Curse of the Zodiac Serpent

“What! You must be joking.” The Emporer fumed losing his composure as the pirate requested his very own daughter.

“You have until the sun sets. Hand over a Princess of the Tokugawa bloodline and we will leave.” Kenji turned and ascended the makeshift steps to his ship.

Ayako caught movement to her left as the men seemed to yelling at each other.

“There must be something else, anything! Do you mean to start a war!” The Emperor yelled angrily.

Her head angled slightly to the side, she hadn’t caught what it was. She speculated by the size it was animal in nature. Perhaps just a rodent. Her mind and senses remained sharp, waiting for any hint of danger.

With one foot resting on the railing of the vessel Kenji looked down at the small crowd gathered below, his head held high. “We’re pirates! Need I say more?”

The sun was already disappearing below the water line. Even if the demands were to be considered, there wasn’t enough time to fetch the Princess and return before the sun disappeared below the horizon.

Ayako was feeling unsettled, it didn’t make sense. It was an unreasonable demand, one he knew they couldn’t meet, so why the delay? Why wait to attack... her mind was reeling, trying to piece it all together. Her eyes widened as one thought came to mind.

“He’s a decoy.” She muttered as the last rays of sunlight sank below the waves.

The shogun frowned down at her, about to speak he was abruptly stopped when a scream rang out from the village behind them. At that moment they all knew there was no avoiding conflict.

As the night sky was filled with darkness a loud explosion ripped through the air, sending a shockwave to the port as flames burst to life in the distance. How had the pirates gotten passed them and when? Ayako’s first instinct was to run to the people’s aid, but a firm grip on her shoulder stopped her from moving forward.

“See to the Emperor’s safety, we’ll handle the pirates.” The shogun ordered.

With a sharp nod, she spun on her heels and took hold of the Emperor’s arm, gently pulling him along. Once he was moving, she quickened their pace and used the shadows of the buildings to maneuver through town relatively unseen.

Already smoke from burning houses was filling the night air. Panicked and screaming civilians only added to the urgency of the situation as they inched closer to the palace.

“We can’t give them Princess Matsu, we can’t!” The Emperor’s face was shrouded with worry.

She knew deep down that they would have to sacrifice something that night. But whether it was the people’s lives or the single life of a Princess, she couldn’t be sure. And it wasn’t her place to have an opinion, it was her life mission to protect the Tokugawa.

“No harm will come to the Princess.” She tried to sound reassuring as she continued to urge him to keep moving.

A light hissing sound could faintly be heard. Ayako knew the sound all too well.

Acting quickly she forcibly slammed the Emperor up against the brick wall of a nearby home and covered his body with her own. The blast that followed sent debris flying at enormous speeds. Her back was hammered with various broken bricks, roof tiles and metal. Thankfully her leather armor stopped anything from penetrating and embedding into her skin. But the large chunks still hurt and the explosion did leave her with ringing ears.

She didn’t stop moving, couldn’t. Now that the bomb had gone off she rushed the emperor forward. She could see his mouth moving as he coughed and fought to keep up with her aggressive pulling of his robes.

Finally, the palace was in view, the gates were intact. Every man able to fight was chasing down the pirates that were causing chaos in the village. Thankfully they hadn’t made it to the palace yet. The palace itself had guards at the entrance, the Emporer would never leave his family unguarded.

Her last step was to get him inside and locked in a safe room with the Princess. She didn’t let go of the man until they were well and truly inside the palace and up serval flights of stairs.

Finding the princess he ran to his daughter to embrace her, while Ayako stood by the window looking out. Flames licked at rooftops, collapsed buildings lay in heaps and the chaotic screams could be heard even from up here. Her heart sank as she watched people run away from their homes. Not long ago the town had only just been rebuilt from all the horror and bloodshed of the war, and already the destruction was back.

“Father, what is going on?” The Princess was frantic with fear and worry.

“Not to worry, I won’t let anything happen to you. I won’t!” The Emperor seemed more upset than his daughter.

“Pirates came ashore.” Ayako helped to fill the Princess in since the Emperor was no help.

“What! No, that can’t be! Why are they doing this!?” She was shaking her head in denial.

“They have asked us to hand over a Princess of the Tokugawa bloodline,” Ayako commented.

Princess Matsu looked mortified, her mouth falling open in horrified shock. “Me?”

“No! I won’t allow it.” The Emporer spat.

Ayako sharply nodded before turning her attention back to the burning town below. Her hands clenched at her sides as she could see several members of the Shogun fighting the enemy. She wanted to be out there.

“But, Father...” The Princess clenched her hand to her chest as tears began to form in her eyes. “If I can save the people, then isn’t it a good trade?”

“Nonsense. There’s no telling what they will do to you.” He protested.

“But you can come to get me once the Shogun’s numbers are greater, defeat them. As it stands now... we will lose.” The princess’s words stung. Even she knew of their weakened state.

Ayako’s mind lingered on one word the Princess had spoken. Trade. Turning her head slowly she took the Princess’s appearance in as an idea came to her.

The Princess had long black hair, almond eyes and a narrow face.

Her hand reached for her mask, pulling it from her face to reveal her own appearance. “I’ll take her place.”

The resemblance was uncanny, they were almost identical.