I woke up to find myself in a cold, dark, and foul-smelling place. I slowly sat up to hear my right leg tied by a chain to what I later on learned was a wooden post. The back of my head was throbbing and my left leg still ached but aside from these, I was fine. I crawled around on all fours for a bit and felt around me, my hands encountered nothing but straws. Still, I continued to study my surroundings until I felt a small, warm body five crawls away from where I originally was."Riku?" I whispered using my original voice.
I felt the body stiffen then a small hand held my arm.
"M-mama?" came his tearful and disbelieving response.
Upon hearing his voice, I didn"t know whether I should cry or be happy. I gathered him in my arms and secured him into a comforting hug.
"Yes, baby," I said the second word in English. "It"s mama."
He hurriedly buried his face on my chest, his signature move when he"s feeling scared and in dire need of "escape."
"How does my little Riku feel?" I asked, worried that he might be hurt although I tried to hide it so as not to alarm him. "Does it hurt anywhere?"
"No, mama."
His little shoulders shook as I heard his little sobs. I patted his back in a consoling manner, occasionally whispering words of comfort and a.s.surance.
"Mama is here," I whispered. "Don"t cry, my little rice ball."
"Ri-tan is scared, mama," he cried.
"No one"s going to harm you. Not when I"m around," I said firmly while hugging him closer.
He continued to sob until he felt better. It was pitch black and aside from our hushed tones, only the sounds of horses neighing could be heard. Looks like we were in a stable.
"Mama, why are we here? What is happening?" the little boy asked, his tone no longer as scared as before.
I thought about making something up but what good would it bring him? After carefully choosing my words, I told him the truth.
"Some bad people wanted to take baby Riku away from mama. Mama was so angry at them so she decided to follow them and rescue her little rice ball."
"And… And Jin-san, too? Mama came to save him as well?"
"Y-yes," I said, a bit thankful that it was dark and he couldn"t see me right now. Given our current situation, it wasn"t appropriate for me to tell him that we"re one and the same.
"Thank you, mama," I heard the rustling of chains as he stood up to pat my face. I then felt his soft lips on my cheek.
His loving gesture made my throat constrict and my eyes sting. I gulped a few times to calm myself, now"s not the time to surrender to my emotions.
"My baby is tied, too?!" I felt for his leg and, sure enough, it was also chained. Rage instantly filled my senses, so much for trying to remain calm.
"Ri-tan is, mama."
"Don"t worry, okay? I"ll do my best to get us out of here."
I let go of him but placed his hand on my lap to a.s.sure him that I was still with him. I inspected my clothes and was glad to find that aside from my katana, nothing else was taken from me. I silently mocked Nagahito and his men when I retrieved the dagger that I almost slitted his throat with years ago from my sash"s secret pocket.
I gently placed Riku"s legs on my lap and tried to study the chain with hands. It seemed like a curved metal was locking it in place. I carefully tried to loosen it with the dagger, thankful that I bought it when I saw it. It took a lot of elbow grease, sweat, and patience to free my son"s leg. He gave me a quick praise when I finished, lightening the mood. Finally, it was my turn to free myself. I once again traced the way the chain was locked to figure out how to remove it. Unlike Riku"s, mine was a bit complicated. The sound of metal sc.r.a.ping against another metal made me grit my teeth but I didn"t let it slow me down. Twice, I accidentally cut myself. Fortunately, they were not serious enough to cause alarm although they still hurt.
"Yes!" I hissed when the chain unwrapped itself around my foot.
"Mama is free, too?" Riku whispered.
"Hai," I stood up and took a few tentative steps. I sighed in relief. My tibia still felt uncomfortable but it didn"t mean I was unable to walk. I lifted Riku and told him to hold on to me tightly and remain quiet.
So as not to be seen or heard, I decided to peep outside in a cautious and surrept.i.tious manner. Outside, there were torches lighting the area while a pair of guards chatted.
"I really don"t understand why the crown prince is doing this," guard number one said in an almost inaudible voice. "I really shouldn"t have joined the imperial army."
"What are you talking about?" guard number two replied. "The emperor pays is handsomely! Besides, if you joined the military, you"d probably be dead by now."
"At least I"ll die in honor. True, the pay is good and we"re relatively safe here but is it all worth it?" number one reb.u.t.ted. "We are working for a vile family! And now that he"s gone and the challenged the shogun, what do you think will happen to the crown prince after this? That effeminate idiot has taken things too far and he"s dragging us down with him!"
"Shh!" number two said while looking around in panic. "Keep your voice down!"
Number one just kicked a nearby stone in frustration. He was smart enough to realize what Nagahito"s actions would mean to them.
"Now that you"ve mentioned it, I think you"re right," number two scratched his head. "Is this how things will end for us?"
Number one removed a torch from the wall and made a sudden about face motion. He went to the stables in long strides. I pressed myself to the wall and held Riku tighter.
"They"ve disappeared!" he exclaimed. "The man and the shogun"s firstborn have disappeared!"
Number two hurriedly ran to where he was standing, his hand on his katana. "f.u.c.k! Now we won"t die in the shogun"s hands but on that perverted son of a b.i.t.c.h"s instead!"
"Argh!" number one threw his katana on the ground. "I know I shouldn"t have become a guard! I should have stayed at home and helped in the farm!"
The two men lamented on their predicament more before finally accepting their fate. With shoulders slumped, they decided to look for their commander and prepared themselves for their punishments. I made a split second decision to use their conscience as my and Riku"s ticket to safety.
"Wait a minute, you two," I stepped out of the shadows. "What do you think about working together?"