," Aoshi said. "I'll see to it personally."

"Hold just a minute!" Kaoru said, jumping out of Kenshin's arms. "I want to question him-" she began and promptly feinted. Blood was running down one of her arms. Kenshin picked her up again. Damn silly woman.

"Must have happened when he broke her practice blade," Sano said, coming up.

"And where were you?" Kenshin asked harshly.

"On the ground. You should see the bruises she hands out. She's very generous with them!" he snapped back.

"See that he's questioned," Kenshin said to Aoshi. "And somebody go get Lady Megumi!"

Kaoru woke to a soft tugging on her arm. Her eyes quickly focused to the canopy bed she was in. This was not her bed. This was not her room. The tug at her arm abruptly hurt and she looked down.

Prince Kenshin had his royal sleeves rolled up and hands bloody as he stitched her arm. His eyes were cold amber, dead and serious. This was not the first time he'd seen blood. He said not a word as he continued. Kaoru bit her lip to keep from crying out. As he finished he washed his hands and began wrapping it. For such a harsh person he was surprisingly gentle.

"How come your eyes aren't purple anymore?" Kaoru asked, taking both of them by surprise. She'd been wondering it all this time. He stopped wrapping in shock and looked down at her.

"What?"

"Your eyes. They used to be purple." He went back to wrapping.

"That was a long time ago," he said, his voice heavy with sadness. What could have happened to make him this way. He used to be so fun. He used to smile.

"So now that I have you, when can I discuss the treaty with you?"

"There is nothing to discuss. Hiko said to sign it, so I'll sign it."

"But I need his signature, not yours." Kenshin looked up.

"He no longer stays here. I rule. He is off somewhere doing pottery and drinking sake. Retirement, you could call it."

"But the treaty clearly states I need the King of Kyoto. Technically he is still the King, is he not?"

"He still has the title, yes."

"Then I need his signature. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get dragged into this mess," she said, sitting up. "Thank you for bandaging my arm."

Kenshin was taken back. Here she was sitting in his bed talking like she was his senior and not the other way around. She was staring off into space with the saddest look in her eyes. A haunted look. He knew what that look was. The look of one who had lost everything all at once and wasn't sure how to continue from there, but knew they had to. She was too young for such a burden as ruling the most vulnerable country.

The door flung open and Megumi came in.

"Honestly, you'd think someone would have the decency to tell me which chambers she was in besides her own!" she said, setting down a black bag. Kenshin was quickly pushed aside and Megumi began unwrapping the bandage. She inspected the stitches and wrapped it back up. Megumi was a lot less gentle than Kenshin had been.

"If you were going to patch her up why'd you ask for me?" she demanded. "Or did you get hurt too?" Megumi was entirely too friendly with Prince Himura, Kaoru decided. She wondered if they had some sort of agreement or something. Maybe she was to be wife number 2 sometime soon.

"Sano has a broken rib and a couple of bruises. You were to see him," Kenshin said, voice not so nice. Must be a one sided love thing, Kaoru thought.

"If he can still talk he's fine. That man has the stamina of an ox. Run him through a fence and he'll still eventually heal."

"Just go see him," Kenshin said. "That's not a request."

"Alright, alright, I'll go see the rooster head." The woman stood and left in a swirl of skirts.

"She is so damn annoying," Kaoru said. She attempted to stand and was hit with a wave of dizziness.

"Lie back down. You lost a lot of blood on the way up here. I'll send for the cook to bring you something to eat."

Kaoru fell back against the pillows.

"Could you have them send a loaf of bread up too?" she asked, closing her eyes.

"A loaf of bread? Any specific kind?"

"Just plain old regular white bread. The whole loaf."

"I ask what the Queen of Edo wants and she requests the food of prisoners."

"Bread is good…." she said before falling asleep.

"So innocent," he said with a small smile. He reached out and brushed the dark bangs from her forehead. "Why do they want to kill you so bad?"

Aoshi was asking the same question below in the dungeon. Gohei was not too keen to answer, but he was more keen after being threatened with hot irons. Trust really big men to be really big chickens.

"There's a bounty for the man who kills her."

"Paid by who?"

"I don't know. If we kill her we have to bring proof to some man in Edo. Supposed to meet him at the Iron Horse and Dragon inn, ask for a boy called Sandals."

"How much money?"

"Fifty million."

Fifty million? Not a lot of people had that sort of money. Then again, if they wanted proof of her death after the fact there was no guarantee they would actually pay.

"Hannya, see that he screams more before he dies," Aoshi ordered and left. Kenshin would want to know all of this. The Queen would probably want to know someone was after her head too.