The Samurai That I Loved

第41章

There was once a time in Eliza's life where she felt truly untouchable. Through all her youthful years, she had never wanted for anything except for what was always just out of reach: like Ernest. Although foolishly, she had never let even logic stop her. If she had wanted to rule the world, then by god, she would have moved mountains and back just to end up killed somewhere in the process.

Therein held both the key to her salvation and the leaping edge of her doom. Having an overly-glorified, spoilt upbringing brought about a sense of impenetrable confidence and immortality. Surely, there was nothing that she couldn't do...and yet, here she was now.

Getting abruptly shoved forward onto the gangway, Eliza's thoughts were disrupted as she instinctively went to clutch her bandaged, maimed left wrist. Her equilibrium was still off, her mind still scattered deep somewhere still in the mountains of the countryside, her hand...gone.

Hiruma-san's voice hissed behind her in annoyance, "Move along, girl, or I'll take your other hand."

Eliza didn't bother looking back at him or the dark, nightly scene of the torchlit port of Nagasaki. The winds were gentle, yet steady and somehow life was carrying on as if nothing was even remotely different. Except everything was all vastly changed from only days before. Her life was forever changed. It felt like it was practically fathomless.

But it wasn't.

The love that was burning in the darkest alcove of her heart still held on with a roaring persistence that not even her wretched fate could diminish. And yet...that love was the very same disease that was slowly killing her from the inside out.

If she had never entered Japan, Shojiro-san would still be alive, respected, safe and living his own life, not exiled to die on a remote island and branded like a criminal. To imagine he was out there somewhere isolated to death in his torment was too much for her to bear. And she had had days to think about him along the awful trip back down south to Nagasaki on foot.

Eliza stepped onto the ship as Hiruma-san handed the awaiting captain a written missive from the Shogun to her father, the duke. He then extended the end of the chain that was attached to the chain cuffs locked around her ankles to the man as well.

"See to it she is locked inside a cabin for the duration of the journey. This is to be delivered along with her person."

"Mhm." The captain grunted, taking the missive and slipping it inside his coat pocket. Taking the chain, he pulled Eliza with him onto the main deck while Hiruma-san sneered at her backside.

"I hope the sea claims you, foreigner. You were nothing but a bringer of ill-fate." He spoke coldly with a tone of complete finality before quickly turning and striding back down the gangway.

The captain, who was a tall man with a large woolen cap shadowing his face and wore a Dutch-styled black coat, stopped in his tracks and turned to look back at Hiruma-san's backside. Eliza halted too, yet kept her gaze set on her scuffed boots and chained ankles. She could still faintly hear Hiruma-san from the distance galloping off on his horse with a shouted command.

After countless seconds, the captain began to walk again, pulling Eliza along by the chain. She stumbled from dizziness but maintained her balance as she trailed behind him towards the lower decks.

When they approached the stairs that ventured downward, the captain halted and looked around. The morning hour meant that most of the ship's crew were undoubtedly still asleep, therefore Eliza found his mannerisms quite strange. Bending down on one pant knee, he suddenly unsheathed a tanto blade and cut the chains down the middle between her legs. Eliza was startled for a brief moment until he then stood back to his feet and quickly resheathed his knife before scooping her into his arms and carrying her down the stairs.