Lois Fogg
SireneCall@hotmail.com
Fantasy, Book Four, Chapter 3
[Author�s Notes at the end this chapter]


While the issue of my riding sidesaddle was by no means
closed, it was some time before I had an opportunity to bring it up
again. At first I wondered why we were taking such a long route
around the city before I remembered that we were still refugees. While
traveling directly through mirror would be faster, it would also give us
a great deal more exposure, and the Kojin�s men would be expecting
us. In fact, although the Minami hills lay almost directly north of us,
the first part of our journey led us due east. We clomped slowly along
the Eastern rode blending in with many other travelers.
	�We are cloth merchants from Han,� he said after we had put
a good distance between ourselves and Mirror. �It�s a small village
south of mirror that was almost destroyed by the plague. No one will
question our motives for traveling.� I nodded, and we lapsed into
silence again. The east road was one of the few safe roads in Umeru.
The Lord Generals of Mirror and Yase (the other main city connected
to it) had taken it upon themselves to fortify it after the Kojin�s first
attacks. The political structure of this place was beginning to confuse
me and I knew that I would have to ask Mamoru for an explanation
rather soon. Although no one had told me explicitly, I realized that the
Kojin�s rebellion had only occurred over this past year. I could not
imagine how someone could cause this much pain confusion in merely
a year. And if our past encounters with his forces had been any
indication, the odds were not exactly on our side if we retaliated. I
could only hope that this mysterious Lady would have some answers.
	I started from my thoughts when Mamoru urged the horse
into a light trot. While walking my position had been bearable, now I
was ready to scream in frustration. Did women actually spend
extensive periods of time like this?
	�Mamoru,� I said imperiously, �you had better stop this
horse.� He brought it to a halt slowly, and turned to look at me,
exasperated.
	�What is it now?�
	�I absolutely cannot ride like this for the next three weeks.�
	�Is that it?� He asked, turning back around again. He urged
the horse into a walk.
	�Did you hear me?� I demanded, pounding on his back for
emphasis. He ignored me.
	�I cannot ride like this! And don�t you dare tell me you don�t
care.�
	�Too bad, I don�t,� he said curtly.
	I let out a wordless shout of frustration. �Can�t you even
listen to me? There�s got to be another way for me to ride on this
thing!�
	�Serena, there isn�t. Now will you stop bugging me? We�ve
got to get to Asuka by nightfall.�
	�Fine, have it your way,� I muttered. Mind you, I wasn�t
giving up, I had just given up on getting any help from Mamoru. Since
it appeared that he was not going to stop the horse again, I carefully
raised my left leg while gripping Mamoru�s waist tightly.
	�What are you doing?� he asked, squirming under my tight
grip.
	�None of your business,� I said succinctly, concentrating on
swinging my leg over. A second later I had succeeded, feeling
remarkably more comfortable. Of course, Kimonos had not been
designed for such use, and in order to avoid exposing my more private
areas, I had to hike the skirts to my knees.
	�You didn�t do what I think you just did, did you?� Mamoru
asked, finally stopping the horse.
	�What do you think I did?� I asked sweetly.
	He turned around. �Didn�t I tell you that you couldn�t ride like
that?�
	�Why the hell not?�
	He balled his fists in frustration. �Serena, I really don�t have
time to explain everything to you if you just refuse to understand. As I
believe I have mentioned, we are endeavoring to appear
inconspicuous. I do not believe that a woman riding astride while
showing an obscene amount of skin counts as inconspicuous!�
	�Obscene amounts of skin?� I questioned, feeling rather
stupid under his verbal onslaught. He always managed to do that to
me.
	�Well, I�m sure it�s just child�s play to an exhibitionist of your
caliber, but, simply put, to most people showing that much of your leg
would mark you as a prostitute. Do you want that? Now why don�t
you ride like I�ve been telling you to ride for the past hour so we can
get on our way?�
	I realized that my bottom lip was trembling. This is pathetic,
Serena! You were the one who messed up, and you cannot cry like
some little child. Raising my chin with as much dignity as I could
muster, I slid of the horse and allowed me to lift me up again. I bore his
uncomfortably fast pace in what I hoped was stoic acceptance. After
perhaps another hour, however, I realized I couldn�t take it anymore.
My butt felt like it was going to fall off.
	�Um...Mamoru?� I began tentatively.
	�Yes?� His voice sounded resigned.
	�Think you could slow down?� Now that I thought about it,
we were the fastest people on the road.
	After a moment he obeyed, chuckling softly. I lay my head on
his back, forgetting my stoicism and my anger. I enjoyed the way he
would shake when he laughed, and his smell. He was warm, as well,
which was nice. While I had not paid much attention to the weather
before, I realized that it was definitely fall. The temperature had been
fine during the day, but the sun was beginning to set and I had grown
rather chilly.
	�We�re almost there,� he said softly, not objecting to my
position. I felt so comfortable that it did not even occur to me to move.
�Just about one more hour.� I did notice that the number of people on
the road had increased, as had the clusters of small villages often
found on the outskirts of cities. The hour passed quickly, for once not
because we were arguing. In fact, in a completely strange move, I
dozed off while leaning against him. I only surfaced into
consciousness when he pulled me gently from the horse after we had
arrived at the inn. Night had fallen completely, I noticed when I opened
my eyes. I allowed myself to lean against him a little longer than
necessary while he instructed the stable boy to take care of our horse.
He removed the saddle bags and we walked the door of the inn. Mind
you, I assumed it was one, although it looked completely different than
how I had imagined them. It was a fairly small one story building, with
two beautifully made statues of rearing lions flanking the doors. The
curved roof and the small wooden porch were typical of most
architecture that I had seen in this world. The hostess opened the large
wooden doors as we neared, bowing her welcome.
	�My wife and I would like some quiet rooms and food for the
night,� he said, and I felt a peculiar mix of frustration and pleasure at
being called his wife.
	�Of course,� she said, bowing again. �Would you please
come this way?� She asked, directing us towards a main room.
	�Don�t say anything out of character until we are by
ourselves,� Mamoru whispered urgently to me as we walked inside. I
nodded my understanding. The room was comprised of two long
tables, low to the ground with pillows, like all I had seen so far. Several
people sat and conversed around them both, although I was again
surprised at how apparently sober the behavior was. In the corner of a
room, a beautiful girl, perhaps a bit younger than myself, played a
curious looking instrument that resembled a small harp, laid on its side.
She plucked the notes of a song delicately, accompanying her
beautiful voice. I had never heard music similar to that before, and I
stared, rather entranced. The scale was completely unfamiliar to me,
and yet it had the same inexplicable charm that this entire world held.
Mamoru had to jog my elbow gently before I realized that we should
sit. We sat across from each other, at the end of the table closest to the
door. I glanced all around me in a state of keen excitement. Everything
was so different here, not to mention beautiful and fantastic.
	�What are you smiling about?� Mamoru asked.
	�Everything is so different here. Beautiful.�
	�This isn�t even a great inn. You�re easily pleased, aren�t
you?� His smile seemed gentler in the flickering lamplight. How could
he look like that, I wondered, and then open his mouth and ruin the
entire image? I then realized that he was expecting a reply.
	�It depends on what�s pleasing me,� I said, smiling
suggestively.
	He laughed, �Like food?�
	�Of course!� I said with mock indignation. �What did you
think I was talking about?�
	At that point a modestly clad serving girl took the orders from
the table, and I was perfectly happy to let Mamoru order for us. In
remarkably short order the food was served. It appeared to be rice
topped with fried vegetables.
	�I hope you got good food...� I said as I dubiously picked up
the chopsticks.
	He laughed again. �Well, if some of it manages to make it in
your mouth this time, it ought to taste pretty decent. After all,� he said
with a wink, �I do aim to please.�
	I gave the mature and dignified response of sticking out my
tongue before I proceeded to spill only a rough third of my meal. I also
rather enjoyed this strange iced tea they served, Mamoru called it
barley tea. Overall it was a thoroughly satisfying meal. As we rose, a
serving girl quickly came to us to show us to our rooms. I had to walk
gingerly because my legs had fallen asleep beneath me while we had
eaten. She led us down a short hallway and opened some sliding doors
at the end. Mamoru thanked her and after removing our shoes, we
entered. The room was small, with the minimum amount of furnishings.
The small circular window, I was pleased to see, opened onto the inner
courtyard. There was a low stool with a basin of water and a cloth next
to a small mirror. On the floor was a mat similar to the one I had slept
on last night, the main difference being that it was obviously meant for
two people. I looked desperately at Mamoru. Somehow I had forgotten
that masquerading as husband and wife would mean sleeping in the
same bed.
	Mamoru interpreted my look expertly. �Serena, you are going
to have to get used to it very quickly. Do you honestly think I�m
perfectly fine with sleeping in the same bed as you?�
	I glared at him. �You made your point.� I said sullenly. �Tell
me, do you *try* to think of the exact thing to say that will make me fee
like scum, or are you just lucky?�
	Mamoru opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it,
obviously having figured that it wasn�t worth my wrath. I had been
feeling so nice, too. Why did Mamoru just have to ruin everything?
Being far to busy getting angry with him-- as usual-- I didn�t really
register that he was changing out of his clothes until he pulled his shirt
over his head.
	�Wait, what are you doing?� My intensity due far more to an
upsurge of hormones than any prudish indignation. It was at that point
that I realized that his midsection was bandaged rather heavily.
	�Oh my god,� I breathed, forgetting that I was mad at him.
�What happened to you?�
	He gave me his most withering expression, which is saying a
great deal. Despite that, I moved closer, overcome with this insane
desire to take care of him. I always knew my compassionate side would
get me into trouble one of these days.
	�I believe that you can answer that question yourself.�
	�What are you talking about? You can�t possibly say that I...�
I trailed off, my momentary indignation giving way to horror. �You
can�t mean...that time in the dungeon...when I kicked...oh my god...� He
nodded. He had definitely managed to make me hit an all-time low, and
no one could claim that I hadn�t brought this on myself. I had called
him a wimp, not paid any attention when he had been unable to move;
I just thought he was tired, not overcome with pain.
	�Why didn�t you just say something?�
	�You didn�t ask. Really, though, we were in a hurry, I figured
that it wasn�t worth mentioning.�
	�You swam across that river...�
	He winced. �Yes, well, that was a little difficult, I�ll admit.
Listen, Serena, before you beat yourself over the head, my ribs were
already broken before you...greeted me in your inimitable fashion.�
	I stared at him in surprise before I remembered that I had in
fact read that in his journal. �I just made it worse, you mean.� Why did
he have to look so gorgeous sitting there, smiling at me? Why was this
new information giving him a proverbial halo? I desperately wanted
him to say something mean to me so I wouldn�t have to see him this
way.
	�It�s all right, Serena. I�ll survive,� and his sardonic air
reassured me that he still hadn�t changed. I knew, however, that I
would have to come to terms with this eventually. Eventually being the
key word. Preferably when I was far away from the man in question.
Not that it mattered, seeing as how I was far too busy melting to do
anything constructive. That particular smile of his was probably illegal
in several countries.
	�Tell you what,� he said, �I�ll forgive everything if you�ll just
do one little favor?�
	�What do you want?� I asked, putting my arms in front of my
face as if to ward off attack.
�I just want you to change the bandages...what did you think
I was going to ask?�
	�I don�t know, Mamo-chan, with you, anything is possible.�
He opened his mouth but I ignored him. �I know, I know, don�t call you
that.�

	My hands shook. Thinking about it, I feel rather ashamed, but
my hands shook as I removed the bandage, far too close to his perfect
chest for any sort of sexual comfort. I wasn�t very squeamish about
this sort of thing. In fact, I had interned at a hospital for several years,
but you would have thought I spent my whole life with a paper bag
over my head from the way I reacted to Mamoru. There was just
something about him that magnified all of my emotions, my reactions,
my tendencies. I was like four of my normal selves around him...a
super-concentrated Serena, if that makes any sense. I was breathing
heavily when I finished, my entire body trembling. I tried to pass it off,
standing up nonchalantly to take off my kimono, but as soon as I
stood I fell against the wall. I knew that Mamoru noticed, but for once
he had the tact not to say anything. I didn�t know what was wrong
with me, but I hated myself for showing any weakness in front of
Mamoru. With the aid of the small mirror, I carefully removed the
combs and braided my hair. Wearing only the white linen shift that I
supposed counted as underwear here, I crawled into bed.
	�You coming, dear?� I called sarcastically. I had regained
some of my composure, thank goodness. Mamoru glanced up from the
map and nodded.
	�Yes honey,� he answered, and I had to suppress a giggle. He
climbed in next to me, still wearing his pants. I wondered-- idly, I
hoped-- what real married couples wore to bed here. Nothing? It
occurred to me that as many times as Mamoru had seen me naked, I
had never seen him. That the thought even occurred to me was
disturbing, that I found the fact disappointing did not bear
contemplating. He blew out the lamp and we lay together for a moment,
bathed by moonlight. He pulled the covers up further.
	�Good night, Serena.� He said softly, and after a moment, he
leaned over to kiss me on the forehead.
	I lay there frozen long into the night.

	After a quick breakfast taken at an unholy hour, I was hauled
back upon the horse and we continued on our way. While I had been
too excited to really notice the day before, it struck me that several
people on the road were looking at us, and myself in particular, rather
strangely. At first I was afraid that we might have been discovered by
the Kojin, but their curiosity did not seem malicious, only surprised.
	�Um, Mamoru. I think every body is staring at me,� I
whispered after two hours.
	�Huh? What are you talking about. We look exactly like
everybody else, why would they stare at us?�
	�Not us, me. I don�t know why they�re staring at me, but it�s
scary!�
	�Serena, don�t be vain.�
	�I am not being vain! Everyone is looking at me! See,� I
shouted triumphantly, pointing to yet another culprit. �he�s staring!�
	I knew Mamoru was rolling his eyes, I didn�t need to face him.
�He�s staring because you�re screaming and pointing at him.� Mamoru
said under his breath.
	�That is not why!�
	�Then why would he be staring at you?�
	�I don�t know! That�s the point. But people have been staring
at me since we left the inn.�
	�Pardon me, but I really find this a little hard to believe.�
	�Okay, fine, if we get captured, no one can say it is my fault.
Though my body may be mangled and tortured, I can be safe in the
knowledge that it is all because of one certain cocky bastard called
Mamo-chan!�
	�Serena, stop that! I already told you that I won�t let anything
happen to you.�
	�Oh, sure, that�s what you say, but here my life is in danger,
and you won�t even believe me!�
	�Your life is in danger because a few guys are staring at
you?�
	�Well...why else would they be staring at me unless the Kojin
sent them?� How did he do this to me, here I was going back on my
logic of a mere moment ago.
	�There are tons of other reasons, Serena! I don�t know,
maybe they just think you�re pretty.�
	My retort stuck in my throat, and I gazed at his innocent-
looking back in shock. Did he just say that?
	�Did you just say that?�
	�Say what?�
	�About my being pretty.�
	�Well...� he coughed, �sure...I mean...you wouldn�t start a
war, but it�s not like you�re bad to look at...�
	I interrupted him loudly, feeling my already shortened temper
snap completely. �That�s enough Mamoru! For once in your life, why
don�t you care about how another person feels! I did not need to hear
that! Here I was, deluded into thinking that you had actually deigned
to give me a compliment, and look what comes out of your mouth?
Well, I don�t care, since I hate you anyway, and there is no way that I
would ever feel upset about anything a jerk like you has to say about
me!� He opened his mouth, but I was already speaking. �And you�re
the hero! I�m the heroine! You�re supposed to think I�m beautiful. Why
doesn�t the hero find the heroine beautiful? Damn it, why are you
ruining my entire adventure! Just my luck to get stuck in another world
with a bastard.�
	Mamoru opened and closed his mouth like a fish. At this
point he had long stopped the horse and turned around to face me. If I
thought people had been looking at me before, they were staring at me
like I had sprouted horns now. Having come down a little from my
wave of self-righteous anger, I began to feel embarrassed. Really, while
he deserved most of it, I had  been a little mean.
	�Why don�t we eat lunch,� he said finally, his eyes searching
my face in an incomprehensible manner. I nodded, now seriously
regretting my momentary loss of control. As good as that had felt, I
forgot that I was destined to spend at least the month in this  man�s
presence. With reconciliation in mind, I nodded my head, and he slid
off the horse. I was overcome with the irrational fear that he would
drop me when he lifted me down, but if anything his grip seemed surer
than usual. In awkward silence, we walked a little way off the road,
standing among long blades of grass. Most of the landscape that we
had encountered had been prairie land, and I enjoyed the appearance
of the rolling hills, covered in waist high grass. Mamoru allowed the
horse to graze, and then spread out a blanket for us to sit on. I sat
down while he took some food from our bags. He sat in front, and I
shifted uncomfortably. Suddenly I felt awful. He shouldn�t have said
that, but I shouldn�t have said I hated him. Because, while I would
never tell him so, it was becoming patently obvious to me that my
feelings for this particularly obnoxious man lay far in the other
direction. How far I did not know and was not too keen on finding out.
	�Serena,� he said finally, �I�m sorry I said that--�
	�No, no, it�s my fault. I shouldn�t have blown up,� I
apologized quickly, feeling myself blushing a deep red.
	�What I mean is,� he persevered, �that I wasn�t even telling
the truth. I mean, of course you�re pretty...gorgeous. I just thought
you knew that, that�s all.�
	Yet again Mamoru had left me completely undone. Now it was
my turn to look like a fish, and in my confusion I blushed and looked at
the ground. I couldn�t stand these strange hiccups in our relationship.
I could handle the sarcastic Mamoru, the mean Mamoru, but when he
was sweet like this...I found myself imagining things that I didn�t want
at all. So, I did what I usually do when, I�m uncomfortable with
something, I tried to forgot about it. At first this was not very
successful, and we sat in painfully awkward silence for a few minutes.
Then I remembered what could take my attention away from imminent
nuclear annihilation: food. For the first time since we had sat down, I
stared at the spread before us.
	�Where did you get this?� I said, staring at the delicate array
of sushi and bread.
	�This morning,� he said, looking sideways at me with a
hopeful smile. Inwardly I begged him to stop being so nice, to stop
smiling like that.
	�So, do you think you can handle the chopsticks this time?�
He said in something more closely resembling his normal tone of voice.
I breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief before answering.
	�Despite your none-too-subtle hints otherwise, I�m sure that
I�ll manage.�
	Mamoru just looked at me as he picked up my chopsticks.
And I smiled sunnily as I proceeded to make a mess of myself. The
worst was over, I thought, things could only get better now.
And in the manner of such thoughts, I had no idea how
wrong I was.


	On the road again, perhaps an hour later, I grew aware of a
pressing bodily urge that I been endeavoring to ignore. It was past
hope, however, and I knew that however unpleasant, I would have to
do something about the situation immediately.
	�Um...Mamoru,� I said tentatively, squashing my legs
together.
	�Hmmm?� he said absentmindedly, trying to avoid getting too
close to an ox-drawn carriage that was passing us. I had the fleeting
impression that we were passing important people, but I was too
preoccupied to really pay attention.
	�Is there a place that I can um...you know...�
	�You�re still hungry? But we just ate lunch!�
	�While I know you seem to think I bear distinct similarities to
a barnyard animal, everything I say to you is not a request for food!�
	He sighed, but I could tell he was smiling. It was strange how
some of our arguments were like this, angry on the surface, but
underneath we were distinctly enjoying ourselves. �In the name of
peace, I will refrain from comment. What did you want to know?�
	He cut our argument off so abruptly that I my retort died on
my parted lips. Taking a moment to reorient myself to civil
conversation, I answered. �I...um...need to piss.� I said finally,
squeezing my legs together again. Another minute of this and I was
going to explode! And the way the horse kept moving up and down,
up and down...I gripped Mamoru tighter.
	He laughed outright this time. �You certainly are blunt, aren�t
you? Well, there�s a small stream a little ways off if you�re really
desperate...�
	�I assure you that this is a dire situation.�
	Without another word he turned the horse off the road, and
toward more of the open plain, occasionally dotted with patches of
forest. He must have been following some invisible trail, or maybe I
was just too preoccupied to notice, but we arrived, none too soon, at
the bottom of a low hill surrounded by some low trees. In front of us
lay the stream. I leaped off the horse, unmindful of decorum this far
away from prying eyes.
	�Turn around,� I commanded imperiously, and proceeded to
do what I never thought I would: pee on the side of the road. It was the
kind of thing my mother had threatened me with when I didn�t want to
go before we left the house and now, here I was, and I didn�t care at all.
It�s remarkable how low one can sink from the so-called heights of
civilization. I had always viewed the omission of precisely *how* one
goes about the business of her bodily functions to be a serious failure
of fantasy novels. Well, I hadn�t really thought about it at the time, but
since I had begun my little adventure, the issue had come up a little too
often for my comfort. My first encounter with a chamber pot back at
the temple had not left either of us unscathed. Having finished, I
carefully replaced the kimono, and allowed myself a fleeting wish for
the luxuries of toilet paper.
	�You done yet?� Mamoru called, leaning over the saddle.
	�Yes,� I answered, walking up next to him. He smiled at me in
that funny way of his.
	�Your turn, then,� he said, handing me the reins. At first I
obediently turned around while he went to the stream, taking a moment
to be amazed at how open our relationship had become. We still fought
like cats, but despite that-- or because of it?-- we were incredibly
comfortable around each other. This kind of scenario would have been
terribly embarrassing with anybody else, but with Mamoru, I just felt
amused. Speaking of amusement, I thought, my eyes darting to my
sides, almost involuntarily. *Almost*. As soon as I saw what I had
been hoping for, I knew there was no turning back. After all, what is a
girl supposed to do when a guy is just inviting it? All this time I had
been staring at his butt, and now I had a chance to view it in all of its
glory. I dropped the reigns softly, my breath frozen inside of my chest.
The devil horns really popped up, I must say, when he began pulling
up his pants. I cannot take entire responsibility for this action because
he had been asking for it for weeks. He just happened to put himself in
a vulnerable position and I took advantage. It was also very funny.
	With the greatest of ease, I tiptoed behind and pushed him
with judicious force. He landed with what was, I must say, quite a
satisfying splash.

	I arrived at the inn of the small village with a bedraggled
Mamoru, who looked--most unfortunately-- rather gorgeous when
angry. Or when trying to be angry, anyway. I knew he wasn�t, no
matter how he tried to convince me. When he had at first floundered
around in the knee-deep water, I almost collapsed with laughter. When
we managed to make it back to the horse and the road, he muttered the
entire way under his breath about how annoying I was. I knew he
wasn�t mad, though, because of all the subtle signs he gave me: the tilt
of his head, the quirk of his lips when he thought I wasn�t looking and
his eyebrows kept inching up his face despite his best efforts. It
should have scared me that I could read him so well, the fact held
implications that I wasn�t ready to think about just then. By the time
we arrived, though, I was too tired to think of pretty much anything.
This inn was not nearly so fine as the last one, but we both barely
noticed it. I fetched the food while Mamoru changed his clothes, he
had been shivering ominously when we arrived and I wondered guiltily
if his precipitous dunking had anything to do with it. I told the
innkeeper that we preferred to eat alone, waited for a serving girl to
bring me a tray of food. Although Mamoru still didn�t really believe me,
we were heading in the general direction of the capital, and the closer
we came, the more people stared. I wasn�t imagining the near silence
that greeted our entrance in the common room. I knew that it wasn�t my
coloring that made me so conspicuous. While blonde hair was rare
here, I had certainly seen more than a few people with it. Shrugging my
shoulders philosophically, I practically grabbed the tray out of the
serving girl�s hands and left. I could only take so much of that. I
carried the tray, laden with food that I only hoped was good. Sushi
was far too expensive for us to eat it every meal, enjoy it though I did. I
called for him to slide back the screen door, and after removing my
shoes in what was already becoming habit, put the tray down upon the
low table in the corner of the room. I glanced at him, wanting to ask
how he was feeling, but feeling far too awkward to do so. Something in
the set of his chin told me that he would not take kindly to being
coddled. So I knelt silently at one side of the table, intensely regretting
my rash action. We ate in stony silence and I for once barely tasted the
food. It drove me crazy how our relations could fluctuate so wildly
between our close comfort at the stream and this strained
awkwardness. It was like some case of mutual schizophrenia. As we
prepared to go to sleep, I wished that he would smile or do something
to relieve the tension, but he pointedly avoided my gaze. I sat in front
of the mirror, combing my hair far longer than necessary, willing
Mamoru to say something. Eventually, though, my thoughts
wandered, and I remembered something that I had been meaning to ask
him since yesterday.
	�Is there any place to take a bath around here?� I asked, still
running my comb absentmindedly through my hair.
	�I could always push you into a river,� he said sarcastically,
kneeling behind me in the mirror.
	�You know,� he said, absentmindedly putting his hands on
my shoulders. I shuddered, wishing that he wouldn�t do that, but I
made no move to displace him. Yet again, it seemed, we had regained
our comfortable relations. Of course, I had forgotten what his presence
did to me sometimes.
	�You remind me of someone...� he said finally, his eyes
tracing the path of my hand as it combed the already gleaming strands
of blonde hair.
	�Who?� I asked softly.
	He shook his head in frustration. �I have no idea...you just
seem familiar somehow.�
	The situation had suddenly grown too strange. His intense
gaze and my erratically beating heart belonged in a romance novel, not
my real life, and I was just beginning to realize that.
	�Well,� I joked nervously, endeavoring to clear the air
somewhat, �I�ve always thought you were crazy, but now you�ve
definitely gone over the edge.�
	�If I�ve gone crazy, it�s only because of a certain blonde
exhibitionist,� he retorted as he stood up again. I breathed a sigh of
relief, and proceeded to braid my hair. Yet, even as we returned to
normalcy, I was aware of a not inconsiderable feeling of
disappointment. You just can�t be satisfied, Serena, can you? I asked
myself in annoyance. I moved to the bed and lay down, feeling
strangely awake although I knew my body was exhausted. Mamoru
looked at me, and then blew out the oil lamps. Moonlight bathed us
then, and he lay beside me silently. He closed his eyes, but I knew he
was awake-- his body was far too tense. I stared at his profile, unable
to tear my eyes away, but feeling as though I was somehow intruding.
He looked beautiful in the moonlight too, it seemed. Too soon, sleep
finally caught up with me and I drifted away, my hand gently upon
Mamoru�s own.

	I woke up gradually, feeling as though something were
missing. As I opened my eyes, I realized that it was still nighttime and I
rolled over, preparing to fall asleep again when I realized that Mamoru
wasn�t there. I sat straight up in alarm before I saw him, standing in
front of the window, staring up at the moon wistfully.
	�Mamoru,� I said, my voice still rough with sleep, �what are
you doing?� I probably shouldn�t have said anything, should have left
him alone, but he looked too sad for me to ignore. There were so many
things I didn�t know about him, I realized. The fa�ade he presented to
me was one of total nonchalance and fearless competence. Yet, here I
saw a completely different man from the one I thought I knew. One
who was vulnerable, and didn�t want to show it to anyone.
	At first I thought that he hadn�t heard me, for nothing in his
body movements changed. I was about to lie down again, when his
voice, soft and low, startled me again.
	�It�s a night of two moons,� he said. �Legends say that two
moons deaden magic as much as no moon awakens it. The horse moon
gives its power to the serpent moon. If I were a diviner, I�d say that
means to be careful. Of course...I�m not.� I remained silent as if by
compulsion after this strange speech. Two moons? I had never been in
a position to notice it before. I wondered how many moons this world
had. And what was he talking about anyway. He sounded as if he was
rambling, but his voice had the tone of recalling a painful memory.
	�My mom first told me about the moons. I was...eight I think.
She was the village diviner, although some called her a priestess.
Everyone respected her, but it made me a bit of an outcast. I never
cared though,� and I detected a ghost of a smile in his voice, �she was
my mother, she was beautiful, and I loved her. We weren�t originally
from the village, though. She never told me where we came from...only
that she had come to live her life as she wanted. I don�t blame her for
not telling me about my father. After all, she never would have
suspected he would ever want to find me. I hated him for doing that to
her, though...�
	My heart was in my throat and my eyes ached from my
unblinking attention. I had never known, never so much as suspected
such a confession from Mamoru. I didn�t dare voice it aloud, but I
wondered why he had agreed to undertake this mission if he hated the
emperor so much. He seemed to hear my question anyway, though.
	�I agreed to this because my entire country is in danger. I
admit that I wanted him to die...but this is not about revenge. It�s my
duty. My mother could have lived in the palace, with all of its luxuries,
but she chose to live in a village and have her freedom. I
couldn�t...desecrate her memory and refuse the emperor.�
	�And the amulet?� I asked in a quavering voice, gripping said
object tightly.
	�She had been making it since almost the moment we arrived
in the village. She finished when I was sixteen. And then...the
neighboring lord�s troops invaded our district. We were right on the
border...almost everything was destroyed before the emperor�s troops
suppressed it. My mother...died protecting me. She hid me under the
floorboards. I remember--I could hear the screams, and the clash of
swords. I wanted to go out there and fight, but she wouldn�t let me. I
almost hated her for that...later. I thought, if I had been there, I could
have saved her. She said that she was going to get help...now, I think
she meant the emperor. At the last minute, she shoved the amulet into
my hand, and told me to keep it safe. �It contains a mother�s love,� she
said, �It will protect you when you need it most.�
	�That was the last I saw of her. She died just beyond the
village...shot clean through the heart.�
	His voice was disturbingly flat as he said this, and I felt sick
with horror. How he could have gone through that...when he was only
sixteen. When I was sixteen my only worries had been boys and
books. I realized the kind of gulf that lay between us, but I also realized
how desperately I wanted to cross it. However unemotional he may
have sounded, I knew that this still hurt him, deeply. Still, his story had
made me deeply confused about something.
	�Why...why am I still wearing your amulet then?� I asked, and
my voice was so quiet that I could barely hear it.
	He had no difficulty, however, and turned towards me. I was
shocked at the stark pain on his face, in sharp contrast to his
emotionally controlled voice. His lips were smiling slightly, though. I
could not tell if it touched his eyes. �It seemed like the kind of thing my
mom would want,� he said. �And...I messed up one time. I refuse to fail
again, but...if I do...perhaps the amulet will do the job for me.�
	�Fail to do what?� I asked, afraid that I already knew the
answer.
	�Protect you,� he said simply.
	He climbed into bed again, while I stared at him in forced
silence. What he had told me completely changed my view of him, and
I was too shocked to even worry about it. I wanted to hold his hand,
but I wondered if that would be too intrusive. I thought about ignoring
that I had heard anything out of the ordinary, but that didn�t feel right
either.
	�Thank you,� I finally said, softly.
	But, by that time, he had already fallen asleep. It took me
much longer.

	Despite the revelations of the night before, the next day
turned out to be rather uneventful. It seemed that Mamoru and I had
come to a mutual agreement to forget that anything had changed
between us. I thought that it would be harder to argue with him now,
but it appeared that nothing would change my aptitude for that. As
soon as he pointedly insulted my eating habits once again, I found
myself easily sailing into the fray.
	In fact, it was this pressing need to keep things light between
us that made me realize the quick and easy way to start a fight with
him. All I had to do was call him Mamo-chan and he became
incoherent. While I could not understand why a pet name would anger
him so, it gave me a way out when I found myself gazing at him a little
too intently. This backfired as well, though, because he also looked
good when angry, so I found myself tripping over my words
sometimes as he yelled at me not to call him that. We were eating lunch
on the side of the road the next day when his temper snapped again
and he leaned threateningly over me. Well...what I suppose he thought
was threatening. I knew that he would never do anything to me, so his
angry bulk did nothing more than make me blink. I jokingly reached for
Petunia�s barbie doll and held it in front of me to ward him off.
	�Hey, don�t make me use this!� I said, smiling. The doll was,
in fact, naked, since it had lost its clothes on the way over as well.
Mamoru�s reaction, however, rather surprised me. Whatever he had
been planning to say stopped in his throat, and he looked down upon
the naked barbie doll with an expression resembling horror.
	�Dear gods,� he said, sitting back on his heels in amazement,
�what kind of perversion is that?�
	I blinked at him a few times before breaking out in helpless
giggles.
	�Oh, Mamo-chan!� I said between gasps of laughter. �If only
all guys thought like you!�

	That evening we slept in someone�s barn, since we were miles
away from anything resembling civilization. We had left the main road,
since we were finally heading in the general direction of the Minami
hills. People were still staring at me, and I knew that Mamoru had
begun to notice it. The fact was beginning to scare me ominously, but
as yet nothing had happened to us. I could only hope that we would
remain unmolested. Mamoru had given the family who owned the farm
some money for our �accommodations,� but they had also fed us, and
I flattered myself into thinking that I hadn�t made that big of a fool of
myself. Mamoru had refrained from comment, which I took at face
value. Actually, I was rather excited about the prospect of sleeping in a
barn; it had that romantic air to it. Of course, the straw turned out to be
itchy, but that didn�t stop me from playing in it like I was five.
	�Serena,� Mamoru said, trying to sound reproving, but only
sounding amused, �will you stop that. We need to talk.�
	I tossed some hay at him and started giggling again. I rolled
around in the loft, uncaring of what got caught in my hair. It�s not
every day that you get your own personal hay loft, I thought.
	�I always knew you weren�t the most mature person of my
acquaintance, Serena, but really, this is ridiculous.�
	I couldn�t get angry with him, since I knew it wasn�t really an
insult, so I just tossed more straw at him.
	�Serena!� he shouted as he plucked straw out of his hair.
	�All right, all right, Mr. Responsibility,� I said peevishly as I
sat up in the hay. �What is it?�
	He sat next to me. �Are you aware,� he said, plucking hay
from my hair, �of how you look?�
	�Didn�t you say that you wanted to talk to me about
something? Was it my appearance?�
	Still plucking the hay from my hair absentmindedly, he said,
�Well, aside from the fact that you look like a straw monster, I have no
complaints.�
	�Thanks,� I said sarcastically, ignoring the shudders that ran
through me as he touched my hair.
	�So, did you hear what that lady said about the Kojin�s
hideout?� he said in a businesslike tone.
	�Sure, but I�ve also heard that he is living in a subterranean
city with minions of the dead. I�m not sure how credible these people
are.�
	His lips quirked in acknowledgment. �All right, but her story
certainly seemed more plausible, and it can�t hurt to be on the
lookout.�
	�So where is this island of Yonde?�
	�It�s a smaller one to the north of here. It gets colder there far
more quickly than here, and if he is living in a mountain fortress, as she
claims, it gives him a not inconsiderable amount of natural protection.
Add that to the extensive magical and physical guard that he is sure to
put around him...�
	�How are we ever supposed to defeat this guy?� I asked
plaintively.
	�I don�t know...when we find the Lady...� he looked at me,
�we have to find the Lady.�
	And I knew he was right.

	The next day we continued down a road that was, Mamoru
informed me, notorious for its bandits. They were especially dangerous
during these times, which accounted for the conspicuous lack of fellow
travelers without an armed guard.
	�Mamoru,� I questioned, when an ox-driven cart followed by
mounted sentries passed us. �how are we supposed to survive if
bandits attack us.�
	�Don�t worry,� he said curtly, his eyes darting ahead of us.
	�Don�t start with me, Mamoru! I don�t care how good you are,
you still can�t overcome fifteen trained bandits.�
	�Hopefully, I won�t have to, but if I do, I promise you�ll be
safe.�
	�Brilliant,� I muttered. �I�ll be safe, but what about you? Do
you honestly think that I could live with responsibility for your death?
That I could survive two minutes on this world without you?�
	He didn�t have an opportunity to answer, however. In the
distance, we noted that the bandits had opted for the more sumptuous
ox-driven carriage, and their sheer numbers and ruthless fighting skills
were quickly overwhelming the travelers. Mamoru quickly reined the
horse to a stop and moved us quickly to the side of the road.
Unfortunately, the plain gave us little cover, and we both knew that the
bandits were sure to see us once their initial quarry had been subdued.
We did no dare ride further into the plain or back down the road,
because we would only call attention to ourselves. So we hunched in
the grass, holding our collective breath and praying. Too soon the
fighting was finished, and hard though I prayed they would take their
loot and move on, they remained on the road.
	�Go see if anyone else is around,� one man barked, and we
heard the approaching footsteps of two men. Mamoru was looking at
me now, his hand placed readily on his sword. I restrained him,
knowing that fighting was the surest way to get ourselves killed.
	�Serena,� he whispered, his eyes locked on my face. He
seemed desperately confused by something, but I made a motion to
silence him. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide in what appeared to be
disbelief.
	�I know,� he whispered again, and then they were upon us
and there was no place left for us to go. I turned my eyes to face them,
ready to accept whatever my fate was with dignity...
	And Mamoru kissed me.

	Positioning himself so he fully blocked me from the view of
the men, his lips met mine and I felt like exploding. I gripped him
convulsively, my back arching in riotous pleasure. I had never dreamed
that anything could feel like this, or if I had, I never believed that it
would happen to me. I didn�t know why he was kissing me, why he
seemed to have disregarded our imminent danger, but I didn�t care.
What I suspected had begun as a matter of expediency quickly
descended into passion on both sides. My lips were on fire...my whole
body was, in fact. I had never been kissed like this before, and it made
me wonder what sex would be like with this man. His arms were
wrapped protectively around my lower back, supporting me as much as
embracing. In that moment, as our tongues met in what was at once,
paradoxically, gentle and savage, I could have thrown out all of my
inhibitions, declared my love to the world, admitted to myself what was
becoming increasingly hard to ignore over the course of our
journey...but I didn�t. Perhaps I was just stubborn, or perhaps my
protective emotions were still too strong. I felt far too exposed
declaring this to Mamoru, and it was safer just to deny it to myself as
well.
	The men also began talking. The kiss continued, but its
intensity lessened as we both disengaged our minds enough to make
sense of the conversation.
	�What did you two find over there?� The man who had
originally ordered the men called.
	�Just two lovebirds in the grass,� one answered.
	�Maybe we can join in on the fun...� the other one suggested
with a lecherous grunt, and I shuddered involuntarily.
	�Jisho, on your own time!� the leader called sternly, somehow
hearing the man from several yards away. �Are they the ones?�
	�Nah, I don�t think so,� said the first speaker, even as they
walked away. �Honestly, Jisho, don�t you think you can wait until
evening?� the man muttered under his breath. �You�re going to get us
in trouble...�
	In the tense moments that followed, we heard the sounds of
the men moving out, the ox-driven cart confiscated between them.
There were sounds of women weeping from within, and in a moment of
fear I realized why Jisho just needed to wait until evening. I wanted to
get up, crusade, and do something to save them, but I knew that I
could not. If I revealed myself, our entire journey was over. We had to
find the Lady...if we did not save these people, at least we would help
others in this world. The thought did not relieve my feelings of guilt.
	Do not think that this distraction meant that we had broken
off our kiss. In fact, we were doing rather well considering that half of
our attention was focused on our imminent fates. After the sounds of
the bandit gang grew even more distant, the kiss deepened for a few
heady moments. It was as though Mamoru was trying to suck the last
few drops of pleasure from my lips before...he released me with what I
recognized as extreme reluctance. I stared at him for a shocked moment,
still lying limp in his arms.
	�Serena,� he said and his voice was rough and his breathing
was hard. Now that we had stopped, I could barely believe what we
had just done. That I had enjoyed it-- to no inconsiderable degree-- did
not bear contemplation. Mamoru bore a similar expression of shock. He
placed me down gently on the grass.
	�Serena,� he began again, and this time his voice was slightly
steadier. �I think...perhaps...perhaps we should forget about this...�
	I nodded, swallowing hard. �I think...I think we just
were...carried away.� That was hard for me to say, since my entire body
indicated loudly how much I had enjoyed that excursion.
	He nodded nervously, running his hand through his head.
His eyes began to trace my figure, and then I saw him force himself to
stop. What was going on through his mind now, I wondered. How
many girls had he kissed to learn to do it like that? And why did I care,
anyway?
	�Mamoru,� I questioned, my voice still cracking dangerously,
�why...why...did you...� I couldn�t get it out.
	�They would have seen, otherwise,� he said, his gaze more
direct this time.
	�Seen what?�
	�Your hair.�

	Which was how I discovered why everyone had been staring
at me for the past five days. Apparently, my hair made me a dead-ringer
for the princess. And as Mamoru explained to me, even under normal
circumstances this would have been a problem, but since this
anonymous princess was, it seemed, the cause of this entire situation,
it made me doubly conspicuous.
	�Why didn�t you notice before?� I asked when he first told
me.
	�I grew up in a small village, on the edge of nowhere. The
only place I�ve seen the princess is in picture scrolls...between that
and descriptions of her, it�s understandable that it took me a while.�
	�Isn�t she your sister?�
	He looked away suddenly, and I regretted my tactlessness.
�Yes. Of course, I didn�t know that at the time.�
	So, we decided that it would be a very wise idea for me to
change my hairstyle...drastically. I wondered about this, on the way to
the relatively large city we were heading towards. With my hair type,
changing it drastically enough to look *different* would be difficult. I
also realized something that Mamoru had not mentioned, probably
because he didn�t want to alarm me. Those had not been ordinary
bandits. The fact that they had attacked such an obviously defended
entourage, and won...but didn�t attack us was particularly notable.
They were looking for someone, and I was beginning to grow afraid
that I knew who. That night at the inn, as I sat in front of the mirror,
looking at my hair helplessly, I demanded that he tell me the story of
this whole fight with the Kojin. Considering how much of my time and
energy that I had already dedicated to this mission, it was a
ridiculously late time for me to learn about it.
	�I don�t know much...the emperor told me some of the story
before he died, and the rest I know from gossip. The Kojin has actually
been with the emperor�s family for centuries--�
	�Wait, wait,� I interrupted, �You mean that �Kojin� is a *title*,
not a person?�
	�No...I suppose it�s his de-facto title, but his real title is
Honored Mystic Advisor to the Emperor. He has a name, but it�s been
lost over the centuries....�
	�Hold on, did you just say centuries? You�re telling me that
we are fighting someone centuries old?�
	�Why...yes...didn�t you know that?�
	�Didn�t I know that,� I mimicked, fuming. �I don�t know
anything you don�t tell me, you dolt!� My hands were still fumbling
with my hair, trying a number of styles that all made me look hideous,
but not conspicuously different. Of course, I also wasn�t paying very
much attention to what I was doing. Screaming at Mamoru was far
more satisfying.
	�Well, you should have asked me, then!�
	�Finally, something we agree on! I should have asked you a
great number of things before I agreed on this crazy mission of ours!
I�m assuming that this Lady is equally as old...�
	�From what I hear, yes,� he said, amused nonchalance in his
voice.
	�Well, go on,� I urged, waving my hand in his general
direction.
	�Go on what?�
	�With your story! Honestly...�
	�As I was saying, Miss Impatient, the Kojin has been with the
emperor�s family for centuries. He and the Lady are the only two
known practitioners of magic in the world, and his presence has always
been the final arm of the emperor�s power.�
	�What about the Lady,� I interrupted again.
	�She has always been a far less reliable presence. She
disappears for years at a time on a regular basis, although she
generally returned when we had larger problems...except now.� He
sighed. �As I was saying, the emperor�s power, and therefore this
nation�s safety, rests with the Kojin. Without him, the local lords
would overrun this entire country, as it is their ambition is barely
restrained. This emperor had one child, the princess, whom everyone
expected would rule after him. I suppose she takes her coloring from
her mother, although I never saw the queen. As the story goes-- and I
don�t know how true this is-- the Kojin fell desperately in love with her.
But the princess is...flighty, shall we say. She wanted nothing to do
with him. In fact, they say that she laughed in his face when he
proposed to her. You must understand that he is not regarded as
precisely human. His ability to wield magic and live forever sets him
apart...she probably regarded his suit as ludicrous. He pursued her for
a years until one day she impressed upon him how little a chance he
had with her. There are many stories about this, but none of them
sound extraordinarily plausible, so I won�t bother describing them to
you. Regardless of how she did it, the Kojin flew into a jealous rage.
He delivered the emperor an ultimatum: either give his daughter over to
him, or suffer the consequences. The emperor believed the Kojin�s
sincerity as little as the rest of the palace. I suppose they thought that
his loyalty could not be lost over such a small matter. The emperor
instead offered him a number of riches and beautiful women, but he
withheld his daughter. The Kojin...was deadly serious, apparently.
That night he left the palace. According to the emperor...he tried to
steal the princess, but he discovered when he broke into her bedroom
that she was already gone. The Lady had come and spirited her away,
and nothing in the Kojin�s magic could find her again. In a complete
rage, he left the palace and hid himself somewhere. And then, he sent
the plague. He tried to make the royal family tell him where the princess
was, but they knew as little as he, and Lady was nowhere to be found.
The plague attacked the castle first...and when he realized that he was
dying as well, the emperor came to find me. The rest I believe you
know. The hidden princess and I, the emperor�s bastard son, are the
only two surviving members of the royal family. The Kojin�s forces are
everywhere, and people are disappearing without a trace. His desire for
the princess is boundless, apparently.�
	My hands had twisted my hair absentmindedly during his
story, since I was far too engrossed to pay any attention to my hair.
	�So you�re telling me that this entire conflict is over a
woman?�
	�Yes. He says that he will stop this reign of terror when she is
returned to him.�
	I shuddered. �I hope he never gets her,� I said vehemently. I
could only imagine how the princess would feel about being the
inadvertent cause of all this suffering, let alone her parent�s death.
�But you know,� I added, an amusing thought having occurred to me,
�you were wrong about one thing.�
	�What?�
	�I could start a war, after all.�

	More than one, as it turned out. My random twists during his
speech turned out to be the precise hairstyle I needed. I seemed to
have placed to buns on the top of my head, a la Star Wars, with the
rest of my hair streaming down my back. I fastened the two projectiles
with my hair combs. I looked very different, and in a strange sort of
way, I liked it. Mamoru was evidently not a fan, however. As soon as
he saw it, he started to laugh and his eyes watered.
	�You look...you look like,� he began, pointing.
	�Who? Big Bird?� I quipped, although I don�t know why,
since he couldn�t have understood the joke.
	�You have two dumplings on your head!� he said, and
dissolved into laughter again.
	�Oh, very mature, Mamo-chan,� I said, annoyed that he
would insult my new hair style. It really wasn�t that bad, only a little
unusual.
	�I told you not to call me that... dumpling head!�
	I choked with indignation at his nickname. �Dumpling
head...dumpling head? I cannot believe that you just called me
that...you conceited jerk!�
	Which marked the beginning of the Mamo-chan vs. Dumpling
Head wars. At least it passed the time.

	The next day marked the beginning of the most awful,
hideous and harrowing event of what had already become a journey
worth remembering.
	I got my period.
	I suppose, in the back of my mind, I had known that it had to
happen sometime. But I had seen no calendars here, and even if I had,
their months did not even roughly correspond to our own. Also, I
think I just forgot about it. With everything else that was happening, I
did not spend much time thinking about the inevitability of
womanhood.  Also, in the back of my mind I was still in a Fantasy
novel, and in no Fantasy novel I had ever read did the heroine deal
with such unpalatable stuff as her period. This event brought home to
me, more than any other single occurrence, that real life was still real
life, no matter where you were. The cramps started on our way to the
medium-size village inn we were staying in that night. They grew
extremely painful quickly, and I leaned desperately into Mamoru�s
back, staring listlessly into the ground. Most unfortunately, I hadn�t
seen anything resembling painkillers on our journey. I could have
asked Mamoru, I supposed, but I felt far too awkward. I began to
breathe heavily, wincing as my body fought itself painfully.
	�Are you all right, Serena?� Mamoru asked, looking back at
me.
	�Yes,� I lied through gritted teeth.
	He paused, as though about to refute my statement, but then
continued without saying anything. About half an hour after that,
however, I told him to stop the horse. I slid off quickly and stumbled to
the side of the road, whereupon I proceeded to discard what looked to
be every meal I had eaten for a year from my stomach. I knelt there,
shaking, unable to think coherently. I felt Mamoru�s hands on my
shoulders, and I leaned against him gratefully. I knew that some
women suffered so much that they had to go the hospital. I had always
felt like crap once a month, but it had never been this bad. I felt like the
only thing for me was to do was lay down and die.
	�Serena,� Mamoru called urgently, �what�s wrong with you?�
	I couldn�t seem to focus on what he was saying. The worst
thing is, I thought distractedly, was that I would bleed through my
kimono in a second. Mamoru was giving me a look of extreme concern,
though, and I focused on telling him something.
	�I really need to get to the inn...I think,� I said as I clutched
my stomach. This was so bad I was even getting back cramps, I
thought in amazement. He helped to my feet, and half carried me back
to the horse, and under other circumstances I would have been
gratified by the look of fear on his face. He climbed up, and then pulled
me up in front of him. This way, I was in no danger of sliding off the
horse, although it was harder for him to ride.
	�Don�t worry, Serena,� he said gently, and I was amazed at
how scared he seemed to genuinely be. �We�ll be there in moment.� I
nodded, since I knew if I opened my mouth it would be to scream. I
rested my head against his chest, and prayed that it would soon be
over. We did, in fact, make it to the town far sooner than I had
expected. He traversed the streets quickly, inquiring for directions to
the inn in a curt, controlled voice that covered how confused he was.
He carried me from the horse to the inn. It would have felt nice being
carried had I been in any sort of mood to appreciate it. The innkeeper
and wife looked rather worried at our entrance, and I realized that they
must be wondering whether or not the plague had returned. What sort
of plague was it, anyway? I certainly wasn�t pock-ridden...apparently,
something about my appearance satisfied them, and they looked at
Mamoru expectantly.
	�My wife is very sick...is there a priestess here who can see
her?�
	Priestess? I wondered groggily. Were they the local
equivalents of doctors here?
	�Of course, we�ll send for one immediately...� I tuned out the
ensuing confusion, content to let Mamoru handle everything. I
suppose that I should have told him what was going on, but I felt
curiously reluctant to tell him of my womanly ills. It was also nice to
have someone so concerned about you. He took me to the room and
lay me on the mat with an aching gentleness. I saw him watching in
helpless concern as I wrestled with another attack. It occurred to me
that some women dealt with stress by missing their periods. Of course
I couldn�t be so lucky. No, in typical fashion, I dealt with stress by
nearly killing myself. Well, this probably wasn�t life threatening, but it
was doing a fair imitation. When the priestess entered, I realized that I
had been expecting someone like Rei. Instead this woman was elderly,
with gray hair and a simple kimono.
	She looked at Mamoru appraisingly. �Perhaps you can  leave
for a time?� She said politely.
	Mamoru looked at her like he wanted to refuse, but thought
better of it and took himself off. As the woman closed the screen door,
I saw him pacing just behind it, and smiled a little. I supposed that we
were both incorrigible.
	�My dear, my name is Akiko...what is yours?�
	�Serena,� I said weakly.
	�And what is wrong?� She questioned, kneeling next to the
bed and setting down the medium sized bag that she had carried here.
	I looked at the door warily. Well, he would have to find out
sometime. �Women�s illness,� I said after thinking better of saying
�period.� The lady nodded wisely.
	�It attacks some of us more than others. You appear to be
among the unfortunate.�
	You got that right lady, I thought as I winced. I doubted that I
had ever felt this awful in my entire life.

	By the time the entire process was over, I lay on the mat in a
clean shift, feeling pain free-- if extraordinarily doped-up--after she had
administered some herb that put modern painkillers to shame. This felt
like a combination of pot and codine, which made for a happy Serena.
Akiko had explained to me how women dealt with these things, and
while not exactly pleasant, it was livable. She obviously knew that I
came from a place exceedingly far away, but she remained silent. I
remembered what Mamoru had said about these villages being friendly
to supporters of the emperor, and wondered.  She had also left a liberal
amount of the miracle herb. If I found a way to bring this back with me,
I would probably be a rich woman. Mamoru came in almost immediately
after Akiko had left.
	�Are you all right?� He asked, sitting beside the bed. I looked
at him, faintly surprised. Most guys I knew fled at the thought of this,
but even though Mamoru couldn�t have avoided our conversation, he
did not seem to care. Maybe it was a product of growing up with only
a mother, I thought.
	I smiled. �Yeah, I�m fine. Thank you.�
	He barely acknowledged the statement, since he was staring
so intently on me. �The priestess...Akiko...said that we should stay
here for at least another day.�
	�But, we�ve already left an obvious trail, won�t that just make
it easier for the Kojin and Ushiro to find us?�
	�You may be right...but, we�re not leaving. You were really
sick today, Serena. I don�t want to take any chances.�
	And I didn�t know how long I could handle it, suddenly. If he
didn�t stop being so nice...
	He smiled reassuringly.
	I closed my eyes.

	I slept till late the next day. Mamoru must have been giving
me more of the wonder drug at regular intervals, because the supply
was lower and I still felt a little high. I also felt much better. As I sat 
up
gingerly, I realized that he wasn�t in the room, and I wondered where
he had gone. A glance out the small window revealed that the sun was
about to set. How long had I slept, anyway, I wondered in amazement.
I knew I was all right when my stomach growled loudly. So long as I
was still hungry, nothing was seriously wrong with me. I stood up, and
promptly fell down again. Well, it seemed I was more tired than I had
initially thought. Gritting my teeth with determination, I stood up again,
and with the support of a well placed wall, I managed to regain my
balance. At first I was still a little wobbly on my feet, but that quickly
went away. I pulled the small mirror from our saddle bags and stared at
my reflection. I barely recognized myself: the deep bags under my eyes
and pale complexion made me look like I had barely survived a war. In
fact, I thought with a wry smile, I just had. While this particular
backwater inn did not supply mirrors, it did supply a medium-sized
bowl of water that I splashed liberally on my face. Hoping that it made
me look marginally better-- although I really didn�t know why I cared-- I
searched through our stuff for my extra kimono. I hoped that Mamoru
had taken the old one to the local equivalent of a dry cleaners. The
thought made me giggle... a picture of  �Ye Olde Dry Cleaners� came
into my head, and I wondered if they overcharged here, too. The other
kimono, when I found it, was as simple as the last, the robe made of
light pink silk with a red obi. I put it on with learned skill and returned
the barbie doll (or �perversion,� I giggled to myself) to its rightful place
next to me. Mamoru�s amulet, as always, was permanently attached to
my neck. I had always been careful with it, but after his story, its
importance had increased infinitely. I put on the special thong-sandal
socks, and opened the screen door carefully. A benefit of the
�dumpling� buns was that my hair did not always have to be perfectly
combed for it to work. I walked into the hall, and put my shoes on,
which were lying neatly in front of the door. I had not been in a
position to notice the layout of the inn, but our room was upstairs, and
I heard noises of a large crowd coming from the common room. I
walked down the stairs gingerly, one hand on the wall for stability. I
saw Mamoru as soon as I rounded the corner. He was sitting near me,
away from where a large crowd was seated or standing. I could not
imagine that all of these people were patrons of the relatively small inn,
and I wondered what event would draw people from the village. He
was eating at a small table, looking rather forlorn. He was so busy
staring at the table that he didn�t see me walk up behind him. I put my
hand on his shoulder lightly, and he turned around violently as his
hand reached for his sword. I backed away, making a quick mental note
never to surprise him again. Our close-quarters sometimes made me
forget how dangerous he really was. I had no desire to be on the
receiving end of that sword.
	He looked at me and sighed. �Oh, it�s you. Don�t do that
again, okay? I could hurt you.�
	I looked at him curiously. That didn�t sound like the Mamoru I
knew. By all rights he should have insulted me and chewed me out. I
sat down on the other end of the table, and looked into his eyes. He
really did seem upset about something.
	�Um...Mamoru?� I began. The temptation to say Mamo-chan
was strong, if only to bring him out of this depression, but I resisted.
�What�s up?� I asked, trying to be nonchalant. He gave me a look
closer to his normal expression of sarcasm, and I realized that he
wouldn�t have understood the idiom.
	�The sky?� he suggested, and I snorted with laughter.
	�I never expected to hear anyone say that and be serious,� I
muttered under my breath. �I mean, are you all right? What have you
been doing?�
	He sighed, and looked away from me, his momentary
amusement gone. �Getting supplies. I�m afraid that we may have to
change our route if some of these rumors are true. It might just be safer
to stay away from large towns altogether.�
	�Why?� I asked, alert. While he had been talking I had taken
his untouched miso soup and proceeded to demolish it.
	�People are saying that the Kojin�s men are riding from village
to village,  declaring that all who side with the Kojin won�t have to
suffer the disappearances or the plague again. For loyalty--and
immediate deliverance of those he is looking for-- they will receive
immunity. I wish that we wouldn�t surrender, but...� his eyes still
avoided mine. �You haven�t been here this past year and a half. So
many have died, and scores have simply disappeared without a trace. I
think that many are willing to sacrifice everything just to put their lives
back together.�
	�Oh,� I said softly. Things were getting worse, it seemed. We
could only hope that we would find the lady in time. We both knew
that, and that speaking of it would not make this journey go any faster.
	�I�m sorry,� I said after a moment, �I�m sure that you regret
having to stay here another day. There is so little time...�
	�Of course I don�t regret it, Serena. One day isn�t going to
matter in the end and...you needed it. Why are you down here,
anyway? Shouldn�t you be resting?�
	I rolled my eyes at his protective manner. �I�ve been sleeping
all day. Besides, I�m starving.� I looked at the untouched meal in front
of him. �Why aren�t you eating?�
	He shrugged his shoulders, and I began to grow worried. This
depression really wasn�t like him. I wondered if something else was
wrong besides our situation with the Kojin. I did not have a chance to
ask him, though, because the crowd began to quiet, and I could barely
make out the seated figure carrying a strange, lute-like object that they
surrounded.
	�What�s going on over there?� I asked, curiosity making me
forget Mamoru�s troubles.
	�It�s just a biwa hoshi,� he said nonchalantly. I waited for the
spell to translate the phrase, and when it didn�t, I turned to him
curiously.
	�What�s that?�
	�A lute priest. They travel from town to town telling stories.�
	I felt a growing excitement. �There�s such a large crowd here.
Is he supposed to be good?�
	Mamoru shrugged. �I suppose so. I didn�t ask anyone.�
	I rolled my eyes at him. �Well, aren�t you just the soul of
curiosity.�
	A few trilled opening notes indicated that the man had begun
his tale, and I turned pointedly away from Mamoru, overwhelmed by
the absolute strangeness of it all. While I had been here for over a
week now, the strangeness of my situation overcame me sometimes. I
woke up and wondered, was I really on another world? Mamoru�s
presence had always reassured me before, as this traveling priest�s
story did now. His language was beautiful, and if his manner of
delivery and singing was completely foreign to me, I grew to enjoy it.
The music was not as toneless as it sounded at first. Mamoru perked
up when the priest began his tale, curiosity in his eyes.
	�This is unusual,� he muttered.
	�What?� I asked, most of my attention still fixated on the
priest.
	�I�ve never heard this story before...�
	 �Long ago,� the priest began, �in another world, there lived a
brother and sister. They were different in every way imaginable. The
boy, the older of the two, was solid and dependable. He was a good
son to his parents, and they cherished him as the perfect heir to their
fortunes. The parents despaired over their daughter. She was flighty,
unreliable and never listened to a word her parents said.�
	�Damn. This sounds like my biography,� I muttered.
	�While her brother was sent away to be educated, she
remained at home. Instead of learning her proper womanly duties,
however, she ran with other boys. She never dressed properly, and
never learned how to sew. She was very intelligent, however, and she
taught herself to speak several different languages by reading books in
her father�s library. The family lived in an uneasy peace until a strange
woman moved to the village. No one knew her name, and she locked
herself in her house, only leaving to fetch food. Everyone suspected
that she was a witch, and in that time, this was a crime punishable by
death. Much to her parent�s dismay, this young girl befriended the
witch, and spent most of her time there. When the brother returned
home, the parents begged him to restrain his sister.
	�Our whole house will  come to ruin if you do not stop her,�
the mother pleaded of her son. And because he was so reliable and
good-hearted, the son agreed. So, he set out to the witch�s house,
brave in his conviction. When he arrived, he pounded on the door,
demanding that the witch release his sister immediately. Now, he had
been educated in the city, and he did not truly believe in witches, but
he also did not have much faith in his sister. He heard no sounds from
within and after several moments, he broke open the door. When he
arrived, he quickly saw that the small hut was deserted. In the middle
of the floor was a large chalk circle. Slowly he walked forward,� the
man paused dramatically, and the music intensified, �inching ever
closer to the circle. He moved as if in a trance. Against everything that
he had been taught, he stepped inside the circle.� There was another
strum of chords. �And disappeared.�
	I was on the edge of my seat. I suspected who he was
discussing, but his last sentence confirmed it, �This is the story of
how the Kojin and the Lady first appeared on our world.� The room
erupted in applause, and the man acknowledged it with a graceful
chord. I hoped that he would continue with their story, but he moved
onto other things, and I turned back to Mamoru.
	�Did you know that?�
	He shook his head. �I never heard that story before. I wonder
who this man is...�
	�Do you think this could help us at all?�
	He hesitated and then shook his head. �No. I doubt that this
changes anything.�
	Which was really rather unfortunate, after all.

	The next few days were difficult on both of us. With my
period under control, that eradicated at least one worry, but we had to
cope with the much larger one of the Kojin�s growing presence. As it
turned out, several of the cities and towns that we had planned to
travel through had already surrendered to the Kojin�s forces. He was
taking over this land, and meeting with almost no resistance from the
people. And I rode with the emperor�s only hope. The thought was not
a comforting one. I grew very used to sleeping on hay over the next
five days, and we became adept at running away from bandits and
troops alike. The distinction between the two had begun to blur
anyway, as it appeared the Kojin was employing the underbelly of
society to do his searching as well. I realized, one night, listening
gratefully to the sound of Mamoru�s undisturbed breathing beside me,
that I had never experienced true fear before this experience. And
oddly enough, I did not often feel it for myself. Mamoru was so
determined to protect me, that sometimes he seemed almost too willing
to sacrifice himself. We had only had to openly fight once during our
journey, and that had been against two lone bandits whose designs
seemed purely monetary. I had never seen him wield that blade in the
light of day before, and for the first time I was impressed with his
consummate skill. I also realized how scared I was for him. I tried to
cover it up, but far too often my insults fell flat. The air of joviality 
that
had permeated the first few days of our journey fell away like the fall
leaves, and we were both painfully aware of how important and
dangerous our mission was. I found myself staring at him sometimes
when he wasn�t looking, trying to memorize his features. I lived with
the painful knowledge that he might be taken away from me at any
moment. The only thing that seemed to make us momentarily forget our
situation were our little verbal battles. Consequently, they grew even
more heated over the next week. Even when we weren�t arguing about
anything specific, we muttered �Mamo-chan� and �dumpling head�
back and forth, just to keep up morale.
	The day that we were forced to sleep in the abandoned barn
had been particularly hard. A persistent, aching rain had dogged our
footsteps for the past three days, but that day it seemed almost
unbearable. On an unspoken agreement, we hadn�t stopped for lunch,
since we were too eager to stop for good. The rain had, much to my
annoyance, given me a mild cold which I bore stoically. I tried not to
sneeze on Mamoru�s back, but he didn�t give any indication of caring.
We should have made it to a small village by that evening, but in the
middle of what was by far the worse road that we had traveled on so
far-- filled with ruts and the loosely packed dirt having long turned into
slippery mud-- the horse threw a nail. So, hiking up my skirts, I had to
walk beside Mamoru as he led the horse, trying not to get too muddy.
It was a losing battle. After I tripped in a particularly deep pothole that
sent me sprawling in the mud, I decided to give up the effort all
together. I knew that Mamoru felt just as awful as I when he failed to
make any sort of comment on my clumsiness. He helped me up silently
and continued on. I can�t say that I was much in a mood to talk either.
What I wouldn�t give for a bath, I thought as I sneezed once again. We
struggled gamely onwards, but as the hours passed I realized that we
were no where near the village.
	I finally decided to venture a question, despite Mamoru�s
closed, brooding countenance. �Where are we going to stay tonight?�
	He shrugged his shoulders. �Hopefully we will find
something that doesn�t double as a bandit hang out.�
	�We haven�t seen any lately.� I said on what I hoped was a
positive note.
	�That�s what I�m worried about.� Trust Mamoru  to see the
downside of things, I thought, frowning. I wanted nothing more, I
decided to lay down on...any surface whatsoever and pass out. The
mud was even starting to look cozy, I was so tired. Mamoru must have
noted this, because he nudged me gently.
	�Serena, just a little farther. We can�t stop here, we�re too
exposed. I�m sure there�s a place further up.�
	I didn�t even have enough energy to roll my eyes. I contented
myself with a skeptical grunt. Sure enough, after perhaps another hour
when the sun was getting dangerously close to the horizon, the faint
outline of a house appeared in the distance. With wordless
communication, we used the last of our energy to get there quickly,
neither of us particularly caring where �there� was. We were relieved
when the abandoned barn looked sturdy enough on the outside. In
fact, we realized as we entered, it looked recently abandoned. No
animals--other than the odd mouse or owl-- resided there, although
that smell associated with barn animals was still strongly present. The
straw, as well, did not look wet or musty like old straw tended to
become. The roof was still relatively leak-free. This had rather
disturbing implications--why would someone abandon a perfectly
good barn like this?-- but we both chose to ignore them for the night.
Mamoru tied the horse in one of the stables with  some hay to eat, and
then climbed up to the loft with me. I was about to divest myself of my
mud-clogged garments when Mamoru stopped me.
	�It�s getting colder at night,� he said, his voice tight with
strain, �it would be a better idea to keep them on.�
	I acknowledged his advice by removing my hands from my
obi and collapsing in the hay next to him.
	�You�re right,� I muttered, coughing a little, �I am cold.� I
tried to bury myself in the hay, but I was a little too afraid of what
would come out and bite me on my nose if I disturbed its home. He put
his arm around me, and after registering the touch and the warmth that
flowed through my body, I fell promptly asleep.

	I was running away from someone...although I did not know
who. All I knew was that if they caught me, my entire world would end.
I had never been more afraid in my life, and so I ran--because my life
did depend on it. I could hear them catching up with me, though. The
panting, slobbering breath was on my neck, and cold permanently
lodged itself in my bones. I tripped...over something I did not know,
and picked myself up again without thinking about it. I had to get to
him before they did. I had to get to him. If I didn�t reach him soon I
knew what would happen, and the thought made me run--if possible--
even faster. My breath rasped in my throat and my eyes stung with grit
and tears. I would reach him, I *would*...or else...
	And then I saw him. His face was smiling in the moonlight but
his eyes were closed and deep stain of the unmistakable color of red
wine covered his entire midsection.
	�Mamoru!� I cried, flinging myself upon his dead body.
�No...please!! You can�t be dead...no, Mamoru...�

	�Mamoru...please don�t be dead!� I whimpered again into the
chest I was being gently held against. Gradually I came to myself, and
realized that my moments of blind terror and grief had only been the
product of a nightmare. Even so, I felt myself sobbing into his chest,
the residual fears of the dream still deep within me. I gripped him
convulsively, trying to reassure myself that he wasn�t dead.
	�Shh, Serena,� he whispered as he rocked me back and forth.
�I�m all right, I�m all right, I promise.� My tears gradually subsided as
he stroked my hair. Part of me felt ashamed for acting so helpless, but I
was far too exhausted to really care.
	I fell asleep in his arms.

	Three days before we made it to the forests, I saw Ushiro.
After Mamoru had given the horse to the blacksmith to be reshod, we
took the opportunity to avail ourselves of the local amenities. Namely,
the much sought after bath house. I cannot describe my utter joy when
I descended into the hot water, obviously powered by a local hot
spring. Over the past two weeks, I had only been able to use the barest
of resources to keep myself clean. Finally, I thought as I scrubbed my
hair thoroughly for the fifth time, I would no longer smell like musty
hay. On the other side of the wall between the men�s and women�s
baths, Mamoru was similarly enjoying himself. I wish that we had done
this sooner, but I had been to excited by the prospect of getting clean
again to fuss at him too much. After I had scrubbed every inch of my
skin until it glowed pink, I lay in the water, perfectly content to let my
entire body prune. Eventually I realized that Mamoru must be waiting
for me, and grudgingly relinquished my hour of bliss. Towels were a
luxury that we could not afford, so I was forced to air dry a little before
I could replace my kimono. Taking my sweet time, I made sure that I
looked perfect, making good use of the long mirror that hung in the
changing room just for that purpose. Feeling satisfied and refreshed, I
exited the building, and smiled brilliantly at a rather annoyed looking
Mamoru. If they had watches in this world, he would have been
looking at his wrist. As it was, he leaned against the side of the
building with an expression of long-suffering.
	�What were you doing in there?�
	�Taking a bath.� I said evenly, my eyes daring him to
challenge me.
	�It does not take that long to take a bath!�
	�It does when you smell like a horses behind! I don�t know
about you, but I like to be clean, thank you.�
	He just raised his eyebrows at me and changed the subject. �I
have to go pick up some more supplies. Can you get the horse and
meet me at the eastern edge?�
	I looked at him nervously, and then nodded. It was the first
time that we would be apart for practically all of our journey. And he
was entrusting me with an extremely important job. With my lousy
sense of direction, it was lucky that the blacksmith�s was on the same
main road as the bathhouse. Besides, I ought to be glad that he was
truly regarding me as his partner in all this. I said that I was sick of him
coddling me, hadn�t I?
	�Sure, don�t worry about it,� I said as nonchalantly as I could.
	He smiled, as if he suspected what I was thinking. �Here�s the
money to pay him. Remember not to accept his first price...the offer is
merely a formality. The second price is always the real one.�
	I nodded again, and before I could think better of it, turned
smartly down the road. I waved over my shoulder to Mamoru, who was
watching me walk off with an amused smile. After a few people blocked
my view of him, I turned forward again, contemplating my task. It really
couldn�t be that hard, I reasoned with myself. And we had no reason
to expect any danger in this village. This far north was still untouched
by the wave of city-surrender to the Kojin. No matter what I told my
self, though, I still felt uncomfortable. I would feel much better once we
were on the horse and out of here, I thought. Which was a good
reason to hurry up and get it done. At this point I had arrived at the
blacksmith�s, and I entered the open-stable area where he worked. Our
horse was penned in the nearest stall, looking restless. The man looked
up and wiped his brow. When he saw who it was he smiled broadly.
	�The madam has stopped by,� he said pleasantly. �I fixed the
problem easily. In fact it was far too easy...I can hardly expect any
payment from your esteemed self.�
	So this is what Mamoru meant when he said that the first offer
was a mere formality. Hoping that I was a decent improviser, I
protested.
	�Why, kind sir, to take advantage of your skill with so little
recompense would be dishonorable of me. Please allow me to give you
some token of my esteem...� I wondered if I had gone overboard, but it
felt rather fun doing this.
	He bowed in acknowledgment of the compliment. �If you
insist, dear Madam, perhaps I can be persuaded to accept
something...� he named a figure that was, in fact, rather less than what
I held in my purse. Taking Mamoru�s word that the first price was the
true one, I reached into the small money sac to hand him the coins. At
that moment, however, I grew aware of a commotion in the street in
front of the blacksmith�s. Immediately, my stomach sank to my shoes,
and I knew before I turned around that I was in serious trouble. And of
course I was right.
	As soon as I glimpsed the unmistakable figure of Ushiro, I
made a flying leap over the stall door and cowered behind our horse in
a completely instinctual reaction. She snorted a little at the intrusion,
but she was used to me and didn�t make a big fuss. My heart was
pounding furiously and the blood flowed past my ear in a booming
rush. My breathing sounded like a tornado, but I knew that Ushiro and
those two other men could not possibly hear it. At first I wondered if
the Blacksmith had even seen me scale the stable, but then I realized
that he was using himself to discreetly block this stall from Ushiro�s
line of sight. For a few panicked moments I wondered if he knew that
we were here, if this close to our destination everything would be over.
In my panicked state of mind I imagined that they had already captured
Mamoru and --under torture, of course-- he had told them where I was.
But, despite my fears, it appeared that Ushiro had come to the
blacksmith�s for the same reason we did: his horse had lost a shoe. He
went through the formalities of paying the man perfunctorily, as if
eager to get on his way. I noticed that he moved his neck as little as
possible, and when the high collar of his shirt shifted, I saw the reason
why: a jagged scar, still slightly red, ran across his neck. I gasped, but
a well-placed snort of our horse made it inaudible. I couldn�t believe
that I had done that, and by accident no less! The sight terrified me,
because I knew that even without the edict of the Kojin Ushiro had an
extremely personal vendetta against us, and me especially. I stood in
agony as one of the apprentices was sent to fetch the horse,
everything seemed to be taking years instead of minutes. Eventually,
though, Ushiro had his mount and turned to leave. I thought I would
pass out when he paused and turned around again. For a moment he
seemed to glance directly at me, but it happened so quickly that I
couldn�t be sure.
	�Sir,� he said, �have you seen a young man, about this tall
with black hair accompanied by a young blonde girl who resembles the
princess?�
	I heard taps in my head. So this was it, then. The blacksmith
would open the stall gates, everything would be revealed, and I would
die in his backwater town, on another world without even having seen
Mamoru again.  But then, something strange happened.
	The blacksmith pondered the question for a moment, and then
shook his head. �No, sorry sir. No one like that has passed my way.�
	And Ushiro gave him a hard glance, and then nodded. I knew
instinctively that the man�s defense of me hadn�t been induced, never
mind the fact that there were no chickens to be seen in the immediate
vicinity.
	�Are there any inns with good food around here?�
	The blacksmith nodded casually. �You might try Daruma; go
a little further down this street. It�s on the left.�
	Ushiro thanked the man and then left. That was the same inn
that we would have stayed in had we made it last night. The thought of
how close we had come to getting caught--and the high chance of it
still happening-- made me realize how desperately we needed to find
the lady. Thankfully, though, the man had directed Ushiro to an inn
that lay in the opposite direction of where I needed to go to find
Mamoru. At least I knew that Mamoru was still safe, because Ushiro
had been looking for both of us. Satisfied that he was not coming back,
I eased gingerly around the horse, and climbed back over the stall
door. The apprentice looked at me strangely, but didn�t say anything.

	�Why...why did you--� I began, but he shushed me.
	�Don�t say anything out of the ordinary,� he muttered. �I
hope you found the horse satisfactory, madam?� He said loudly.
	After a moment of confusion I nodded. �O-of course, sir,� I
said, unable to keep the nervous stutter from my voice. �Here,� I said,
and with shaking hands gave him the entire purse of money I had.
�Please take this as an indication of my...extreme gratitude. May you
live long and prosper.� I was fairly sure that that last phrase could be
considered overkill, but he appeared impressed.
	�Why thank you, my lady.� He looked at me again. �If you
follow the alley behind this place you can exit the city much faster.�
	I smiled, still curious as to why he was helping me, but
perfectly willing to take him up on the information. �Thank you so
much, for everything.�
	He took our horse from the stall himself and led it to the door
for me. He took the opportunity to whisper a short explanation to me.
�We have heard of your quest, up here. By calling you two traitors, the
Kojin has given us hope that he will perhaps fall one day. He helped
me up on the horse and then handed me the reins.
	�Thank you and good luck,� he said sincerely.
	Nodding with newfound determination, I urged the horse out
onto the street. I quickly found the alley he had mentioned, and as
soon as I was away from the sight of the townsfolk, I put my legs
astride the horse. Over the weeks I had gleaned a decent amount of
horsemanship from watching Mamoru, and I put every ounce of it into
play now. Glancing over my shoulder, I heeled the horse into a gallop
and fled like the devil himself was after me. For all intents and
purposes, he was. After I made it to the edge of the village, I looked
around frantically for Mamoru, who did not appear to be anywhere. For
a panicked moment I wondered if I had ridden to the wrong side of the
city, until I saw him detach himself from a nearby tree.
	�We�ve got to get out of here!� I exclaimed, my adrenaline
giving away to fear somewhat. He nodded and climbed on in front of
me, whereupon we hightailed it to the Minami hills.

	After we were relatively sure that no one was following us
from the village, and the path grew to steep for our horse to carry two
people, we dismounted and walked.
	�Serena, I can�t believe that I left you alone,� Mamoru said
after I had told him my story.
	I looked at him indignantly. �While you may like to believe it,
Mamoru, I am not some helpless child! I can take care of myself, thank
you very much. Your presence wouldn�t have helped anything. In fact,
the only reason I could hide was because I was alone.�
	�I know, I know,� he muttered, running his hand through his
hair. �I just...you have no idea how much it scares me that you came
that close to getting captured, and I wouldn�t have even known.�
	I sighed. �All right, I suppose you have a p--�
	His preemptory gesture of silence made me cut off.  �Did you
hear that?� he whispered.
	�Hear what?� I whispered somewhat fearfully. What I
wouldn�t give for a few chickens right about now, I thought with a
suppressed giggle.
	Mamoru shook his head. �I thought I heard something...a
twig breaking. It sounded suspicious.�
	�It�s probably just your imagination,� I said soothingly, not
feeling quite so reassured myself. �We�re both on edge...�
	He smiled at me. �I suppose you�re right. Let�s go, then.�

	We were lucky enough to find something resembling an
appropriate campsite by sunset. Mamoru and I unloaded together with
the efficiency borne of long travel. We sat around the small fire, each
absorbed in our own thoughts.
	�So...what do you suppose we are looking for?� I asked, still
staring into the fire.
	He shrugged his shoulders. �Some sort of house, I guess...�
	�With no windows, no doors and a star in the middle? What
kind of a house is that?�
	�Maybe we�ll know when we see it?� he suggested.
	�What if it�s hidden? I�m afraid that we�ve come all this
way...even if Ushiro doesn�t find us, what good are we if we can�t find
the Lady?�
	He looked at me from across the fire, and his smoldering eyes
knocked the breath out of my body. �I know, Serena. Believe me, I
know.�

	The next day as we walked through the forest, Mamoru was
particularly edgy. I didn�t have much time to pay attention, since some
parts of the terrain were incredibly steep, and I had to practically crawl
up. I did not know who had any business calling these things �hills.� It
sure feels like a mountain to me, I thought as I wiped sweat from my
forehead. But eventually even I noticed that he was starting at every
bunny that crossed our path.
	�What�s wrong with you?� I panted, wishing passionately
that I was wearing jeans.
	A bird chirped and he started again. �I don�t know,� he
muttered. �I just have a bad feeling about this...�
	�You sound like Han Solo,� I muttered, but of course he
didn�t get the reference. �Really, though, what are you worrying
about? You think someone is following us?�
	He looked around again. �Maybe, I�m not sure. I just think
something strange is going on around here.�
	I looked at him nervously, and when a squirrel ran in our path,
I almost jumped on him. �Mamoru, stop this!� I exclaimed, feeling
exceedingly silly. �You�re making me nervous.�
	�Sorry,� he muttered, not sounding very apologetic at all.
Over the next couple hours, I caught his tense mood, try though I did
to counteract it. It�s just because we�re so close to our goal that I�m
this nervous, I reasoned. Still, something did seem out of place.
Eventually, much to my relief, the ground leveled out again, and we
were able to remount the horse. Since no one was anywhere near us to
care, I rode astride. After perhaps an hour, Mamoru stopped the horse
dead in its tracks.
	�There are people waiting for us in that clearing,� he said
softly, pointing to a relatively tree-free area about five or seven yards
in front of us. My breath caught in my throat. How could he know
this? Yet, I trusted him on his implicitly. �There are five...no, six...on
horseback. Serena, get off the horse how, and run away. Hide in the
trees.  If I don�t make it, try to solve the riddle. I�m sure the Lady will
help you.�
	�Mamoru,� I whispered violently, my eyes stinging with tears,
�I refuse to let you go in there and kill yourself! Why don�t we just
turn around?�
	�You know we can�t, Serena. They know where we are.
They�ll just chase after us and cut us down. If at least you get away...�
	I hated him at that moment, hated him for being right, and for
his self-assurance. He was going to die fighting those men, I knew.
And he was willing to do it, just to save me. He saw the acceptance in
my eyes and smiled sadly.
	�Thank you, Serena. I won�t lie to you-- I have enjoyed
myself immensely in your presence. I...well...� he looked as if he was
struggling to say something, and then gave up. �Goodbye,� he said
finally. Unlike English, this language had several ways to say
goodbye. Mamoru had used the special kind, reserved for permanent
farewells. Turning my head so he wouldn�t see my tears, I slid off the
horse. He said something to me then, but I couldn�t make out the
words, and before I could ask, he had already turned, riding with a
shout and an upraised sword into the clearing.
	I heard the clash of steel on steel and shivered.

	I stood frozen among the trees for a moment, but when I heard
a scream my feet were pounding across the woods even before I really
grew aware of them. As soon as I arrived I saw that the scream had
come from one of Mamoru�s opponents, who was clutching his arm. I
was still hidden behind a row of trees from the men, and I couldn�t see
very well. Making a quick decision, I grabbed one of the branches of
the nearest tree and hauled myself up. It had been a while since I last
climbed a tree, but it�s remarkable what fear will do to your locomotive
skills. I quickly moved near the top of the tree where I had a great
vantage point to view the action. This, unfortunately, was not very
good for my heart. Mamoru was surrounded by five men, masked and
dressed entirely in black. That they were expert swordsmen was
obvious from the first. I admit that experienced a moment of unchecked
pride at how well Mamoru defended himself against them. He was a
brilliant swordsman. Unfortunately, even the most brilliant swordsman
could not stand up against six trained warriors intent upon his life.
Even so, Mamoru had wounded several men. I almost screamed aloud
when a particularly powerful sword thrust made its way through
Mamoru�s defenses. It was headed towards his neck, and he managed
to deflect it to his shoulder, but I saw his wince and knew that it had
hurt him. I was too far away to tell how badly. I watched, but my mind
was whirring with possibilities of how to save him. Of course I had
never had any intention of following his instructions. He had truly
underestimated me if he thought that I would run to save my skin while
he got himself killed gloriously. No, I wasn�t going to let him die like
this. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I could do to stop it from
happening, and I did not have much time to decide.
	I stared at the battle raging before me, and I realized
something that I should have noticed from the very first: Mamoru was
only fighting five men and he had said there were six. Meaning that
one was...I saw a shape move stealthily almost directly below me. His
dark clothes blended so well with the shadows of the forest that I only
knew he was there from the glint of his sword. He obviously planned
to attack Mamoru from behind, and considering how engaged the latter
was with his other five attackers, there was no way he would notice
until too late. In the fractions of seconds I had available to me, I made a
quick decision. Just as the man was about to attack, he looked up to a
blood-curdling scream, and saw some sort of avenging female spirit
descending from the trees before he was knocked out.
	I landed butt first on his head, rolling quickly to avoid his
exposed sword. Smiling with satisfaction, I made sure that he was
indeed incapacitated, before I looked up...and saw something that
made me want to scream again.
	They had him surrounded. Mamoru was hunched in his
saddle, his arm holding his midsection. Even now I could not tell how
bad the wound was, but his face was scrunched up with pain. One
man�s sword was at his neck, and I knew that I was watching
Mamoru�s death. And then I got angry. Very angry. Much angrier than
I ever had been on this entire crazy adventure, and perhaps my entire
life.
	�Like hell I�m going to let you kill him!� I screamed, my fear
having left without a trace. For a crucial moment, all eyes turned to me
in my raging glory. I felt remarkably clear headed and invincible. There
was no way I would let us loose, and that was the end of that. With
this in mind, I reached into my obi and pulled out the barbie doll. I was
still unsure of how to use it, but I was not going to show any
uncertainty in front of them. Closing my eyes, I drew the strange power
that I had felt a handful of times on our journey and channeled it into
the barbie doll.
	�Petunia,� I said loudly, �I think that I need some help.�

	The doll *winked* at me and then proceeded to jump out of
my hands. Swirls of magic surrounded it as it grew bigger and bigger,
slowly transforming itself into a familiar shape. The smell of banana nut
bread (banana nut bread?) was heavy in my nostrils. It began
emanating an unbearably bright light, and I was forced to shield my
eyes. When I opened them again I was confronted with a distinctly
strange sight. Where the barbie doll had been now stood Petunia,
dressed in typical piecemeal fashion. A quick look around the clearing
revealed that all the would-be attackers were dead, and Mamoru was
staring at Petunia with as much fascination as I.
	�Hi Serena, Mamoru,� she said cheerfully. �I was wondering
when you would call me. I�d have thought you�d get in some trouble
before this. I�m really rather impressed with you both.� She looked at
Mamoru appraisingly. �You certainly waited until the last possible
moment, didn�t you?�
	�You came...the Lady came...� Mamoru said weakly, and I
looked at him with growing fear. How badly *had* he heart himself
while I was busy playing avenging goddess? Then I realized what he
had said.
	�*You�re* the Lady!� I shrieked at Petunia, the stresses of
the past hour crashing upon me. �I can�t believe this! Do you know
how much *crap* we have gone through trying to find you! Oh, if only
I had known that this famous �Lady� of theirs was just my crazy
neighbor!� I was pacing back and forth, gesticulating wildly.
	�I�ll explain later,� she said succinctly, walking to Mamoru.
She caught him expertly as he slid off the horse, and laid him on the
ground. That was when I finally came close enough to see his wound.
When I did a strange sound came from my mouth, like the squawk of a
strangled bird. His entire midsection had been cut open, and the blood
was already seeping into the mossy ground. Petunia ignored me,
gently probing his wound. He grunted with pain, but his stormy blue
eyes met mine and locked there. I could not move, could not believe
that after all of this, Petunia had come too late.
	�Mamoru,� I whispered, and I realized that there were tears
streaming down my cheeks. I dashed them away angrily. What was I
thinking? Petunia was here, and she would save him. He wasn�t...he
couldn�t be...
	�Dying,� said Petunia, her voice barely above a whisper.
�He�s dying.�

*************************

Heeeeeelooo, moonies!!

Thought I had left ya, didn�t you? Well, no. As you have no doubt
ascertained, this is just the LONGEST chapter in history of fanfiction (it
feels like it anyway, although you could probably find people more long
winded than yours truly)...about as long as the last three books
combined, in fact. Which is why it took a million years to write to all you
people who threatened me with death if I didn�t get out a book out
soon. That and the fact that between college and the big apple I�ve
been just a *little* distracted. Did I mention how incredibly and totally
awesome chinatown is? It�s like the anime open market over there!
Anyway, I�ve got to get through some pieces of business. First, chapter
five will be out in two or three weeks. No less. I�m sorry, so don�t bug
me about it, okay? I�m really excited about the next chapter, but I also
have midterms next week, and things get in the way, okay? It will be
considerably shorter than this one, though, so don�t worry that it�ll take
me months again <sheepish grin>. Also, crosswinds *deleted* my web
page! So, I�m going to put it up again on my school server, but I�m busy
and my dorm internet connection isn�t working at all (which explains,
Tanya, why I have disappeared from AIM entirely, gomen!) Hmm...in
other news...oh yes! Thank you�s!! A big thank you to my sister, who 
inspires this
story constantly even if she doesn�t READ it...hmph...
To Amanda, who I miss incredibly all the way in nowheresville Ohio,
but whose ideas still add the spice to my story (gotta love the barbie
doll)
To Tanya, who I have neglected ridiculously, but I swear my internet
will be fixed soon! Don�t hate me!
To I Abibde who continuous to review this ridiculously long story.
To the crew at my old high school...haha, I�m in college!!
To the wonders of Utada Hikaru, my newest favorite J-pop singer who
happens to go to my school. How cool is that? Go listen to her songs,
they�re awesome!
And to everyone who reads and emails me, since you are *literally* the
reason why I keep up with insane projects like this one. Oh, and to
those of you who think you�re insane for *liking* this story? How
about the one who wrote it? Just a thought.
<wink> Woah, I think I�ve rambled on too long. Anyway, please email me
you guys!
Oh, before I forget: Sailor moon is not mine.
Thank you very much.
Riiiight.

Lois