Black and royal blue

XII. The shrine

I just got back from Oshu right before the war council. How convenient! I gave my report to Nobunaga and listened to the others for the rest of the time. I wanted to see her... The war council was drawn out long. It was already dark when it ended. Ieyasu and I were the last ones in the audience chamber. We had private business to discuss.

Suddenly, a maid came running in the hallway. When she saw us, she hurried in. Bowing down with trembling voice: 'Lord Masamune, Lord Ieyasu! Thank the gods, you are here! Lady Ana is missing.'

'What?! Speak!' We both shouted in surprise and were afoot in an instant. My heart skipped a beat.

Still out of breath the maid went on: 'She left in the morning. She said she was going to paint flowers in the forest. She promised she would be back before dark. But she didn't come back. Something must have happened to her.'

I turned to Ieyasu. 'We must find her! I'll go ahead!' I felt a sudden rush of anxiety.

'Got it!' Ieyasu nodded and the two of us rushed away.

...

What did you do, kitten? My mind was racing as I mounted my horse. Where did you go? I kicked the horse and galloped through the castle gates. Where could she possibly be? I asked myself as I raced through the town. She went to the woods. I would never find her there if something... 'No!' I said out loud. She once told me something about the old shrine in the forest. Maybe there? I don't have a better guess, so let's try that! I headed to the forest and followed the path. When I reached the shrine the moonlight was barely enough to see. I lit up a candle at the entrance and stepped in.

'Ana, are you in here?' As I entered I saw something in the dark in the middle of the room. I lifted the candle... She was lying on the floor, curled up, tightly hugging herself and staring at nothing. She seemed completely absent, she didn't even notice me...

I felt like my feet were nailed to the floor. What's got into her? Finally, I stepped to her and reached out. All of a sudden, Ana looked up at me with true terror in her eyes and jumped on her feet darting to the farthest corner of the room. 'No, no, no! Please, don't! I beg you! Leave me alone!' she shrieked and crouched down, shielding her head with her arms. Her whole body was shaking.

'She doesn't recognise me'

Dreadful silence filled the shrine. I did not dare to move or make a noise. I was afraid of upsetting her even more. The only sound in the room was Ana's fast paced panting. She was not showing any sings of snapping out of her madness. It was an unsettling sight... Her kimono was ripped, tugged and stained with blood and dirt. She got attacked...

'Your hands!' Even in the dim light of the candle I could easily notice the dark marks covering her wrists. I was whispering but even that sounded way too loud. Ana curled up even more with fear. I froze. It felt like hours have passed like this but then...

'M-Masamune?' Her voice was shaky and barely audible.

'Yes Ana, it's me! You are safe now.' Even though I felt neither of those, I tried my best to sound calm and reassuring. Bitterness filled me. What happened to you?

Ana slowly let down her arms and peeked through her finger uncertainly.

I walked up to her and sat down. As slowly as I could, I reached out again. 'Please, don't be afraid! It's just me. I'm not gonna hurt you.' As my fingers touched her delicate hand, Ana tensed up again. I paused. Her skin was clammy and ice cold but the warmth of my fingers seemed to calm her down. She relaxed a little. I examined her.

Her nails were broken and her wrists were badly bruised. She must have been restrained and struggled to free herself. I noticed that the bruises continued further. I gently pushed back the sleeves of her kimono. There were bruises on her upper arm too. I felt fury emerging in me.

With growing concern, I stroked Ana's hair to comfort her. 'Ana, please look at me!' I tried to speak as softly as I could. She didn't move. I slowly pulled her hands away from her face. She slightly raised her head but avoided eye contact. It was an upsetting sight even for a battle hardened man like me... Her eyes were full of pain. She looked away with shame and sorrow. Her complexion was pale as a ghost. Her lower lip was split and the blood dried on it. Her nose had bled too. She had a blackeye under her left eye and her brow was also split. Eyes tightly closed, biting her lips and gripping my hands, Ana tilted her head back. I didn't want to believe what I saw. A dark crimson line was running across her throat. The attacker must have held a knife to her neck. The flames of unstoppable anger flared up in me. Fortunately, the wound was shallow and the blood already clotted. It was pure luck, that it didn't end with the unspeakable...

With shaking hands Ana slowly pulled away her collar. Her neck and collarbone was covered in bite marks and bruises. Chill ran down my spine as I realised that the attack was not an attempted robbery or kidnapping...

'No' my voice was raspy, burdened by the realisation. When I touched the marks, Ana hissed and her features twisted with pain, like they were burnt into her flesh. It was getting too much to bear. But she did not stop there. She reached out and pulled her kimono up to her thigh. Her hands were shaking. The candle light illuminated her white skin and revealed a bruised handprint... My guts twisted. I knew what it meant.

Ana looked up at me, her eyes were begging. It was too painful to watch. I pulled her into my arms without hesitation. She clutched my kimono and buried her face in my chest. I wanted to hug her tighter but she was so fragile, I was afraid, she might shatter. So I held her gently with one arm and caressed the nape of her neck with the other hand to comfort her. My heart was breaking for her. Afraid of the answer, I asked: 'Did he...?' I was struggling to get those words out and my tongue tied before I could finish.

She didn't answer just pushed her face more to my chest. Oh, no! Finally, she slowly shook her head. I sighed with relief. I wanted ask so many questions but I had to keep them to myself for now. I noticed she was not crying a tear the whole time. Strange, must be the trauma or she might try to hold it together like this. I kissed the top of her head and rested my chin there. I consciously kept my breathing steady and slow to calm her. It helped me to quiet the storms of my mind as well. My thoughts and emotions were swirling around her.

I lost track of how long we've been sitting like this when her grip loosened on my clothes and her body relaxed. She fell asleep...

I took her back to the castle. The guard at the gate shouted 'Lord Masamune is back!' A handful of people gather around us as I dismounted with Ana in my arms. Hideyoshi's expression was dark, Mitsunari watched with disbelief, Nobunaga and Mitsuhide looked anxiously at her.

I quickly answered before they could ask: 'She was attacked. Her injuries are not life threatening but need to be tended. Where is Ieyasu?'

'He has not come back yet. Take her to her room!' said Hideyoshi with gloom in his voice.

I laid her down on the futon and took one last glance. Even in her sleep she looked troubled. And the sight of her ripped and dirty clothes...'You poor little thing.' I left her with the maid. When I closed the door behind me, I found all the Oda warlords waiting there nervously.

Ieyasu was back. 'You should examine her.' He nodded and went in. And I told everything I knew to the rest of them.

'What kind of person is capable of such a dreadful thing?' Mitsunari stared at his feet.

'Not a person, a monster rather.' Mitsuhide said.

'This is all my fault. I should have kept an eye on her or escorted her.' said Hideyoshi with regret.

'Don't dwell on it, Hideyoshi. The only one to blame here is that hideous lowlife creature who did this to her.' I tried to act cold headed but it took great effort.

After a while the door slid open as Ieyasu stepped out. 'Luckily, her wounds are not deep. They probably won't even leave a scar. I cleaned and tended them. Although, I'm more concerned about the wounds we cannot see. But time will tell. Now, she needs a lot of rest.'

'We will continue this tomorrow' Nobunaga was deep in thoughts as he closed the discussion.

We exchanged a gloomy look and everyone went back to their places.