Excerpt: The Blade's Edge (working title)

Taka was still crying when she went to bed that night. She had decided. It was a good decision. Mishi would be better off. She had heard Haha-san discussing Mishi’s new home with one of the cooks. It was a good place, she would have a good life. She would be safe.

But she had also heard another discussion that Haha-san had had. A man had come to her the other day, he wanted to buy Taka. Taka had seen the man before, many times, he had tried to stop her in the street on more than one occasion. She didn’t even have to use her “talents” to know what he wanted with her. The smell of him was more than enough to know. As if that weren’t enough she had seen what happened to the other girls who had been purchased by men just like him. Girls broken and battered even before they started their moon cycles, girls with no light behind their eyes, girls that Taka didn’t need to talk to in order to know what had befallen them. Girls that all but the shabbiest whore houses would refuse to take in after what had been done to them.

More than one of the orphanage’s “daughters” had gone with men like that. Haha-san tried to avoid it whenever she could. She knew as well as any what happened to those girls. But the orphanage was always struggling to survive and some “suitors” were incredibly persistent, and sometimes the money was more than Haha-san could refuse, knowing how many other girls it might feed. Many of the girls went the way of the World of Winds after they reached 17 and were no longer wards of the orphanage anyway. The chances that they would end up in the same profession in the end were high enough that Haha-san was able to sleep at night, though perhaps only because she never saw the girls again.

Taka knew that her chances were the same as any of the other girls when it came to turning 17 and finding a way to feed and clothe herself. But, she knew that her chances grew slimmer and slimmer as Haha-san considered the offer of the man who wanted to buy her. The night that Taka had heard Haha-san discuss her price with the man she had made her decision. She hadn’t told Mishi. Mishi could never know, she would never accept it, or she would try to follow. Taka couldn’t let that happen. She and Mishi had shared everything. They knew all of each other’s secrets. All but this one. Taka knew her choices, neither much appealed to her. But one thing she knew for certain, she would rather die than become one of those broken girls in the street. Taka had decided. Tomorrow.

*****

The next dawn Mishi woke thirsty with swollen eyes. She remembered almost nothing of her journey, only that it was long and had increased her belief that she would never see Taka again. As soon as the old woman had let go of her hand Mishi’s fears and sadness had enveloped her again and she had spent most of the long carriage journey in silent destitution, convinced once more that she would never see Taka again and that her life would be empty without her. It had been well past midnight when she had arrived at her new “home” so her tour and the explanation of her new duties had been put off for the morning. She was shown to her quarters and told to dress for bed. She had been so deep in her despair that she had paid no attention to her surroundings. She had dressed for bed as told, she had cried in her bed until sleep overtook her. She had had troubled dreams, but she remembered nothing of them.

She expected that her new warders would come to wake her soon. Surely her duties would begin with the dawn as her chores at the orphanage always had. Dully, she got out of bed and began to dress. She barely noticed her surroundings, but soon she found she could not ignore them. As she dressed she could do little but note that she had room entirely to herself. The room was small, but there was only one futon on the floor and there were no others in the closet where she folded hers away. She found that she had a dresser that was entirely hers and that there was even a small wash basin for her in the corner that she could use. When she opened the dresser she found none of her own clothes, and only dully realized she had never packed any of her meager belongings when she had left, but instead she found a wardrobe of bland but well made garments that a servant might wear. Though they were nicer than anything she had ever worn she had to assume that they were for her. Hadn’t she been told she was to be a servant? She could barely remember the words that Haha-san had spoken to her the day before. It had all been clouded by the prospect of leaving behind the only person in the world who had ever understood her. But, Haha-san had said something like that. She had said something about becoming a servant at a school. She had said it was a good life, and Taka had told her the same. For the first time she began to feel a shred of curiosity about what her new life might entail. She dressed in one of the simple serving kimono, all grey with brown trim, after briefly washing herself from the basin. Just as she finished dressing her door opened and the old woman from the day before appeared.

“Good morning, Mishi-san.”

“Good morning, …”

Mishi suddenly realized that she had no idea how she was to address the old woman. She had been so taken up in her own sadness the day before that she hadn’t even attempted to talk to her and had taken no interest whatsoever in her identity. All she knew was that she had taken her from Taka.

“I am known as Tenshi. You may call me Tenshi-san.”

Mishi was surprised. Tenshi was not a family name and she did not expect to be allowed to an adult by their given name. Suddenly she realized that the old woman had called her Mishi-san, not Mishi-chan, a small but as of yet un-experienced sign of respect. She bowed, unsure what else to do.

“Good morning, Tenshi-san.”

Her manners did not extend farther, as she was still too upset to feel much courtesy towards the woman who had separated from her from her only true friend. The old woman smiled at her, and Mishi couldn’t help but feel that perhaps the woman understood.

“If you will come with me, Mishi-san, I will show you your new home and explain your duties.”

Mishi bowed again. At the very least she was being treated with courtesy. But this almost made her cry once more as it reminded her all too clearly of her parting with Taka. She managed to blink bank the tears and follow Tenshi out of the room.

As soon as she left her room, it struck her how large the complex that was to be her new residence must be. She immediately began to notice details that she had not noticed the night before between the darkness and her cocoon of grief. The corridor was endlessly long compared to those of the orphanages. There were many doors to either side. And when she reached the end of the long hallway she discovered that it merely turned the corner down another equally long one. But this corridor only doors on one side. The whole building was paper screens and wooden frames, like the orphanage had been. Like the majority of buildings she had ever seen were.

“The corridor where your room is located is the residential quarter. You and the other serving girls live there, as do I and the master. This corridor is for classrooms. It is here that you will perform the majority of your duties; here, the kitchens and in the stables.”

Mishi nodded. The building was indisputably finer than the orphanage had been and the judging by its size the grounds must be large. She began to wish that it had not been dark when she had arrived the night before that she might have witnessed something of the grounds on her way here.

“Here, you should see the classrooms while they are empty and looking as they should when you are done with them.”

Tenshi stood before an open sliding door, revealing the room behind her. It was empty but for the walls, which were covered in weapons of all kinds. Mishi started.

“What kind of school is this?”

She wondered aloud before she could stop herself. She feared a rebuke for asking such an open question but Tenshi only smiled at her.

“It is a school for Samurai. This is where young Samurai come to train. Kuma-sensei is one of the foremost masters in this region.”

Mishi was in awe. Had she not still been caught up in her own grief she might have been truly dumbfounded. The supposed honor of serving Samurai, even young Samurai in training, was indeed great. She couldn’t begin to fathom why she of all people would have been selected for such a task. Haha-san had not exaggerated when she had suggested that Mishi would have a chance at a decent life. However, if Tenshi had hoped that this knowledge would have a cheering effect on Mishi, she was sorely mistaken. The news of her own good fortune only reinforced the longing for Taka, whom she couldn’t imagine could be equally lucky and who she now longed for even more. Taka was older, only a few years, but still enough to be a bit wiser about the world and surely Taka would know what to do and say in front of Samurai. Mishi had no idea what to do. Why didn’t they choose Taka? Why couldn’t they have chosen both of them? Or why had they not taken Taka alone. Surely a girl of nine would be a much better selection for the requirements of the job of caring for Samurai than would a girl of seven. Tears welled in her eyes once more as she felt helpless and alone.

Tenshi placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t fret, child. You will learn what you need to learn. You will manage even without your companion.”

Even as she said the words, Mishi found that she was less worried. She still longed for Taka, but the tears left her eyes and she felt her throat open again so that she could speak. Though even with that ability restored to her she found she couldn’t think of any words to produce. Tenshi seemed to recognize this.

“Come. Let me show you the kitchens and the stables.”

The school was huge, or at least it seemed that way to Mishi. She was fairly certain there were no buildings in her village that matched it. Certainly the orphanage had never come close. The main building alone was several times larger than the orphanage, but the grounds surrounding it were vast indeed. Not only were there stables replete with horses but there were ground enough to ride the horses for over an hour without retracing your steps. Mishi was only shown the stables, but Tenshi gave a very enthusiastic and detailed description of the grounds as they went.
The kitchens were no less impressive, though perhaps less tempting to a seven year old’s mind. Proportional to the size of the establishment, though perhaps not to the number of mouths that needed feeding, the kitchen was several orders larger than the kitchens in the orphanage.

While the grounds were intimidating in their sheer size to a girl who had never known more than a derelict small town orphanage, the chores themselves were entirely familiar to her. The orphans had always been responsible for the maintenance and runnings of the establishment that housed them. So, as Mishi was instructed in the chores that would be her daily charge, she became more and more comfortable with her post. The tasks of cleaning, cooking and maintenance were all familiar to her. Until, of course, it came to the horses. She had never seen a horse up close until her carriage ride the day before. She had always been entranced by the creatures from afar, but she had no experience with them. They were a complete mystery to her and the idea of doing everything from brushing and tacking horses to mucking stalls both mesmerized and terrified her. Her face must have demonstrated some of this sentiment as Tenshi soon laughed aloud as they toured the stables.

“Mishi-san, if your eyes get much wider they may fall out. Have you never seen horses before?”

Mishi shook her head.

“Never this close before.”

Tenshi, nodded.

“Well, you’ll be assigned to the stables with one of the other girls at first, so don’t worry. You won’t have to remember it all to start with.”

*****

“What are you doing?!?”

Haha-san shouted incredulously across the room. Taka was sitting against the dormitory wall blood flowed freely from her wrists.

“What have you done?!?”

Haha-san screamed and ran from the room. Taka cried, and, through the tears, she smiled.

In a few moments Haha-san returned towels in hand. She ran to the limp girl against the wall and wrapped the towels around her wrists. Taka struggled.

“Stop! Stop!” Yelled Haha-san, “Why? Why would you? How could you?” She was barely coherent. “The healer is on the way, he’ll be here any minute.”

“It’s better this way.” Taka smiled again as she spoke. “Mishi is safe, and soon I will be safe too. Safer anyway.”

She shook her wrists again, as if to dislodge the towels.

Haha-san was crying already, sure that the child was beyond saving. She may have kept herself distant from the children in order to protect her own heart, but she still felt for them. No child should die like this.

“Where is that kami-forsaken healer?” She shouted, frustration taking the place of hopelessness.

“Here.”

The voice came from over her shoulder. Haha-san turned to see a man was dressed in the typical green robes of a healer enter the room. He seemed to assess the scene at once and quickened his pace to reach the girl.

“I found her like this. So much blood. Towels… I tried to… I didn’t know… I sent for you immediately.”

The healer touched her shoulder as he walked past.

“You did well. Stand ready to bring more supplies. Be calm.”

Haha-san nodded and stood aside.

The healer knelt down to look at Taka and pulled the towels away from her wrists. Taka saw him and smiled once more. The smirk, combined with the bloody state of the girl sent a chill down the man’s spine. He took a good look at her wrists. They were deeply cut, seeping blood, she was close to death. If he worked quickly perhaps…

“I’m glad you’re here.” Taka whispered. The healer looked at her eyes, she was still smiling.

“Yes, child. I’m here to help you.”

“No.” She whispered, her voice fading. “You’re here to turn me in.”

“What?”

The healer was trying to focus on her wounds, he needed all his attention to mend these wounds, to staunch the bleeding, but that last statement had distracted him and he lost precious moments. He stared fixedly at her wounds trying to regain his concentration. But his concentration was completely broken when he saw the wounds mend themselves with no attention from him. They simply disappeared before his eyes. In a few seconds the work that a master healer would have taken minutes to perform was completed.

Taka smiled again.

“There. You saw it, now, do your part.” She collapsed in his arms.

Haha-san cried out. Sure the girl had died.

“Call a midwife.” The healer said dully.

“What?” Haha-san asked, sure she had misheard.

“Call a midwife.” The healer sighed. “The girl must be taken in.”