Chapter Nine—The Lanchiu Estate

With smooth faces, at least for the most part, since Hiro and Ujiro still maintained neatly trimmed mustaches and beards on their chins, the group made its way through the city of Xanjer, up the hills and past many residences until they reached a luxurious quarter guarded by outposts and walls.

They were admitted into the neighborhood where the Lanchiu Estate was located. All Adrienne had to do was provided a stamped letter of permission given to her by the head servant of the house. As they stalked up the hill among the pristine gardens and red-painted arches along the private walls of many individual manor houses, each bigger and more luxurious than the next, the residents, some few to be sure, glanced upon them. Their eyes did not linger. Either because of their newly acquired clothes, or that the onlookers were simply servants, their group was clearly blending. None of the three samurai knew, but Adrienne was satisfied.

“Oh,” Hiro said with an appreciative nod to the neighborhood. “Very nice.”

“You think this is nice?” Adrienne asked without turning around as she continued to lead them forward. Then she did turn where she walked backwards. “You haven’t seen anything yet. The Twin Cities are filled with such places, many of them with more money than even this. Kings and leaders from other nations have estates here.”

“Truly?” Haru asked, a note of surprise in his tone. He was still glancing about in awe of the city, which could easily be seen in wide view from atop the hillside where they were. There were many roads forming neatly coordinated gridlines in the lower parts of the Xanjer. Massive structures climbed the skies while the smaller ones huddled down, but even those smaller ones were four to five stories in height.

Many of the structures had red pillars and grey-brown, green and blue tiled roofs. The larger structures looked to be palaces, temples, castles of war and banks. Haru had never seen the like. It all made the Mikuman Empire seem small and provincial.

“Mhm,” Adrienne said in answer to Haru’s question.

“They are much more difficult to con,” Fuwafuwa said from atop her shoulder. “Muzukashii desu. Very, very muzukashii.”

“That’s enough,” Adrienne said in obvious warning as she wagged her finger to the little yōkai. “It was an accident, okay?”

“What was an accident?” Hiro asked, wanting to know the story behind whatever was not being said in the open.

“It’s nothing,” Adrienne added quickly before Fuwafuwa could speak more on the topic. Then suddenly she stopped and turned around. “All right, the Lanchiu Estate is just up ahead. Now, make sure you play your parts like we discussed. You’re here to make me look good—like I’ve got the muscle to back up anything I deem necessary to get Miss Mei Ling back.”

“You do have the muscle,” Hiro said.

Ujiro caught up. He had been in the back of the group. He wore jet-black leather shoes with upturned points, voluminous silken trousers and green robes over a similar silken tunic. His robes were gathered about his shoulders where the hood lay back. The fabric was of high quality cut and the samurai looked like a high official or grand master of a kind. “Do not worry, Yōkaii-chan. We will do our part.”

She smiled, satisfied that he had used her street name, the name she was trying to build for her new mercenary company.

Then with a bandit’s grin, Ujiro added. “We will all play our parts perfectly.”

Adrienne nodded. “Remember, we’re just going in to take a look around for any evidence of the crime so we can ‘find out’ who kidnapped lady Lanchiu’s daughter, got it?”

“But why the farce?” Hiro asked. “Did you not tell us on the way here that you already know where she is being held?”

“Listen,” Adrienne said as she spread her arms. “Imagine, after the corrupt City Watch fails to save your daughter, I walk in there and get her back in a single day. That won’t make much of a splash in people’s ears when they hear the morning criers, now will it?”

“No,” Hiro said. “I suppose you are right.”

“But what about the girl?” Haru asked. “Is it not wrong and dishonorable to let her remain in the clutches of her captors? They could be doing anything to her.”

“Listen, mister—do I look like some kind of bleeding heart to you?” Then her tone sharpened as Haru obviously hit a nerve. “I think saving her worthless silken behind should be thanks enough after I risk my haunch going in to grab her from that den of pirates! Where’s my reward, huh? What, no answer? Listen, we do this my way, okay?”

Haru looked at her. They all did. Hiro scratched his chin. “Do not worry, Adrienne,” he said with a hand indicating peaceful intent. “We do not wish to change your plans. Young Haru­-kun is simply concerned for the wellbeing of the girl.”

“Yeah?” Adrienne said, glancing at Haru as she leaned her weight onto her hip where her rapier rested. “If truth be told, she’s probably already been violated.”

“What?” Haru asked, eyes widening.

“Over and over again, kid.”

The samurai almost choked. How could it be possible?! The words would not come out of his mouth. The girl was being abused like that while Adrienne sat on the knowledge of where she was being held? What dishonor! The young samurai felt the blood rush to his face, his jaw tighten considerably. Instinctually—and not because he intended to use his sword at this time—his hand went toward the hilt of his blade.

“Or, they might keep her nice and fresh,” Adrienne went on. “To sell her, you know? The buyers like them… ‘unspoiled’ if you know what I mean. You better get used to it. This kind of thing is rife here in the Twin Cities. Why do you think this neighborhood has walls and guards?”

“Easy,” Hiro said, putting a hand on Haru’s shoulder. “We are in a new place, my friend. We do not know what we are walking into. We must be careful, or even we may find ourselves on the edge of our enemy’s blades, yes?”

“Hai!” Ujiro nodded with a growl. “He is right, Haru-kun.”

“I think you should listen to your friends,” Adrienne said, and then she shared a quick glance with Fuwafuwa, who said nothing, though she saw a mildly worried look in his eyes. She did not understand why Haru was in such a rage. Did these samurai guys run around looking to save people? She did not think that was what samurai did, so what was the problem, here?

Swallowing, Haru was able to let his immediate anger subside, but it remained shouldering, waiting to be unleashed with his sword. If those gangsters were as evil as Adrienne suggested, he would cut them all down without a second’s thought.

“I imagine,” Ujiro said, “that this gang—what did you call them?”

She put her hand on the pummel of her sword. “The Palace of Fang Wang.”

“Yes,” he said. “The Palace of Fang Wang. I do not doubt that they have captured other girls from their beds, and recently. There may be other prisoners. Imagine that.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Should we not rescue them?”

Adrienne laughed. “You samurai are a funny bunch. All caught up in your honor, are you?”

“No,” Ujiro said with a smirk. “After we rescue the other prisoners—“

“Assuming there are any, old man Uji.”

That rankled, but he went on while ignoring her comment, “We may be able to acquire other bounties or fame from such an action. Is that not what you want?”

“Hmm,” she noised and put a hand on her chin in thoughtful rumination of that.

“He doesn’t sound wrong,” Fuwafuwa squeaked.

She nodded. “Yeah. Well listen, we don’t know anything yet, so let’s just get this done—get into the Palace of Fang Wang and find the girl we are going to rescue. Then if an opportunity presents itself for us to save anyone else, we’ll see what happens, all right?”

Adrienne did not need this getting needlessly complicated, or mucked up by a bunch of sentimental old guys. She had been building her reputation around her persona known as Yōkaii-chan. She was a Twin Cities rat of noble background, a duelist, an investigator, and a thief. And if these bums do well, she thought, then maybe the leader of a really small mercenary company. With that last thought, a thrill took her. That was why she hung around the outskirt villages, to find some destitute slobs with some skills.

Well, these fools were it!

“A agree with that strategy,” Hiro said with a nod, and it was not lost on him that Ujiro had shared a glance with Haru while he had stated his ideas about saving any other prisoners. Perhaps that subtle glance of recognition between him and Haru-kun was lost on the younger samurai, but it was clear to Hiro that Ujiro was assisting his desire to help, rather than to work purely out of a want for coin and fame—to leave the poor Lanchiu girl to the fate of evil criminals.

And the fame would go to Adrienne in any event. But if they managed to catch some of that windfall, that could be a very, very good thing for the three rōnin as well. They had a great need to make a living in this new place, and why not do it with their swords? They had all the skills required. It was not as if any of them knew how to bake bread.

They came to the gate, Fuwafuwa completely hidden where he liked to perch atop Adrienne’s shoulder, though he whispered, “Here we go!”

“Shh!” Adrienne commanded.

The gate to the Lanchiu Estate was tall and built of wrought iron. The walls were of a height that they could not be scaled without tall ladders or hook-ended ropes. But even so, there was a tower in the yard with two guards clearly visible as they maintained their vigil.

Ujiro thought it more of a deterrent than an actual preventative measure against an armed assault. Any bandits that wanted to break into the Lanchiu estate would first have to break through the neighborhood watch, which consisted of ten guards supplied from the City Barracks not far from there.

In fact, there were many City Watch Barracks throughout the city, many of which had clearly been positioned by the city planners for just such a reason. And even though the City Watch had guards at the gate, it was not lost on the older samurai that some of the “residents” in the neighborhood were in fact private guards disguising themselves.

The neighborhood was a veritable fortress, and probably became so after the Lanchiu girl had been taken from her bed.

They came to the gate. “Halt!” one of the two guards said. He was a friendly-looking man with a Xanjeran cap on his head. The band around the temple was green with a yellow strip. A silver medallion rested at the front depicting an ornate shell. In his hand a pike with a large blade stood erect as the butt of the weapon lay against the paving stones.

“What’s with that grumpy attitude, Yo?” Adrienne asked lightly.

The man’s face softened. “My apologies, Yōkaii-chan. He glanced to the other guard who was similarly appareled and also wearing voluminous trousers tucked in at the calf where his leather boots were buckled up, his green and yellow tabard a mark of the Lanchiu residence personal guard. “Lady Lanchiu has ordered the guard to be extra vigilant to any challengers at the gate.”

Adrienne made a face. “You know anybody else around here that looks like me?”

“No, but who do you bring in your company?”

“These three men are my associates. I told lady Lanchiu that I would be bringing further assistance. I sent a runner just yesterday. Did she receive my correspondence?”

“I believe so,” Yo said with a nod. “But forgive me, I must check again.”

“Of course,” Adrienne said.

Yo then proceeded through the gate and into the manor where he disappeared inside. They waited for what seemed an interminable time, but then the guard came back out. “Let them through,” he said with a beckoning motion. The other guard opened the gate as Yo stepped out. “I pray that you find something that can lead you to the whereabouts of Miss Mei Ling.”

“Of course,” Adrienne said. “I have every confidence that my new associates will help me do just that.”

He nodded. “Zhu ni hao yun.”

As they passed through the gate and into the front gardens, Hiro marveled at the money. For surely it was money resulting in… all of what they saw. Among the perfectly manicured lawns, blooming flowers reached up to the grey skies, all manner of which presenting a mosaic of color and elegance among the statues and fountains in the yard.

Flanking the walkways was a latticework of wooden pillars and trellises where briars grew. From above, lanterns hung, though they were not lit. The house loomed over them, making Hiro crane his neck to see under the lacquered eves. On the steps leading to the doors, where another set of Lanchiu guards stood at attention were lion statues with mustaches, though their countenances somewhat resembled the Great Serpent’s Mouth gate—and in their eyes rested green gemstones that drew his eye.

Did they glow? He could not say.

They stepped forth up to the doors and the two guards, stone-faced, opened them. The interior of the Lanchiu manor was somewhat darker than Hiro had expected. A red runner led to a double balustrade and on either side of the stairs stood great statues where arched entrances painted with red trim. Above the arches rested orange and yellow lanterns that provided a soft glow to the floors and the wall furniture where vases painted from dynasties past rested.

There was a woman on the landing, flanked by a small procession of attendees. Kami-sama! he thought. This lady was much like a princess, or perhaps a queen.

Confidently, Adrienne strode forward and bowed eloquently. “Lady Lanchiu.”

“Miss Yōkaii-chan,” she said with merely a dip of her chin. Lady Lanchiu wore flowing robes of silk swathed in red and green and yellow. Upon the robes the foreign scripts of Xanjer and Darxien glinted in gold, and her hair was done up in an intricate display, held by pins and fastened by gold bands. Her face was powdered, but the whites of her eyes were far to red.

It was evident to Hiro that lady Lanchiu had been crying earlier in the day. A pang of sorrow jabbed at Haru, and Ujiro narrowed his eyes just slightly.

“I recived your runner you sent yesterday,” Lady Lanchiu said. “But I must admit to being slightly confused. Your message was somewhat… vague. Who are these men?”

“My apologies,” Adrienne said. “I have brought some of my associates here to help. I believe that, should they have the opportunity of seeing the place of Mei Ling’s abduction, they may be able to aid me in ascertaining clues as to who has taken your daughter.”

Being the most observant of human nature in the group, Ujiro easily saw the very subtle tensing of Lady Lanchiu’s muscles as the word “abduction” came out of Adrienne’s mouth. Had he been the one speaking, he would have softened his communication in just such a manner as to convey the same facts, but without such a blatantly harsh reality of the situation. It was clear to the samurai that the lady of the house was suffering from extended difficulties due to her current hardship.

But Adrienne was young. Ujiro knew that in time, he could easily school her in the ways of more… subtle communication. Should she be open to such learning, of course. Sympathizing for lady Lanchiu, he stepped forward and said, “No man, weather he be spy, ninja or imperial agent, can leave a place without something of himself left behind. You may rest assured, my lady, that we will find answers.”

The lady turned her head slightly, obviously surprised by what Ujiro said. “And who are you, may I ask?”

“As I said, Lady Lanchiu,” Adrienne began. She gestured to the group. “These men are my associates who—“

Ujiro interrupted. “We hail from the Mikuma Empire, Lady Lanchiu. We are samurai.”

Adrienne turned and glanced at Ujiro with some level of frustration on her features.

“Samurai?” Lady Lanchiu asked, a sharpening of her tone. Her throat moved and it was evident that she wanted to swallow as she blinked quickly. It was obvious to Ujiro that it was all she could do not to break down and begin to sob in front of them all.

“Hai!” Ujiro said, his tone gravelly but deep and stern, conveying a note of pride. “Once we find what we need, our blades will taste the blood of the men who have wronged you, and your daughter Mei Ling will be returned to you.”

She continued looking at them, her eyes fluttering even harder now as a tear trailed down her cheek. Subtly and ever so gently, she caught it with her forefinger as to not disturb the powder upon her face too deeply. “Then I give you full permission to conduct your search of my daughter’s chambers once again.” She turned toward the stairs on her right and took two strides, then suddenly she jerked her head toward them, her hair bobbing and the jewels dangling. “Lady Yōkaii-chan.”

“Yes?”

Lady Lanchiu’s eyes darted to the faces of the three samurai. “If you find out who took my Mei Ling—do what you must and you will be well rewarded.”

Adrienne said nothing more, only nodded firmly as Lady Lanchiu pulled up the hem of her skirts and went to the rooms on the second level, her aides behind her, pampering her all the way, though one remained. He was thin and had a narrow face with pockmarks in his cheeks. “Come,” he said.

“Lead the way, Feng,” Adrienne said.

Together the group went up the stairs, then up another flight to the third level. The corridors were immaculate. Not a speck of dust adorned the painted vases and all the flowers were alive and luscious, the lanterns burning brightly and providing good light to see by, even on this overcast day. Despite all these things, Hiro thought the house felt cold, perhaps a reflection of the lady’s mood. It was not lost on the servants who took good care of their lords and ladies that sometimes it was best to reflect the feelings of their employers with their own actions.

Grief, was a strange thing he thought.

The servant called Feng, wore black trousers and jacket, pressed perfectly with crisp lines. Hiro suspected he was the master servant of the household. But where was the lord? Was there no male heir to the Lanchiu estate?

Feng took them to a large bedchamber that was sumptuously decorated, the bed larger than Hiro had ever seen and adorned by four varnished and lacquered wooden posts, each one carved with the likeness a different animal. On the boards below the mattress more scrawl work was present, glinting in tons of gold and silver. The room was altogether warm, and clearly that of a young girl, as the lace curtains on the bed were of a luscious pink, similar to the flowers outside of the chamber.

“Again!” Feng said, his intonation on the word having a strange lilt to it, “Mei Ling’s chambers! …have not been touched. Please! …do not disturb… anything.”

“I assure you, we will not,” Adrienne said. Then she turned to the samurai and put her hands on her hips. “You got that, you ruffians?”

Ujiro raised a skeptical eyebrow. Not at what Adrienne called them—well, not for that specifically—but that her demeanor had suddenly changed despite the master servant Feng being present. Would he not deliver any information to his mistress on the behavior of Adrienne and her… “companions”?

The young girl has much to learn, Ujiro thought. “Of course not,” he said, affirming in the most skillful way possible. “We know what we are doing. We have done it before—many times.”

“Mm,” Hiro said with a nod.

“Of course,” Feng said. “I will be just inside the corridor should you have any need of me.”

“Good,” Adrienne said. “We will call you if we have questions.”

Once Feng closed the door behind him, Adrienne turned with a smile. “Well, we made it in, boys.”

Ujiro raised another eyebrow, though his reaction was one less of determined action rather than simply reacting to the golden-haired girl’s behavior, which so far among any of them, would be the behavior that gave away their little ruse.

But was it a ruse? She knew where Mei Ling was being held. With that knowledge in hand, they could go and rescue her. Right now, even.

“Now what?” Haru asked.

“Now nothing,” Adrienne said. “We poke around a bit like we’re looking for something, and of course we will reveal some nonsense we call ‘evidence’ and go rescue Mei Ling. Easy.”

Kami-sama! The girl was going to reveal the whole farce. He raised a finger to his lips.

“What?” Adrienne asked.

To indicate his thoughts, he glanced about as if there were hidden men inside the walls.

“Ohhh,” Adrienne said with a slow nod. Then she put her finger to her own lips.

“I’m surprised you didn’t consider that before, Adrienne,” Fuwafuwa squeaked, though he did so in a hushed tone, his manner overtly conspiratorial.

“I do not like this farce,” Haru said.

“Listen,” Adrienne responded, her tone still hushed. “We’ll be out of here soon, then you can get your sword bloody, okay?”

The younger rōnin said nothing to that, though the muscles of his jaw tensed.

“Will it really come to that?” Ujiro asked. “Can we not sneak into that Palace of Fang Wang and get the girl out in secret?”

Adrienne shrugged. “We probably could, old man, Uji, but that won’t make much noise. And besides, those gangsters all deserve what’s coming to them anyway.”

Ah, Hiro thought. So the girl did have something against them for their evil deeds, and she would be the one to punish them. Hiro was not one to be angry for the girl, or feel a need to strike out in vengeance for her sake, but he would not be against bringing his blade to bear for her sake, either. “In any event,” he said, “I am ready. But…” He shook his head. “I am no ninja.”

“Mmm,” Ujiro noised with a nod. “None of us are ninja.”

“Okay,” Adrienne said. “I don’t know what you guys are talking about, but when we go to get the girl, we will definitely need a plan.”

“Mmm,” Fuwafuwa mused thoughtfully, his tone one of concern. “They have a lot of rough guys in the Palace of Fang Wang. You won’t get through the front doors easily. Muzukashii desu.”

Hiro frowned at the Mikuman words spoken by Fuwafuwa. In fact, his name meant “fluffy” in the Mikuman tongue. Was he a Mikuman yōkai? Perhaps that was where Adrienne had gotten the idea of her name from. Her little Mikuman spirit pet.

Smiling, he glanced about the room. He felt sorry for Lady Lanchiu, though he could not feel what she felt in any way. He did not have children—had never had children. He had never even been married—and he certainly had sired no bastards.

Then to the group, who were spread out in the room looking at various objects but not touching anything, he said, “Let’s get the girl.”

“Mm,” Haru noised with a strong nod.

“Not yet,” Adrienne said. “We just got here.”

“So?” Hiro said.

Adrienne just looked at him as if he were dumb. “Hey, old man, you got wax in your ears?” She crooked her finger and twisted it near her own ear as if her words needed visual cues to understand. “I said we gotta wait so they don’t think we figured this out too easily.”

“Or lady Lanchiu will suspect something,” Ujiro added.

“Yeah,” Adrienne said with a nod.

“All right, all right,” Hiro said, spreading his hands in defeat. “I am just anxious to do something useful. I do not like standing here.”

“Or lying,” Haru added.

“Ugh,” Adrienne growled as she eyed Haru. “Listen, Ruru”—the samurai looked at one another, surprised and taken aback by Adrienne’s forwardness in giving them all special names, all by Hiro so far—“you need to learn how to be a little more self-serving. Around here?” She spread her arms. “You won’t get far on honor, got it?”

The younger samurai let out an exasperated breath and Ujiro smiled, bemused. “She is difficult, is she not?”

“I’m not difficult,” she said. “I know what I’m doing. You forget that I’m from here. You need to follow my lead.”

“All right,” Ujiro said. “We understand. You are in charge.”

“What are you smiling at?”

“Quiet,” Hiro said. “They will hear.”

Clearly annoyed, Adrienne left off and said nothing more for a time as they all glanced about the room quietly. Hiro spotted an interesting piece of furniture. It was a painted nightstand that had a high sheen, its edges gilded with gold. The mirror was spotless. Curious, he opened one of the drawers.

Adrienne pushed a lock of her hair past her ear. “That’s weird. What are you doing?”

“I am looking inside,” he said by way of easy explanation. “Are we not investigating?”

“Yeah, but there’s nothing to investigate, and besides, this is a young lady’s bedchambers. Are you looking for her night clothes or something?”

“Nani?”

“Nanny?” she repeated, though she was clearly mocking him.

With a subtle growl, the muscled samurai shook his head and turned back to the drawer as Adrienne muttered something deprecatory, though he did not hear it. The little brat was lucky the three men had stores of patience, otherwise they might have thrown her over their knee and whipped her senseless by now. Hiro knew no small number of samurai who would have done just such a thing hours ago already. The very thought almost made him laugh with mirth, picturing Adrienne kicking her legs and screaming.

There were folded clothes in the drawer, nothing very interesting and he did not give them a careful look over, but as he slid his fingers across the underside of the wood, he felt something. He continued searching, wondering what that was. Something was carved into the wood there.

“What are you doing in there so long?” Adrienne asked.

Hiro picked up the folded linens, which were in fact, nightclothes, and he dumped them on the floor.

“What are you doing?!”

“Did you find something?” Ujiro asked.

“I think so,” Hiro said, completely ignoring Adrienne’s hissed question as he flipped the drawer. He found words there, but they were in a script he did not recognize. “I cannot read it.”

“Let me see,” Adrienne said, and stalked over to him in two strides. Hiro flipped the drawer around so she could easily read what the script said. The words had been scratched in roughly.

What surprised the samurai was when Adrienne took the drawer in her hands and pulled it closer as she craned her head down, her attention wholly upon what she was doing.

“What does it say?” Haru asked.

As she read the words, her mouth dropped open slightly and she couldn’t help but pull the drawers even closer to give them another read over. “This is… creepy,” she breathed.

“What do you mean?” Fuwafuwa asked as he appeared on her shoulder. “Creepy like a cat person that likes water creepy, or creepy like, creepy creepy?”

But she ignored Fuwafuwa’s joke. “No—it’s a lot worse than that.”

“What does it say?” Ujiro asked as his patience began to slide. “Read it.”

“It says ‘Help me. She’s not my mother.’”

“What?” Ujiro asked. “That is a strange thing to scratch into a panel of wood.”

“I know!”

Suddenly Adrienne and Fuwafuwa shivered together.