It did not take long for several guards to come pouring into her small cell. They were surprised to see the unconscious body of Misasa sprawled on the cell floor. While a few of the guards attended to the unconscious young woman, Yuki pleaded with the others to be taken to the residence of Mori-sensei, who, as she hastily explained, might be in grave danger. They were unsure how to handle this request, for most of the usual guards did not know that the Shōgun had a ward in this segment of the ramparts, and why. She spoke so passionately and fiercely that it gave the soldiers pause, who would have normally dismissed her. They knew that Mori was a highly valuable member of the Shōgun’s retinue, being his personal physician, and failing to act could mean dire consequences. So, keeping a close watch on her, five of the guards took her to go and find Mori-sensei.

They came to the physician's residence within several minutes, for it was directly attached to the Shōgun’s palace. All they had to do was exit from the ramparts and proceed down into the innermost area of the castle grounds. This was the highest place of the compound, the most important, and the most heavily guarded. From outside, Yuki could look back at the section of the wall where her small cell was located. She could see that it was part of a greater network of fortifications that surrounded the area, which included many tall gates and several watchtowers that loomed in the starlit sky.

The palace itself was magnificent, being an amalgam of great wooden buildings with tall, handsome roofs, connected by long, elaborate corridors which were also covered and floored with tatami. Between the stately buildings and corridors were dozens of beautiful scenic gardens, some of which were kept illuminated even at night. Beyond the palace was the great seven-story castle tower that Yuki had seen with Kondo all those many days ago. It was even more impressive this close, despite the darkness of night. The massive structure seemed to dwarf everything around it, and when completed, it would arguably be the grandest structure in all of the Islands.

When they came to Mori’s residence, the guards knocked as was custom and when they did not hear a reply, they proceeded within. The room was small, square, and enclosed by paper doors, but stuffed to the brim with shelves which were themselves filled with various books, scrolls, ingredients, bottles, maps, and some strange utensils. It was a messy place but made even worse by the apparent struggle that seemed to have happened there not so long before. Mori was lying on the floor amongst a heap of spilled liquids and broken pottery. He was breathing, but just barely.

Guards flooded the room, and other physicians were called, and amidst the chaos finally, the Shōgun entered the room. As he did so, all who were there bowed on their hands and knees, until he permitted them to rise. Yuki followed suit but caught the Shōgun’s eye as he surveyed the room. He said nothing to her, but he did not seem pleased that she was there.

Mori had been taken to his futon in the corner of the room and treated with medicines and salves, and his cuts bandaged where he was wounded. He appeared to be doing better now that he was being tended to.

“Who did this?” the Shōgun growled.

“My lord,” said one of the guards, lifting his head, “We found the culprit in one of the cells within the inner ramparts. She assaulted this maiden with the intent to kill. She is known as a servant of the prime consort.”

The Shōgun grimaced. “I should have known,” he said bitterly. “These walls are nigh impregnable. There could be no outsiders getting in by force or by stealth. She must have been let in by the prime consort. This is a weakness we have to consider.”

“What should we do with her?” one guard inquired, speaking of Misasa.

“She must be executed immediately,” the Shōgun said darkly. “Servant of my prime consort or no, the rules here cannot be broken. No man or woman shall lift a weapon against another within these walls without it falling back on their own heads.”

“Yes, my lord!” the guard answered. He turned and signaled to his underlings the orders of execution.

At that moment Yuki felt a pang of remorse. Her heart broke for Misasa, her former mentor. She had only been doing what she was commanded, and though that was no excuse, she was being compelled by a master so wicked and powerful that it was impossible to refuse. She had been pushed into senselessness by the casual and insidious horror that was the Ishihara District and then manipulated by its founder. What she did was not fully her fault.

“My lord Shōgun,” she interjected, lifting her head. She knew that he still thought that she was blind, so she did her best to portray a far-away look and blink as infrequently as she was able.

He turned aside to face her while everyone else in the room collectively grew tense in response to her perceived insolence.

“Yes? What is it?” he barked.

“I humbly request that you spare her life,” she said in a soft, placating tone.

“I refuse your request!” His voice shot back like a whip. “The rules here carry grievous punishment and are not broken lightly!”

“But she did not have a choice!” Yuki broke out, tears rushing to her eyes.

“We all have a choice,” he said softening, considering her words more carefully. “Unless you believe the girl was not herself when she committed the act.”

“I do,” Yuki insisted.

His hawkish eyes rested upon her for several moments. “Very well. Guards, keep her in your custody until I am able to investigate this matter further.”

“Yes, my lord!” they said in unison.

“That is all,” he commanded, and waved his right hand, dismissing them at once.

“What about this one? Shall we escort her back to her cell?” one of the guards asked Yuki.

“Not yet,” answered the Shōgun, who was staring at her intently. “But two of you wait outside until I am finished with her. Then you will take her back. As soon as it is feasible, there shall be a guard posted within that wing of the ramparts at all times. Do you understand?”

“Yes, my lord.” The guards then left in an orderly file.

The Shōgun then turned to the three other physicians, kneeling beside Mori. “Will he live?”

“It is hopeful,” the most senior of the three said. “It seems that he was forced to take poison which would at first dull his senses and lead to asphyxiation. But it seems as if Mori-sensei recognized the poison and stumbled around his room searching for an antidote. He took it just before he collapsed, and it saved his life. He is weak, but I do believe he will recover with some rest and time.”

Both the Shōgun and Yuki seemed relieved.

“Good,” Mashige said quietly, pausing for several moments. “Please leave us then. I would like to speak with this woman privately.”

The doctors did as they were bid and after bowing reverently, they saw themselves out.

Yukiana studied the Shōgun for a few moments. For the first time, she noticed that his features were heavy, weary, almost on the verge of despair. He was fighting with something, wrestling with some burdensome decision that he did not want to make.

“Such a brazen attempt within my palace disturbs me,” he said at last. “This could happen again, and now that he has become a target, there is little I can do. When Mori comes around, you must tell him that he is to leave the city at once. He has served me well over the years. This is my repayment for his loyalty. He must leave this place as soon as he can and never return.”

Yuki nearly collapsed with surprise and sorrow. “It will crush him!” she cried, forgetting herself. “He lives to serve you!”

“I know it well,” Mashige said mournfully, staring at his old physician who was lying perfectly still upon his back. “He has served me since I was a child. He has taught me many a lesson, and even when I wore him out, he never forsook me. When I was a young man, he patched me up after I took a few hard hits during training. He delivered my first child. When I became Shōgun, he was truly proud of me, as if I were his son. Even when I began to persecute his people, he never said a word, he never abandoned me. This is the least I can do. He deserves to live out his life and die peacefully, not to be tortured or murdered like a dog.”

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“But you are the Shōgun!” Yuki cried, overwhelmed with pity for the old man, whose heart would surely be broken by the news. “This is your castle! Can you not keep him safe?”

Mashige slowly turned to face her once again. He appeared impotent and a weak shell of the man that she had seen with such majesty the night of the Council of Lords. “No, I cannot,” he admitted honestly. “I may keep him safe for a time. But if he has fallen under her wrath then there is little that even I can do to stop her.”

“She was after me! Misasa drugged him to find out where I was!”

“And they will do it again. Next time, even if he doesn’t know where you are, they will still kill him. Or later, when they find out that he saved you, they will kill him for that.”

Yuki’s head dropped. She could not believe what she was hearing. “Why can't you stop her?” she moaned, as tears wet her face.

A single candle on Mori’s desk illuminated the dark space and flickered upon the Shōgun’s elaborate robe, as he stood statuesque before her.

Silence followed for a few moments before he finally spoke. “You of all people should know well enough why. The Lady has been around long before me. She goes back to an era before this palace and these walls when the keep was just a three-story turret overlooking an ugly mire. As I have risen, so has she, and so has this city. Our relationship is more than that of lovers. We need each other. Any day now, my armies will encounter the largest invasion force to ever threaten these Islands since the days of the Emperor. I need her to save us. I cannot do it alone.”

His words were chilling, and she held back a shiver as he spoke. So, it was true after all, and the Lady was not lying. She was responsible for the power of the Mashige clan and was able to wield them like a sword as she so pleased. This was terrifying. This meant that she was not only the most powerful woman in this city but in all the Islands.

“What about me?” Yuki asked, after facing the grim realization. “If you cannot protect even him, what about me?”

Mashige grimaced. He was clearly troubled. “The Lady is not pleased with you, that is plain. She will come for you again. But you are not to blame for this. I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was I who desired to bring forth your father from his paradise. It was I who gave the order and had you brought here. I did not confide in her about my designs, and when she discovered it, she was...upset. But she eventually gave way to my persistence and relented, allowing me to proceed. However, recently she has once again grown sour on the idea, and your presence here has put her over the edge. She will try and kill you, but not with her own hands. She will send one of her thralls to do it and claim it was an accident. She does not want to completely undermine me. I may rely on her, but I am still the Shōgun, and my child is inside of her. Our heir will inherit the kingdom we have built together. She needs me as much as I need her.”

Yuki felt a pang of compassion when she heard the Shōgun’s words. “Was he truly so blind?” she wondered. “You are mistaken,” she said quietly, and it felt so strange to be telling the Lord of the Islands that he was in error. “Do you want to know the real reason why the Lady desires my life?”

The Shōgun turned his eyes upon her. Though he did not say it, she could tell that he was ready to listen.

“It is not because of your plan, though that might be a small part of it. It is because I know something. I know the secret that she does not want to let out, especially to you.”

Mashige’s countenance shifted. Yuki could sense fear in him.

She exhaled. This, she could tell, was a pivotal moment. “The Lady is going to betray you, my lord. If the battle with the barbarians goes her way, she will turn on you.”

“Impossible!” the Shōgun thundered, frightening Yuki so that she took a step back. “She has my child!” But his face had turned a shade of red that signified great humiliation. It was as if he already anticipated this.

“My friend overheard her speaking with a man in her private chambers and told me of it. That girl was butchered, and I am next. That is why she detests me so. You must believe me! You must stop her!”

Mashige moved as if to strike her but then checked himself. “I…I do not believe you!” he roared. “I will not believe you! Never speak of it again!”

Yukiana was terrified and fell to her knees and began to sob. She was overwhelmed by the most wretched misery, for even the truth would not be enough to save her. “Why did you bring me here?” she lamented. “I still don’t understand! Please, my lord, I beg of you, why have you heaped grief upon grief upon me!”

Mashige eventually mastered himself, but his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil. He spoke in a low, distant voice as if trying to flee to past memories and designs. “It is but a fleck of gold in a running river. I seek something that perhaps only your father can retrieve. I needed you as bait of course, but I needed his journey to be fraught with peril, and if the stories are true, it has been. These perils will strengthen him, sharpen him, make him what he once was.”

“What is it?” she asked, as tears continued to fall. “What is this thing that has destroyed our lives?”

At this, the Shōgun’s features darkened. “You go too far.”

“But I…”

“Enough!” he boomed, his vitality beginning to return. “I pity you, child, but in the end, you are only a cog. Yes, a cog which has moved a great power but is in the end, by itself, worthless.” He was growing frantic now, and his words seemed to spill from his mouth. “And the trap is set and nearly complete. Soon he will be here. Yes, he will be looking for you. He will come. And you…”

He stopped suddenly. He looked and stared at her for a few moments. “I need you to cut a piece of your kimono for me.”

“Excuse me?” she asked fearfully.

“A cut, a piece, a part of your kimono. Now!”

He jerked around searching for something in the room. He found a pair of shears and handed them to her hastily. “Cut this, just a part, by the nape.”

She did as she was told and cut part of her kimono and handed it to him apprehensively.

“Yes! Yes!” he exclaimed. “This will do!”

“What is the meaning of this?”

“It is insurance. In case you do not make it.”

“You expect me to die here?”

“I cannot send you away, can I?” he retorted. “Not like Mori! If your father finds you before he comes here, then it has all been for nothing! No, you must stay here, you must stay here until either he returns, or…” he stopped and let his words trail off.

“Or the Lady comes for me…” she said, finishing his sentence.

He said nothing but his sorrowful eyes gave away the truth.

At that moment, the doctor stirred but did not wake completely.

“I will do for you what I can,” Mashige said quietly, “To protect you. To hide you from her. But I cannot guarantee your safety any longer. So, whatever sorcery you used to escape her servant tonight, I pray that it endures, for your sake.” He turned and looked down at Mori one last time. “Goodbye, my old friend.” He then turned and stormed out of the room, and she could hear his heavy, deliberate steps fade down the corridor.

Yukiana’s heart continued to race, but she remained still and eventually knelt next to Mori-sensei, dabbing his forehead with a moist towel.

After several minutes, the doctor stirred again, and this time his eyes opened. It was slow at first, but soon she could sense the light of consciousness within them.

“Mori-sensei,” she whispered. “Are you all right?”

A faint smile crossed his aged face. “I believe so,” he said. “Now that I can see that you are safe.”

She could not help but smile at this.

“I thought I had given you up,” he whispered, his own lip quivering. “The poison, it made me say things, things I should not have said. I could not bear to live with myself if something had happened to you. I am so glad you are safe.”

“Please do not worry,” she said gently. “You had no choice in the matter. And look, I am fine, really.”

“I am so glad,” he repeated, as his eyes began to close.

“Mori-sensei,” Yuki started, and his eyes flickered open once again. “I am afraid that I have something very difficult to tell you.”

His gentle eyes focused on hers.

She swallowed hard, not quite knowing how to put it into words.

“The Shōgun wants me to leave, is that it?” he said before she could speak.

Yuki was stunned by his accuracy. “How did you know?”

He smiled, but it was a sorrowful smile. “I have known this for some time. I have served my lord for many years. I can understand his mind even without him speaking. He commanded me to try and save you, and I did what I could. By the grace of the All-kami you survived. But I know in doing so it would cause a fissure between him and the Lady. You see, she might be the only other person who knows my secret. She knows that I was and still am a Truist. She detests Truists, more so than perhaps anyone I have ever met. But she has left me alone for the sake of Hideyo-sama. Once she found out it was I who helped save you, well, her wrath was kindled against me. Hideyo-sama knows that he cannot save me from her, so he has wished to send me away but has not been able to. He has meant to do it but when he looks at me he is reminded of our history together. Now he has seen me hurt and knows that my life is in danger. He knows that I will not willingly leave him. This was the final push.”

“Are you upset?” Yuki asked.

Mori nodded and his voice cracked with emotion. “It is exceedingly difficult for me to leave this place where I have been for many years. And yet, in my prayers, I felt that it was nearly time for a profound change, that I was needed somewhere else. Of course, I would have never left Hideyo-sama on my own accord, but this is merely confirmation of what I have felt. I do not know where I shall go or what I shall do, but I feel as though I have one last task to accomplish before the end.”

“Anyone you meet will be blessed to know you,” Yuki said tenderly.

He looked at her, and his understanding smile told her that he was at peace. “And you, my dear, I am so glad to see you so healthy, so strong. I will be heartbroken to leave you too, but you must also go soon.”

She studied him carefully, and there was a radiant confidence in him at that moment. She did not understand how he could have known, but she accepted it.

“I am going to try.”

This time Mori laughed, and it was a full, throaty laugh. “You go run along, dear,” he said in a whimsical tone. “It’s time that you went and saved your father.”

She clasped his old, withered hands in hers. “You are right. It is time.”

“Before you go, there is something for you on my shelf over there. Would you go and get it for me?”

She rose and went to the shelf that he indicated. There, laid upon it, was a hand-woven eye-patch. It was black and stitched into it was the Truist symbol of the Eye Shut in white thread.

“You know,” the physician called from his bed, lifting his head as if ever so slightly. “The Truists believe that the Eye Shut is greater than the Eye Open. I hope you understand what I mean.”

“I believe that I do,” Yuki answered. She removed the bandage on her left eye and replaced it with the eye patch. It fit perfectly and was light as a feather. “Thank you for everything, Mori-sensei.”

“It was my great honor,” the physician said, easing his head back down. “Now, may the All-kami guide your steps, and bring courage to your heart. For you are surely going to need it in the days ahead.”