Guardian of the Dream
Part 3 - The Flower's Path
Chapter 3 - A Secret meeting
Shuga entered the Anything Store from the back door and found that Toya and Torogai weren’t there. He frowned. “How odd. Master Torogai said that she would wait here every morning, even if her trip wasn’t necessary."
"Yes. She said so to me as well, but… maybe something happened to her?" Saya asked.
"This is worrisome. Do you know where Master Torogai lives?"
"I know the rough area, but not the exact place. The people of the village near there will know for sure, but it might be about four miles or more away, even if you're lucky. It's apparently out in the middle of the mountains. I can come with you and guide you. What are you planning to do?"
Shuga remained silent, his face etched in grim lines. Sneaking out at dawn to meet with Torogai was already dangerous. In about an hour and a half, the Morning Council for the day would be held. This was a meeting conducted by Star Readers where those on duty the previous night would relate their observations to the others. If it was noticed that Shuga wasn't in the Star Palace to participate, questions of where he had been instead would undoubtedly arise.
Was it still worth the risk of being punished by excommunication and expulsion to save the people trapped by the Flower now that Crown Prince Chagum had woken up? The night when the Flower was supposed to scatter its petals and bring forth a seed was still two days away, judging by Chagum’s information. "It's a shame, but I'll have to try again tomorrow. For the time being…"
He was interrupted by the clattering of a horse's hooves approaching the shop at speed from the direction of the back streets. Shuga and Toya looked at each other and, in a panic, Shuga disappeared into the shop's hidden room.
Shuga thought that the horse had stopped right outside the Anything Shop's back entrance. Had someone followed him? Shuga quieted his breathing and strained his ears. At long length, he heard the knocking pattern that signified Torogai's arrival.
He also heard Toya exclaim, far too loud for the circumstances: "Balsa!"
"Sorry, Toya, but can you take care of the horse? Is Shuga here?"
Shuga frowned slightly at this turn of events, but he opened the hidden room's trapdoor and lowered the ladder. "I'm here. Please come up."
Balsa appeared at the bottom of the ladder. The sharpness of her gaze pierced him as if it were a drawn sword. He reflexively ducked back into the hidden room. Balsa, ever athletic, climbed up the ladder before Shuga could collect himself.
"It's nice to meet you in person. I'm Balsa. Master Torogai couldn't make it, so I came in her place. Sorry, but I'm kind of in a hurry, so let’s make this quick."
Balsa told Shuga about Tanda being turned into the Flower's Defender, and about Yugno, and about the barrier keeping the Flower’s Defender at bay that necessitated Torogai staying where she was. "I've heard that Chagum was also stuck in a dream. Has there been any progress? Is he awake?"
Shuga smiled a little to himself at her rude way of asking. "Yes. That's why I wanted to meet with Master Torogai so urgently. You will be pleased to hear that the Crown Prince has woken up."
"He has? Thank goodness."
"He woke up yesterday at noon, saying that he had very important information to pass on to Torogai. Apparently, the day after tomorrow, on the night of the half moon, that world and our world will be connected. The wind will blow in, scattering the petals of the Flower. If Master Torogai is to save the dreamers with her magic weaving, then that will be her last opportunity. He also said that the place where the Flower is actually blooming might be the lake close to the Mountain Palace."
Balsa's expression relaxed as she took in Shuga’s information. "That's great. As expected of Chagum. He's a strong-willed child. I thought he would manage to return."
Shuga recalled how Chagum usually looked when he spoke of Balsa, his erstwhile bodyguard. "That's true. His Highness is indeed a person of great strength. Nevertheless, he did say that he wouldn’t have made it back if not for the help of the man who was turned into the Flower's Defender... I believe you said his name was Tanda?"
Balsa smiled, showing teeth. “Tanda saved him?! Then it's only his body that's been taken over! His soul is clearly still around, at least. Master Torogai said that his soul should have been taken over as well."
"No. His soul seems to be just as it was--it matches his character as described, at least. The message about the last opportunity to save the dreamers was from Tanda to Master Torogai. But… he also said that he has no way of coming back."
Shuga retold Chagum's whole story to Balsa as well as he could remember it. When they reached the part about the First Queen, Balsa opened her eyes wide. "So that's it."
Shuga looked at Balsa with a puzzled expression.
"Well, you see, Master Torogai thought this was strange. Why did the Flower make Tanda into the Flower's Defender and force him to chase after Yugno? She thought it was out of character. Not the Flower’s usual behavior."
"I see. I was also very interested to hear Tanda's opinion about souls changing shape due to thoughts, and that shape being a manifestation of their true nature."
Shuga spoke with a sparkle in his eyes. Balsa only nodded, thinking that this was tangential to the conversation. She had no interest in magic weaving.
When Shuga stopped speaking, Balsa quickly changed the topic. "Shuga, can you contact one of the Hunters? Maybe Jin?”
The Hunters were a secret organization employed by the Mikado the the purpose of assassinating or otherwise thwarting his enemies. Only eight of the palace guard were appointed as Hunters at any given time. Their existence was a closely guarded secret, but Balsa had previously risked her life fighting them in order to protect Chagum. Shuga had found out about their existence only after becoming the right-hand man of the Holy Sage.
During that whole struggle, the Hunter Jin was saved by Tanda, and he’d vowed to someday repay the debt. He was an intelligent man and a good fighter, capable of keeping even Balsa busy for awhile.
"I think I’ll be able to contact him, but why?" Shuga asked.
“Tanda has become the Flower's Defender. It's terrifying; he moves like a wolf and his strength is incredible. A normal warrior would be no match for him."
Shuga nodded, though it still didn’t seem like he quite understood.
“Torogai needs to use a magic weaving technique called a Soul Call at the Mountain Palace in order to save all the people who are trapped in dreams, and I need to be there to protect her on the way. Yugno is who the Flower's Defender is really after, but I can’t just take him and escape while leaving Torogai alone. There's no guarantee that she won't be attacked. It would be best if all three of us go to the lake, so I can protect them both. For this to work, I’ll need someone else to distract the Flower’s Defender, if it comes to it.”
Balsa's brisk way of speaking reminded Shuga that she was an experienced bodyguard.
"The real problem is trying to stop the Flower’s Defender without killing Tanda. It can't be knocked unconscious, but I want to hurt Tanda as little as possible, especially now that I know his soul is still out there somewhere."
Balsa's expression became grim. "We don't know how long Torogai's barrier is going to last. That's why I rushed here on horseback. The stablehands had a rude awakening this morning as I banged on the door to rent one of their horses."
"Why do you want Jin, specifically?"
"Jin feels indebted to Tanda. And he would be able to fight the Flower’s Defender for a while in my place without getting killed." She paused briefly, then said, "I'm going to rent two horses and get them to Yashiro Village. As soon as Jin joins us, I’ll protect Torogai and Yugno as they head to the Mountain Palace. When we get there, Torogai can set up another barrier."
Shuga listened to Balsa's plan with calm complacence, but when it became clear that there was no more plan forthcoming, he said, “Balsa. I think there are a few problems with your plan."
Balsa nodded, encouraging him to continue.
"Jin is, officially speaking at least, a member of the imperial palace guard. He’s not allowed to leave his post without the Mikado's permission. And since we can’t be sure what will happen on that night, we need to evacuate the Mountain Palace to be on the safe side. This would also require the Mikado's permission."
"I see…"
Shuga grinned wryly. "There's one other matter we must discuss. Please keep in mind that the connection between Master Torogai and myself is a complete secret. If it were to be made public, I would be excommunicated immediately. While the current Holy Sage is an outstanding and open-minded man, I do not think even he would forgive me this indiscretion."
Balsa gave Shuga a piercing look. "You're saying that you can't afford the risk of being found out. So you can’t really help us."
Shuga withstood her gaze without flinching. "Yes. If Crown Prince Chagum was still asleep, that would be one thing, and I would have risked anything for his sake. Now that he’s been saved, I will not."
Balsa realized that Shuga’s polite exterior concealed a mercenary mind. "Pretty direct, aren't you?" But she smiled. "Unfortunately, this puts you at a disadvantage. I could expose your connection to Torogai any time I want. And I would do anything if it meant I could get Tanda back the way he was before."
They stared each other down. Shuga turned away first. “You’re right. My position is more precarious than yours. I’ll have to think of a way of making your plan succeed without getting myself expelled from the Star Palace."
Balsa nodded, then stood up. "Thanks, I guess. I'll draw you a map to the house we're staying in...” Then she caught herself with a gasp. At the same time, she and Shuga said, “I just thought of something.”
After a pause, Balsa spoke again. "How do you feel about having Chagum lie for the sake of the plan?"
Shuga smiled. "Yes. I could get him to say something about receiving instructions in a dream, or something…"
"Yeah. That kid has guts, so he could definitely pull it off."
"In that case, I'd better come up with a convincing story on the way back to the palace. If all goes well, Jin should arrive at your place by tomorrow morning."
"Let's hope that it does go well, then. For both our sakes." Balsa returned Shuga's smile.
***
When Shuga returned to the palace, he interrupted Chagum's sky reading lessons under the pretense of urgent business. Once they were left alone in the room, Shuga bent forward and whispered into Chagum's ear, telling him the plan that he and Balsa had come up with.
"Balsa! You saw Balsa?" Chagum's eyes shone.
"Yes. I found her as Your Highness has described. She is a rather... fearsome woman."
Chagum burst out laughing, but quickly composed himself. "So Balsa wants me to put on a little act to convince my father?"
Shuga nodded. "There are two main things we need to accomplish here. We must send Jin to Balsa's aid and evacuate the Mountain Palace. You need to make this happen without letting anyone know that these orders come from commoners like Torogai or Balsa."
Excitement lit up Chagum's eyes further. "That's why we're pretending that I saw all this in that dream? In that case, it would be best if I mentioned Emperor Yamur's Second Queen and her dream of the Mountain Palace, right?"
Shuga’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Indeed, I also considered that mentioning Mikado Yamur would work in our favor.” Shuga lowered his voice, then told Chagum the rest of the story he’d come up with.
Chagum listened closely, nodding all the way. "I understand. Leave it to me. Deceiving father with this will be child's play."
Shuga's face clouded over. "Your Highness, please do not underestimate the Mikado. He has a keen mind.”
Darkness dimmed a little of the excitement in Chagum’s eyes. "Don’t you think I know that? Me, who was almost killed by him?"
"I'm only making sure. The Mikado will no doubt ask for the Holy Sage’s counsel before passing down his judgement on the matter. To succeed, we must overcome the two most formidable people in this country: the Mikado and the Holy Sage. Please keep this in mind."
"I will. If I can't even do this much, then what was the point in me coming back here?" Chagum offered Shuga a fearless smile.
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