Okay, so to whoever is reading this, there are some things that I need to get clear, first off, I am not a literature student, neither am I an aspiring writer, I wanted to write this, so it is going to be very informal. Also, please give any suggestions to make the book better (take in mind that I am an extremely lazy dude). So, nothing really much that I want to put as an epilogue or whatever, so let's get right to it. Also, the "AN" you will subsequently see in brackets stands for author's notes
Four corners
So, the scene opens up on the princess walking rather wearily along with her personal butler, they don't seem to be carrying much of anything as luggage, neither do they appear to be in any sort of carriage, which is really weird given their status. The two walk with old clothes and a few bruises and cuts here and there. The butler seems rather unbothered and unaffected by his current state of being, and if so, concealed quite well(AN: also, keep in mind that I am writing this on whim, so my mood's going to be changing a lot and so will the way I write), the butlers clothes were strained, worn, and frayed at the edges, the marks and compressions on the clothes carried the signs of prolonged battles, and the princess' clothes were similar, but in far better condition than that of the butler's, her white creamy skin carried signs that you were not likely to find on others, being a princess, her body was always under the utmost care, and after the wear and tear of a rather long journey, even the slightest things had their toll on her, slight bruising, healing scars, even dust that was accumulating on her face, arms and legs had begun to darken her skin "Please tell me we're near the end of this land, all these crime-infested villages are really starting to annoy me. I know ever since the coup de tat, life has been hard for many in our land, but never like this", the princess said while wiping balls of sweat off her clean white spotless but dirtied face, yes, my people, princesses are capable of sweating over here, the butler brings out a map from his pocket and looks at it, unlike for many of his age, he didn't squint or use glasses, showing he still had the virile blood of his youth coursing through his body. He looked at the map with as plain as an expression as he ever had, took a quick look at his surroundings, then at the princess. "If we go by this map and what we were told by the few people from previous villages that we were able to converse peacefully with, then we are about to enter the eye of the storm" (at this point the princess lights up thinking that this will be the end of her troubles)," Mind you, my lady, it isn't what you think, brace yourself, because this village is in the very center of this hurricane of a land". "Let's just hope that it will be easy to blend in", the princess said with a drawn look on her face, "May we never have the need to do so among thieves and convicts". The princess and the butler move over the last hill with suppressed bloodlust under their breaths, then oh my, the image they see, they see...…. a village, a peaceful village, ripe with children and buzzing with the activities of people that all seemed to be doing something, it was like a Disney movie.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
It seemed like if even one person should leave, this perfect order, this sublime system would all fall apart. There was ruckus and noise that showed that everyone was doing what they should have. The clanking of metal from the blacksmith's shop at the entrance of the village, the underlying bubbling of food being prepared, the children playing around in the sun and sand enjoying youth, and those among that had to leave to enjoy the aforementioned food, it all blended together into something beautiful.
"Butler, are you sure this isn't an eye", "As for what I can see, this might as well be the whole head".
(This refers to a the understanding of the fact that, at the center of a tornado is where it is absolutely still and calm)
The princess and the butler both made their way down the hill and into the village, never letting their guard down, they had grown to learn that appearances are more deceptive than most people. So, this whole village could all be a ruse to steal anything off them (I didn't put it at the beginning, since I didn't describe the dressing of the princess and the butler, but the princess still has 2 rings that if sold would fetch a pretty penny, and their clothes, though torn and dirty, would be worth much more enough to buy any house in that village). They were met by a few suspecting faces and scanning eyes, but nothing unexpected, being unfamiliar faces in a new village. "Oi, butler, you're sure we didn't die and are dreaming right now, right?", "I am not so certain my princess, just stay on your guard, for all we know this could all be an illusion". Eventually a villager(who I now realise didn't come up with an apperance) made his way to them and popped the big question, "Hello there", the princess responded, trying to conceal how tense she was, thinking this could all be a properly staged ambush, "Good day sir, please, is there any chance you can show us to the head of the village, we are travelers and are hoping to rest here for a while ", "I thought as much, there are hardly ever any new faces around here, even the insurgent King's men, so as I saw the two of you and how noticed that you had no ill intentions, I took the liberty of calling the village head to you", the villager bowed moved out the way, stretching a hand to his side, motioning to an average height man, wearing a Yukata and holding a hand fan in his right hand. He was a bit above average in terms of height, with brown hair that made him seem like the loved village head that he was. The village head greeted them with a big smile on his face and said, "welcome to our quaint and peaceful village, please, we have much to discuss, let us not do so on empty stomachs", the head took them to a local sake parlor, on the way there, he greeted and was greeted by virtually everybody, which made sense since it was such a small village, it would be strange if everybody didn't know, well, everybody. When they were given food, neither the princess nor the butler took a single bite. The village head had to do something to change the atmosphere, to immerse these two travelers into the conversation, to set the mood. Then the village head's expression shifted, no, shifted isn't the right word here, his aura ...…changed completely, it wasn't unsettling or threatening, it just showed that he meant business, "Now, let us talk", then he shifted back to his original disposition, "I understand that that little trick may have frightened the lady, but a man of your caliber should get the message", "Of course I do", The butler replied and proceeded to address his companion, "We have nothing to fear princess, he means us no harm, but he is here to ascertain whether we mean any harm to his people or not", "Quite right, I am wondering if it really is the fourth princess of our country and the head-servant of the palace that sit before me or if it is two brazen robbers under disguise that I should quicky take care of", the princess jumped at this utterance, and his words were followed by a limp silence, which was then broken by the princess, "All right, I will tell you of the reason for our travelling.
I am sure it is no news that my father, King Drusan, was killed by his former brother-in-arms and usurped by his killer, since then this country has known nothing but hardships (kind of like when Mufasa was killed in the lion king), he was planning on making me and my sisters his wives, some of us ran, some of us were captured, but refused to any such thing. Now I, along with other embers of the resistance travel the land, looking for people with potential that can take down the prince of knives", "Hmm, let's say I agree with you, why come here, the villages you must have passed on your way here, and the ones beyond, must have had hundreds, if not thousands of men strong enough to single handedly destroy this whole village, so why did your path lead you here", The village head remarked. "Well, as for the warriors of other lands, getting them caught up in this would bring up political issues, so I would like to only go to them as a last resort, and what we are looking for is not strength, if it was, we would not have travelled half the distance that we have, we are looking for potential, not strength, as it stands, the prince of knives stands shoulders above all in this land, that is, after he beat the previous strongest, my father, while my father was drowning in the work and duties of being king and didn't have time to refine his battle techniques", the village head looked on in curiosity, beginning to believe the two strangers. Then the head dared to ask, "Our little village sadly is not so keen to news of this sort, so I must ask, how did the mighty king Drusan get killed". The princess could not bring herself to recount the tale, so the butler stepped in instead, "If I may, our young lady is not so keen to retell the story herself, so, for formality's sake I will do so in her stead. In this world you are well aware of the fact that there are people who are regarded as geniuses, Drusan and Mikea can be regarded as birds of the same feather in that category, they were both highly adept to using Haki, the life force that flows and strengthens just about all living things. Drusan was sort of a brawler type with the ability to make feints and fluid movements that could deceive even the most experienced fighters, while Mikea was a swordsman, he resembled Drusan in the sense that they were both physically inclined Haki users. But as every man is different from the next, so were these two. Drusan was as good with the sword as Mikea, and even better at hand-to-hand combat, so when it came down to it, Drusan was the better. Their brotherhood though was not affected by this difference in skill, in fact, Mikea was Drusan's most trusted comrade. They were so like brothers, that Drusan's father, the king at the time adopted Mikea as his own, putting both of them up to be king candidates. It seemed to be Drusan that would easily win, then, Mikea manifested, his physical, mental and battle prowess skyrocketed, and so it seemed that the tables had turned on the two. Just like that, the time came for the selection, there were a rigorous number of trials and test for the king candidates, in which many sons and daughters were eliminated, eventually only the two stood tall, then the final selection, the battle was conducted. The two battled, and the very grounds of the castle shook that day to their foundations, and all seemed lost and all hope gone for Drusan as lay bloodied under the fist of the manifested Mikea, in a shocking turn of events, he too had a manifestation of his own, and with that won the battle and become the king to all. Everything was peaceful during his reign and he made time for all of his subjects, and his was even more peaceful than that of his father, but he made one mistake, he focused too much on the people, and he grew weak, his battle senses dulled, and the precision of his techniques grew distant from him while those that were after his head grew stronger with each passing day. One night, the moon was halfway through its monthly cycle, the rain beat gently on the ground, and I was beside his majesty as he attended to matters of state with the local leaders of some deviant communities. In the middle of the discussion, the king raised his left hand to motion silence among everyone, and then told them all to leave, they questioned why, and almost immediately, an arrow came in with a swift whistling sound and other worldly precision, his hand went to his right side to catch said arrow that was targeted at his skull, all the leaders, amazed at the even that they had just witnessed were assassinated on the spot, Butler, evacuate everyone in the castle NOW!!!, he said then I asked him 'Sir, won't you need the help of your army and the general', he responded, 'look around you, those are our arrows, if not the rest of fleet, I would recognize the presence of Mikea anywhere. He leads this confrontation, and he wouldn't come all the way out here for a talk', 'but sir, you want to defeat the whole army on your own?', 'Bah, even though I do not want to believe that it is my own brother in arms that leads them, I know that whoever it is, wants to fight me alone, that arrow was not to kill me', with a form full of fury, he snapped the arrow still in hand in two. I followed his majesty's orders, but I was only able to save roughly half of the castle, the rest were taken captive, and I managed to only rescue a few of the princesses, the princes were in fact, the first to be attacked. I rushed over to the king as fast as I could, I weaved my way through the battlefield, but when I got there, I could not do a thing, I stood there as an antelope watching the battle of two lions, and when my master's eyes finally caught mine, he mouthed the word to me, a word that was more than enough for me to understand. He said, LEAVE, I understood him fully, he wanted to end this battle himself, he wanted no interruptions at all, even the soldiers outside, on either side, dared not enter, I left that day heartbroken, because even though my master had a smile that beamed of a close victory, his countenance showed nothing of the sort, he jaw seemed to swell at the side, from experience of treating wounds of warriors, I knew it had smashed in, his body had cuts and bruises everywhere, there were other things that made his victory less likely, but for my respect for him, and the presence of his daughter, I refuse to say them, but upon all, he showed no weakness in the face of adversity, as his opponent stood over him like a hunter standing tall over his prey. The battle turned into that of the awakened". The princess, try as she might could hardly hold back tears from the corners of her eyes. The atmosphere had a slight change after the butler had finished his recount.
"I am sorry for your loss; you have my deepest condolences. King Drusan will always be missed in this country. But with my deepest apologies, I will have to send you on your way, for this village has not what you seek". The butler looked on with slight disbelief and courteously asked for a private audience with the village head. They went to the corner of the stall and they had a private conversation, the village briefly showed an angered countenance, which was then appeased by the butler. After a few minutes the two came back to join the princess. "It's time we find a place to stay for the night, so that we might be on our way tomorrow". The butler said to Princess Ayesha. "But what of ou…", "we will determine tomorrow whether who we are looking for is in this village or not before we leave my lady. Of that I can assure you". The princess was caught off guard, but trusted the judgement of her companion. "Very well. And where do you suppose we stay for tonight". "There was an inn, but unfortunately was destroyed by a fell tree some time ago. But there is one person that is willing to take you in, but you have to manage with the... uhm... facilities", the village head motioned for the two to follow, they weaved through the inner reaches of the land, moved through the food vendors and the workers, the artisans and craftsmen at work, builders and caterers. Surely this land would hardly need anyone from the outside for support.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Their walk seemed to take them through the entire village, until they came to stop by a wide hut, built like a silo, but the structure was very different, there were extensions, protrusions and connections to it that seemed very out of place. Behind the silo though was what would serve as the very heart of the village, rows upon rows of crops of all kinds, from rice to millet, different fruits of all kinds (AN: I'm not sure of what fruits or crops to be here, I'm trying to model this world to Japan as much as I can, but I'm not that accustomed to their food yet), the air seemed to carry a peace and calmness that was absolutely ecstatic. The butterflies and bees all went around going about their regular routines. The rabbits, the flies, the insects, if possible, the farm seemed more at peace than the village (AN: I think I'm overhyping, the farm, pls, your opinion). Afar stood a figure, one person, tending to the roots of rice shrub. He was too far to make out any of his features, but what could be made out was he was wearing a straw hat, and he probably had on some blue jewelry because whenever light hit his face, it would give off a blue glimmer.
Before the princess could make out any more features, she had to quickly catch up with the two men who ever so thoughtfully left her behind. They went round and entered a protrusion of the silo that seemed to have been constructed on the silo like structure after the main structure's construction. When they entered, to say that the princess was taken aback would be understatement. There were evidences that a person was living there, a tatami mat, a chair, plates at a corner, a few cups, and several more of essential living items around, but still, not much of anything. It seemed that this was the room of someone training to be Buddha, to ascend above all earthly desires and achieve divinity. They made their way to two chairs by the windows. As anyone would think, the butler stood while his lady and the village head sat down seemingly awaiting someone. "I have to ask, is this the place we'll be staying", the princess asked with just the slightest hint of disbelief underlying in her tone, "Oh, of course, the owner of this pace is a very free person, he'll have no problem at all letting the both of you staying over", the village head said while fanning himself with his hand fan. As if called, the owner entered his abode, he was not bulky, but at the same time not lanky, he had gloss of sweat over his body from his work on the field. And now it was apparent, he had no jewelry on his head, it was simply his eyes, his eyes were undeniably and deeply blue. They seemed to be able to give off their own light.
He set his straw hat down and went to put on his straw and twine slippers after washing his feet. His guests waited patiently and silently for his audience and when he arrived in their presence. He gave off only the warmest but not too bright smile. He then greeted his leader, "YO old man Yusha, how are you, it's been a while since you paid us on this far side a visit, also what's with the new people", "Stop calling me an old man (AN: wow, at this point in time I'm just realizing I forgot to come up with a name for the main character🙆♂️🙆♂️🙆♂️eweee), Roan, I'm just a few years older than you", The village head replied, "Doesn't matter, age is only a number, plus, you're a whole lot smarter than me, so of course you're like an old man to me. So did you come over for something important, cos if not, let me go outside and put something together for us so we can have a game of shoji" the house owner said with a very obvious mix of enthusiasm in his speech, "That will have to wait for another day my friend. I have some urgent business to attend to in the market square this evening, but I would like you to help me out with something", "Sure, anything for the greatest head ever, you're the boss", the conversation between the village head and the farmer continued and the village head asked the man called Roan if the butler and the princess could spend the night at his place, all the while, the princess marveled and was in awe of his spotless blue eyes. The lining of the iris was seemingly perfect, given a closer look the princess could make out his features better, simply spectacular. His musculature was toned and well-structured from long hours in the field, which obviously hid more power than they led to believe, his slippers were even mysterious, he only wore them when he entered coupled with the fact the slippers had gone through a hundred and one repairs. A truly strange man boy indeed. "No problem at all, so this is princess, huh". He still had a smile but now it had regressed into a contoured sympathetic one with little or no more enthusiasm, he said with a heavy face, "say, I heard your father died, I'm really sorry, it must've been really hard for you.", Roan said with pain in his voice that touched if not everyone, at least the princess'. "But nobody likes a dull mood, don't worry, I'll make sure this is the best one night of your entire travel, it's not a castle, but it has the roomy features of home. But first let's get the two of you washed, fed and rested. Let's go to the river, only the finest for our lady", he said with a bright smile on his face.
He greeted his village head goodbye and led his visitors to a river at the bottom of valley which connected to one of the nearby hills. The river ran along the bank like glass, or so it seemed because of the evening light. The wind blew gently and gave off the most comforting feeling, the occasional bird or two would fly by to give a song welcoming the two guests. "Ladies first I suppose, come on…. ummm.... What exactly am I supposed to call you, Mr. Butler sir". Roan asked after realizing that he had never been properly acquainted with the butler, or maybe he just forgot his name. "You may refer to me as Mr. Grey my good sir.", "Great, okay, let's leave the little misses to do her business". Roan left to guide the butler to another section of the river where he could tend to himself privately. The princess was very cautious of removing her clothes, but she was put at ease by the fact that her faithful butler would never allow a man ogle a her while she bathed. As she undressed, she was reminded of evening in the royal bath with her second eldest sister, [these brackets stand to say that I have not yet figured out a name for this person]. They were engaged in idle chatter. It was just 2 months away from Nelissa's marriage. She was so overwhelmed that she would blush bright ripe red anytime that there was any mention of her marriage or of her darling husband. Ayesha asked her sister what it was like on the way to devoting her whole life to one man, to know that all other men would become unapproachable for her, to tie her life, her destiny, her very existence to that of another, and as if to make things worse, to be regarded under him. Nelissa could only understand all too well the feelings of little sister and responded in way befitting a person of her, Nelissa being a very meek and calm woman, spoke in a smooth and intellectual way befitting one of her status and age, "Ayesha, I used to think that way as well, but Kuret isn't like other men, he sees as an equal as any other man, even though we are not married, he still confides with me when making any major decisions. I remember when we were still courting, he tried to train a pigeon so it could only take messages between the two of us (at this point they both laugh). He doesn't see me as a formality, he would unmistakenly be eternally grateful to marry me. What makes it better is that he doesn't need a façade, he knows every little flaw of mine, and mine him, but we love each other all the same. One day, I hope you will find such a man, a man who will hope not to preside over you, but see you as an equal in all ways, a man that you would worry whether he held your life in his hands or not, a man whose life is as good as yours and yours his". All the while Ayesha reflected on this conversation with her sister, her eyes were closed and a tear found its way through. How painful was it, to have such an event to be ended due to the battles of old men.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As the butler was led by Roan, he couldn't help but study the young boy. He walked loosely and with his body swaying from side to side at time like a drunkard, but two things were evident, the first being in cases say when he would be likely to hit a branch, most people would take a different path, but he would rather shift only the part of his body that would be affected. His movements resembled that of a fighter that never wasted any movements. The second was his incredible eyesight, in fact it was so astounding, one could hardly call it eyesight to begin with. His eyes never left the path but he seemed to know everything that was going on around him, whether it be a spider, a twig, a moth, just about nothing escaped his senses. By the time they got to another section of the village, sir Grey had to but ask. But Roan spoke first, "Here we are, the best part of the lake, second only to the one that the princess is staying, I would have asked you to use my bath, but it's not even close to the level of a princess and her trusted companion". The butler replied as due, "Thank you very much for the hospitality. Your village is a very rare sort in this land. Tell me, why is that your little village acts as an oasis, surrounded by some of the most crime ridden and hostile you might ever find". Roan racked his brain for a while, but couldn't come up with any tangible reason, "I honestly don't know. Everyone here just has no reason for it. Or maybe it's because our village has been here for hundreds of years, maybe even a thousand. And we've always the Yusha clan looking after us. He's really reliable, we always listen to him cause sometimes, it's like he can tell the future. You never really know what's on that old dude's mind, and he always seems to be right". The butler was not surprised, that village head was anything but ordinary. And if there was a village governed by a whole clan of what he had seen previously that day, then it was in better than good hands. "But I am also curious to something else. Is it that perhaps you were previously a fighter of some sort". "Well, there was a time when my dad tried to train me. But he wasn't able to train me properly", the butler, very adept to reading the atmosphere decided not to enquire any further. Part of the reason was that he noticed that whenever the issue of fathers was brought about him, the slightest details about him would suddenly become unnerved and unhinged.
Later on, we find the butler in his barest state, submerged of course, mulling over the events to occur the following day, he took some time enjoying the bliss of taking a cold bath after a long journey. He wonders whether it was the right thing to do, but to console himself, he thinks that it was something that was meant to be taken care of to begin with. He stares to the sky with a stern expression, his eyes glistening a little showing a reflection of the night sky. What would tomorrow hold, he thought.