Spirited Away

Chapter 8: The Servant to the Sorceress

Previously:

It was only hours ago, but to me it felt like forever. Luring me into the bathhouse was his task. A sob escaped me and before I knew it I was bawling on the floor, Rin trying her best to comfort me but I was beyond reason. My heart had been betrayed by a stranger.

“What’s wrong, Rin?” One of the sleeping Yunas woke up.

“New girl. She says she feels faint. Come on Sen, pull yourself together…”

 Chapter 8: The Servant to the Sorceress

*Haku’s POV*

I ascended the steps to Yu-Baaba’s tower quietly, so that my approach would be undetected for a while longer. I thought about the pain I had seen in Chihiro’s eyes when I had snapped at her, but she didn’t realize that my act is all to protect her. She’s so naive that way, thinking the world is black and white and everything can go her way. In my world, there is pain and suffering but it is all for a reason. And she would thank me one day, if we both lived long enough.

I reached the top of the long winding staircase and knocked; Yu-Baaba hates it when people enter rooms unannounced. “Come in,” her voice rasped and I entered slowly and stood at attention before the ugly sorceress. It was obvious that she had summoned me because she was preparing for a journey; her long cloak was floating feet off the ground and she was throwing objects haphazardly into a small suitcase. All the objects were magically shrinking to conserve space. The huge glass door to the porch was already flung open, and the cold early-morning made me shiver.

“Keep a watch on the Oni in room eleven; I don’t like the look of those parties they keep throwing. And keep an eye on the new girl, Sen. With any luck a monster will eat her when we’re not watching, but if that’s not the case then I want you to ensure she is behaving and punish her if she refuses to perform any task. We may also have a traitor in our midst; a spirit must have aided the girl into the bathhouse, humans can’t make it this far on their own. Ask the staff to report any suspicious behavior to yourself or to me at once.”

“Hai.” Yes.

I bowed deeply and respectfully. Yu-Baaba’s three severed heads copied my example.

Yu-Baaba nodded once more with satisfaction. She tucked her traveling bag into the folds of her enormous floating cloak, which expanded and wrapped around her entire body snuggly. She now looked like a black cocoon with a large beak-like nose, enormous slanted eyes and an unnaturally perfect bun like a grey cherry on top of a poufy grey cake. Her trusty companion who went on all her journeys with her, a black crow with a human face (which bore a remarkable resemblance to her master), was perched upon the rail of the balcony, eager to soar. There were rumors that this crow was Yu-Baaba’s sister, bewitched into this form to forever do her bidding as punishment for pining after Yu-Baaba’s fiancé at the time. That was a loooong time ago! I thought. No monster would take Yu-Baaba as a wife now, not even with her fortunes; her looks were ugly and her soul was rotten to the core.

With a squawk from the crow, Yu-Baaba turned to face the cold grey morning sky, and leapt onto the rail her bird occupied with amazing grace. Together they both spread their wings- for Yu-Baaba’s cloak now functioned as the body of a bird, though it had no feathers. With powerful beats from the black cloth wings, the sorceress and the crow departed the rail and soared into the hazy dawn, with amazing speed and grace. I didn’t know when she’d be back; Yu-Baaba often disappeared for weeks at a time unexplainably, and for Chihiro’s sake I hoped she’d stay gone for a while. I sighed and muttered a curse as the severed heads hopped away. Saving Chihiro and her parents would take quite a bit of effort, especially now that Chihiro was converted to Sen and would lose her identity if she forgot herself. It was powerful, ancient magic which could keep a soul prisoner as long as she doesn’t remember who she is.

And it didn’t help that a part of me didn’t want Chihiro gone….

I can’t think that way! I hissed to myself. Seriously, I had to get a grip!

Chihiro had a job to do, and if she managed to save her parents and leave, she’d be better off. This bathhouse was no place for a human.

Besides, she wouldn’t want me anyway. If she knew what I was... what I did to her people.

But I needed to see her. To discuss her options with her, and because… I needed to see her. To make sure she was okay. Of course, that was the only reason… Right?

With a new spring in my step I departed Yu-Baaba’s tower through the servant’s door in the floor and hurried to the Yuna sleeping quarters, passing yawning spirits who were preparing for closing time, with only Chihiro on my mind.