Aozora's Song (11/12)
Previous: Aozora's Destination
11. Aozora’s Fate
In the morning, he was gone.
Jun came to her and helped her to her horse. He did not mention whether he knew Satoshi had been there last night or not. They continued towards the castle in the distance at a steady pace. It took their party another half a day before they finally reached the castle.
As soon as Ao stepped inside the gates, Mistress Sakurai whisked her away to the bath house. She knew they were in a hurry, but she didn’t think the need would be so great that she’d not be given a few hours of rest before she was forced marry the young master of the house. She was scrubbed down and washed by a handful of maids. Before she stepped out of the tub, they were already drying her hair and trying to pull a comb through the tangles. Her face and neck were painted white. Her lashes were blackened and her lips reddened. All done in less than a few minutes. As soon as the meticulous design of her hair was done, she was pushed into her wedding kimono.
She watched everything happen as if she were not the bride. So fast and unbelievable the activity around her was that she couldn’t quite grasp the reality of it; not until Lord Sakurai stepped into her dressing chamber to view their progress. She saw him over the head of the maid wrapping her obi. He was handsomely dressed and his figure was impeccable. She could not hold back a grimace when she saw his stoic expression. Quickly, she averted her eyes and stared at his feet as she had been taught to do all of her life.
“Whether you like it or not, our union is urgent,” he said. “FIVE did you a favor when he did not force you to ride through the night yesterday.”
“My lord,” she started, her voice trembling. “I don’t think I can do this.”
Lord Sakurai was unmoved. “Then I will have someone carry you up to the temple.” He walked over to stand in front of her, the maid stepping back to allow them room, and tilted her head up by her chin. His fingertips smudged her makeup, but neither of them cared. She stared into his cold eyes and saw determination burn in his brown pupils.
“What FIVE forgot to tell you was that two days after you stepped out of the palace, the wards around the palace collapsed,” he said, his voice as emotionless as his face. “On your journey here, a few of the traitors used the palace’s weakened defenses to declare their rebellion.”
Ao gasped and pulled away from him, horrified. Bloody images ran through her head. How was Masaki? Was he in danger at that very moment? Sickened, she clutched her stomach.
“My father has already sent his army to intercept theirs, but many nobles are joining forces with the traitors. We must marry and declare our allegiance to the king before the last of those fools lose their courage to defy the savage lot,” Lord Sakurai told her.
He turned from her and stepped out of the chamber, forcing her to mull over her despair alone. Ao knew she had no choice; she never had any since the beginning.
*
By the time they left the castle, dusk had fallen. Less than an hour remained until night fell.
Two priestesses from the temple led the long procession. They threw talismans onto their path to ward off mischief and evil as the rest followed. Ao walked a step behind Lord Sakurai, helped to move in her restrictive heavy garments by three maids. The pull of her body to the east weighed her down as much as her wedding kimono. She pushed Satoshi and her past to the back of her mind. She would marry Lord Sakurai to save her brother and the rest of the kingdom. She would do what was right.
In the mountains, they came to the lengthy stone steps that led to the shrine at the top. Their ascent was slow, made even slower when Ao could no longer climb and had to be carried by a rotation of warriors. As if some dark magic were at work, she became heavier with each step that they took. She became so heavy that one man could no longer carry her and then none at all. As they debated on how to proceed, Ao kept her eyes at her feet, a submissive and downcast bride.
At last, a dark figure stepped into their path from the forest and offered his services.
“My lord, I would be honored to carry your bride to the top,” he said. His black cloak, embroidered in gold thread, shuffled around his thin frame. Glittering gold eyes leveled with Lord Sakurai from under the shadow of his upraised hood.
Kazunari, the Gold Magician. Ao could recognize him from anywhere. Faced to faced with him, she felt her past friendship with him and the connection between them soothed her. Satoshi had called the Gold Magician a powerful specter, but standing in front of them now he appeared as physical and real as any of the other humans.
But Lord Sakurai observed him warily. From behind, she heard his mother Mistress Sakurai bellow to her son a warning. The guards around them raised their weapons and prepared to attack. Finally, Lord Sakurai raised his hand, signalling them to put down their weapons.
He said to the magician, “Your wards were made to protect the Princess, not the palace, Gold Magician. That I know now. I will allow you to carry my bride the rest of the way.”
“Kazunari,” Ao whispered with relief and happiness when he approached her and she encircled her arms against his neck. He hoisted her into his arms easily. Unlike the warriors who had carried her, he moved fluidly and did not jar his steps as if she weighed like a feather. In his presence, she forgot her resolve to forget Satoshi. She murmured, her breath catching as she did, “Where is Satoshi?”
“He has gone east to save you. By the time the sun has finished setting, he and I will disappear.”
She startled at his statement and her hold around his neck tightened. “What do you mean?”
“Aozora, I am sorry I could not save you or Satoshi. I regret with each of your lifetimes when I return.”
Ao buried her head into his shoulder and she did not care that the contact smudged her white makeup. She breathed into his cloak, “What are you saying, Kazunari? Why must Satoshi leave to save me? What do you and Satoshi mean by us being reborn? What is the truth? What happened? Tell me,” she pleaded. “Please, tell me.”
Kazunari cradled her in his arms as if she were a child. “That’s what I came to do. I have to tell you the truth, Aozora, about your fate.” He paused and Ao waited anxiously, her pulse quickening. At last he spoke and when he did, his voice dripped with compulsion. “Remember, Aozora. Remember why we are here.”
Terror seized her and she went stone rigid in his arms. Her mouth opened in a soundless scream. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. And her mind traveled through time to relive flashes of repressed memory.
She remembered.
Her master screamed into her ear as he raped her, “I WON’T LET YOU ESCAPE UNTIL YOUR DEBT TO ME IS REPAID!”
Pain burst along her loins. Insanity forced its way into her and slowly soaked into her mind. Through the terror and fog of her torture, she heard Kazunari’s calls echo through the forest. He was trapped. He was lost. Forever bound inside the Dark Magician’s forest. As the echoes died away, she heard the soft murmurs of her name. She registered that Satoshi was pinned to the wall behind her, watching her violent rape with a stake driven through his chest. As Kazunari had done, he called her. Blood pooled on the stones beneath him and spread to where she lay with her master.
In the present, Ao pressed against Kazunari as she burst into uncontrollable sobs. She shook her head vehemently. She could not bear to witness their deaths. She could not see Satoshi die. But Kazunari whispered the compulsion and her eyes rolled back as the past paralyzed her again.
She remembered.
Her master slit her wrists and allowed her blood to pool with Satoshi’s. He drove a stake through his own chest to his heart and watched as all three of their bloods mixed together. He leaned in until his breath was hot against her.
“I curse you, Aozora, for betraying me,” he whispered, blood spilling from his own pale lips onto her skin. “This earth will use our blood and deaths to bind you. But you alone will not die. As I have loved you and taken care of you for fourteen years, so you will repay me with fourteen lifetimes.” He pressed his lips against hers and gasped brokenly, “You will not live with that brat. You will suffer the same darkness I have suffered. I curse you to insanity.”
Her master’s curse took hold and his head fell forward. His took his last breath and went still. Ao, her eyes glazed over, felt the madness that he had forced in slowly beat at her mind. Unknowingly, confused, she reached for the darkness gnawing its way into her. But Satoshi’s voice stopped her, even if he could not stop the powerful magic their master had ingrained deep within their souls.
Before the last dregs of her sanity disappeared, Ao heard him murmur her name again. And then her world burst into bright blue flames. She felt it burn her, but she did not fight the flames. She embraced the loving warmth of Satoshi. Before she went completely insane, Satoshi destroyed them.
“Aozora,” Kazunari whispered her name, bringing her back to the present and her tears, “He will save you again and again, even if he has to relive his death, until the both of you outrun our master’s curse.”
Overcome by her grief, she could not speak. They reached the last step and he set her on her unsteady feet. Yet, she did not turn to her husband or allow the maids to drag her away from him. She clutched Kazunari’s cloak and continued to bury her head in his shoulder.
“Aozora,” he murmured, “I am still trapped in our master’s forest. I can only be found when you and Satoshi have ceased to breathe for the fourteenth time. But I am here because I want to help you. I know that one day, the two of you will finally be happy.”
Kazunari pushed her from him and turned her around so that she faced the east, where the darkness pulled her. The last strands of sunset spilled over the land behind her. Through her tears, she saw for the first time standing at the summit of the mountain the spectral dark tower from her nightmares in the distance. The madness that her master promised beckoned to her and pulled her to it. She knew that one day, that darkness would claw its way to her and wound around her mind; eat away her sanity. But as she watched, and as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon swathing the entire world in overlapping shadows, she saw the dark tower burst into orange flames before Satoshi’s bright blue fire engulfed everything.
Kazunari’s soothing hand on her arm disappeared when he vanished from her side. Ao choked as her breath sputtered. She clutched her chest. Her maids ran forward to aid her, but she couldn’t be helped. She couldn’t draw breath, not when her heart refused to beat. The insistent tug on her body vanished. In the distance, the dark tower became nothing, as Satoshi too became nothing. She had seen the power of his blue flames. She knew even his ashes would not remain. Ao’s breath came again in a surge, but even as she took in air, she knew everything would be different. Satoshi was gone and she would lose him again for seven more lifetimes.
Ao loved him and she would love him every time and after. She promised to herself that when she could finally love Satoshi, she was never going to let him leave her. Again, Ao pulled out Masaki’s pocket knife that Jun had returned to her and she heard screams of horror around her.
“What are you doing!?” Lord Sakurai shouted.
Ao looked to the east where the forests stretched far into the distance and placed the sharp blade against her wrist. “Satoshi,” she murmured, “This life is for you.” She ran the blade across her veins and heard terrified shrieks as she fell.
Last: Aozora's Beloved
11. Aozora’s Fate
In the morning, he was gone.
Jun came to her and helped her to her horse. He did not mention whether he knew Satoshi had been there last night or not. They continued towards the castle in the distance at a steady pace. It took their party another half a day before they finally reached the castle.
As soon as Ao stepped inside the gates, Mistress Sakurai whisked her away to the bath house. She knew they were in a hurry, but she didn’t think the need would be so great that she’d not be given a few hours of rest before she was forced marry the young master of the house. She was scrubbed down and washed by a handful of maids. Before she stepped out of the tub, they were already drying her hair and trying to pull a comb through the tangles. Her face and neck were painted white. Her lashes were blackened and her lips reddened. All done in less than a few minutes. As soon as the meticulous design of her hair was done, she was pushed into her wedding kimono.
She watched everything happen as if she were not the bride. So fast and unbelievable the activity around her was that she couldn’t quite grasp the reality of it; not until Lord Sakurai stepped into her dressing chamber to view their progress. She saw him over the head of the maid wrapping her obi. He was handsomely dressed and his figure was impeccable. She could not hold back a grimace when she saw his stoic expression. Quickly, she averted her eyes and stared at his feet as she had been taught to do all of her life.
“Whether you like it or not, our union is urgent,” he said. “FIVE did you a favor when he did not force you to ride through the night yesterday.”
“My lord,” she started, her voice trembling. “I don’t think I can do this.”
Lord Sakurai was unmoved. “Then I will have someone carry you up to the temple.” He walked over to stand in front of her, the maid stepping back to allow them room, and tilted her head up by her chin. His fingertips smudged her makeup, but neither of them cared. She stared into his cold eyes and saw determination burn in his brown pupils.
“What FIVE forgot to tell you was that two days after you stepped out of the palace, the wards around the palace collapsed,” he said, his voice as emotionless as his face. “On your journey here, a few of the traitors used the palace’s weakened defenses to declare their rebellion.”
Ao gasped and pulled away from him, horrified. Bloody images ran through her head. How was Masaki? Was he in danger at that very moment? Sickened, she clutched her stomach.
“My father has already sent his army to intercept theirs, but many nobles are joining forces with the traitors. We must marry and declare our allegiance to the king before the last of those fools lose their courage to defy the savage lot,” Lord Sakurai told her.
He turned from her and stepped out of the chamber, forcing her to mull over her despair alone. Ao knew she had no choice; she never had any since the beginning.
*
By the time they left the castle, dusk had fallen. Less than an hour remained until night fell.
Two priestesses from the temple led the long procession. They threw talismans onto their path to ward off mischief and evil as the rest followed. Ao walked a step behind Lord Sakurai, helped to move in her restrictive heavy garments by three maids. The pull of her body to the east weighed her down as much as her wedding kimono. She pushed Satoshi and her past to the back of her mind. She would marry Lord Sakurai to save her brother and the rest of the kingdom. She would do what was right.
In the mountains, they came to the lengthy stone steps that led to the shrine at the top. Their ascent was slow, made even slower when Ao could no longer climb and had to be carried by a rotation of warriors. As if some dark magic were at work, she became heavier with each step that they took. She became so heavy that one man could no longer carry her and then none at all. As they debated on how to proceed, Ao kept her eyes at her feet, a submissive and downcast bride.
At last, a dark figure stepped into their path from the forest and offered his services.
“My lord, I would be honored to carry your bride to the top,” he said. His black cloak, embroidered in gold thread, shuffled around his thin frame. Glittering gold eyes leveled with Lord Sakurai from under the shadow of his upraised hood.
Kazunari, the Gold Magician. Ao could recognize him from anywhere. Faced to faced with him, she felt her past friendship with him and the connection between them soothed her. Satoshi had called the Gold Magician a powerful specter, but standing in front of them now he appeared as physical and real as any of the other humans.
But Lord Sakurai observed him warily. From behind, she heard his mother Mistress Sakurai bellow to her son a warning. The guards around them raised their weapons and prepared to attack. Finally, Lord Sakurai raised his hand, signalling them to put down their weapons.
He said to the magician, “Your wards were made to protect the Princess, not the palace, Gold Magician. That I know now. I will allow you to carry my bride the rest of the way.”
“Kazunari,” Ao whispered with relief and happiness when he approached her and she encircled her arms against his neck. He hoisted her into his arms easily. Unlike the warriors who had carried her, he moved fluidly and did not jar his steps as if she weighed like a feather. In his presence, she forgot her resolve to forget Satoshi. She murmured, her breath catching as she did, “Where is Satoshi?”
“He has gone east to save you. By the time the sun has finished setting, he and I will disappear.”
She startled at his statement and her hold around his neck tightened. “What do you mean?”
“Aozora, I am sorry I could not save you or Satoshi. I regret with each of your lifetimes when I return.”
Ao buried her head into his shoulder and she did not care that the contact smudged her white makeup. She breathed into his cloak, “What are you saying, Kazunari? Why must Satoshi leave to save me? What do you and Satoshi mean by us being reborn? What is the truth? What happened? Tell me,” she pleaded. “Please, tell me.”
Kazunari cradled her in his arms as if she were a child. “That’s what I came to do. I have to tell you the truth, Aozora, about your fate.” He paused and Ao waited anxiously, her pulse quickening. At last he spoke and when he did, his voice dripped with compulsion. “Remember, Aozora. Remember why we are here.”
Terror seized her and she went stone rigid in his arms. Her mouth opened in a soundless scream. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. And her mind traveled through time to relive flashes of repressed memory.
She remembered.
Her master screamed into her ear as he raped her, “I WON’T LET YOU ESCAPE UNTIL YOUR DEBT TO ME IS REPAID!”
Pain burst along her loins. Insanity forced its way into her and slowly soaked into her mind. Through the terror and fog of her torture, she heard Kazunari’s calls echo through the forest. He was trapped. He was lost. Forever bound inside the Dark Magician’s forest. As the echoes died away, she heard the soft murmurs of her name. She registered that Satoshi was pinned to the wall behind her, watching her violent rape with a stake driven through his chest. As Kazunari had done, he called her. Blood pooled on the stones beneath him and spread to where she lay with her master.
In the present, Ao pressed against Kazunari as she burst into uncontrollable sobs. She shook her head vehemently. She could not bear to witness their deaths. She could not see Satoshi die. But Kazunari whispered the compulsion and her eyes rolled back as the past paralyzed her again.
She remembered.
Her master slit her wrists and allowed her blood to pool with Satoshi’s. He drove a stake through his own chest to his heart and watched as all three of their bloods mixed together. He leaned in until his breath was hot against her.
“I curse you, Aozora, for betraying me,” he whispered, blood spilling from his own pale lips onto her skin. “This earth will use our blood and deaths to bind you. But you alone will not die. As I have loved you and taken care of you for fourteen years, so you will repay me with fourteen lifetimes.” He pressed his lips against hers and gasped brokenly, “You will not live with that brat. You will suffer the same darkness I have suffered. I curse you to insanity.”
Her master’s curse took hold and his head fell forward. His took his last breath and went still. Ao, her eyes glazed over, felt the madness that he had forced in slowly beat at her mind. Unknowingly, confused, she reached for the darkness gnawing its way into her. But Satoshi’s voice stopped her, even if he could not stop the powerful magic their master had ingrained deep within their souls.
Before the last dregs of her sanity disappeared, Ao heard him murmur her name again. And then her world burst into bright blue flames. She felt it burn her, but she did not fight the flames. She embraced the loving warmth of Satoshi. Before she went completely insane, Satoshi destroyed them.
“Aozora,” Kazunari whispered her name, bringing her back to the present and her tears, “He will save you again and again, even if he has to relive his death, until the both of you outrun our master’s curse.”
Overcome by her grief, she could not speak. They reached the last step and he set her on her unsteady feet. Yet, she did not turn to her husband or allow the maids to drag her away from him. She clutched Kazunari’s cloak and continued to bury her head in his shoulder.
“Aozora,” he murmured, “I am still trapped in our master’s forest. I can only be found when you and Satoshi have ceased to breathe for the fourteenth time. But I am here because I want to help you. I know that one day, the two of you will finally be happy.”
Kazunari pushed her from him and turned her around so that she faced the east, where the darkness pulled her. The last strands of sunset spilled over the land behind her. Through her tears, she saw for the first time standing at the summit of the mountain the spectral dark tower from her nightmares in the distance. The madness that her master promised beckoned to her and pulled her to it. She knew that one day, that darkness would claw its way to her and wound around her mind; eat away her sanity. But as she watched, and as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon swathing the entire world in overlapping shadows, she saw the dark tower burst into orange flames before Satoshi’s bright blue fire engulfed everything.
Kazunari’s soothing hand on her arm disappeared when he vanished from her side. Ao choked as her breath sputtered. She clutched her chest. Her maids ran forward to aid her, but she couldn’t be helped. She couldn’t draw breath, not when her heart refused to beat. The insistent tug on her body vanished. In the distance, the dark tower became nothing, as Satoshi too became nothing. She had seen the power of his blue flames. She knew even his ashes would not remain. Ao’s breath came again in a surge, but even as she took in air, she knew everything would be different. Satoshi was gone and she would lose him again for seven more lifetimes.
Ao loved him and she would love him every time and after. She promised to herself that when she could finally love Satoshi, she was never going to let him leave her. Again, Ao pulled out Masaki’s pocket knife that Jun had returned to her and she heard screams of horror around her.
“What are you doing!?” Lord Sakurai shouted.
Ao looked to the east where the forests stretched far into the distance and placed the sharp blade against her wrist. “Satoshi,” she murmured, “This life is for you.” She ran the blade across her veins and heard terrified shrieks as she fell.
Last: Aozora's Beloved