Spirited Away II: Return to the Spirit Realm

Chapter 11

Chihiro - as expected - fell asleep on the train. The train worker awoke her a good three hours later when they arrived at the girl's destination. Chihiro thanked the worker and left the train, mentally scolding herself for not taking her father's coat with her. It was of fine leather and had genuine fur on the inside, and would surely keep her warm during such dropping temperatures.

The train soon became a mere, black speck in the distance. Chihiro looked around herself and, when she saw that the coast was clear, quickly ran across the train tracks. The Imperial Palace stood tall and proud on a hill, reflecting the little sunshine there was, looking around its surroundings with a strong sense of dignity as if saying, "See all of that? This beauty belongs to me!"

Chihiro could only stare, jaw-dropped, at the glorious architecture. If the bathhouse was the most beautiful thing she saw, then this was enough to paralyze her legs. The spell was quickly broken, however, when a ruthless wind blew, howling eerily. Chihiro sighed heavily in objection but walked obediently to the Imperial Palace.

She came there soon enough. If Chihiro schemed any plan on how to enter the Imperial Palace; then all of her ideas abandoned her the moment she saw those marble steps a few meters away from her. The Palace and the Royal Gardens were truly a sight to behold. The thought of a greedy human's reaction to this made Chihiro smirk; but that thought abandoned her as quickly as it came when she shook herself back to reality.

Suddenly, she became very aware that she wasn't alone when a conversation reached her ears. "...Not to be rude, Your Highness, but may I give you some advice?" a voice asked. Chihiro hid behind a nearby tree nervously.

"Of course," answered an all too familiar voice. For a moment, numbness struck Chihiro until she came to a point that she didn't believe her ears and thought she was dreaming. She looked cautiously and choked down a surprised gasp. A fox spirit dressed in fine clothing strode nearby, and with him was ... Haku!

"Your Highness, I think that perhaps you should have some assistant with you to train the troops. After all, you're -"

Haku frowned. "I, on the contrary, am quite confident in my skills. However, if I think I will need some assistance, I'll get some. Thank you."

The fox spirit - or the Steward - felt a pang of fright. Chihiro could tell that he regretted his words. "Uh... all right," he muttered nervously.

"I have some business to attend to. Please let my mother know where I am if she inquires."

The Steward backed off. "Good luck, Your Highness. Of course." With that, he disappeared into the Palace; wiping his sweaty brow with relief. He could sense Haku's icy anger directed towards him.

Haku watched the Steward go for a minute. All of his "business-like" attitude melted away, his eyes softening. He parted his lips as if to say something, but quickly shook his head fiercely before he uttered a word and went into the Royal Gardens, marching like a soldier until the trees covered him completely.

As for Chihiro, the whole situation hit her like a shock wave. She gasped, her eyes as wide as saucers, trying to make out of the situation. Okay, she thought, so that fox spirit called Haku "your highness." And Haku said to tell his mother if she asks where is he. That means ... the Lady is Haku's mom!

Chihiro shook her head, trying to clear the shock building up inside of her. Prince or not, I'm still going to see the Lady, she thought and dashed for the gate.

"Hey!" a voice hissed angrily in her ear and grabbing her arm, just as the girl was about to ascend the stairs. "What are you doing here?"

Chihiro decided not to tell her name, just in case Haku mentioned her. "I a-apologize," she stammered, without turning around to see who it was. "I just need to speak to the Lady. Please. It is very important."