The Moon Dancer

Chapter 10

Ruhya struggled to open her eyes. She felt dizzy and cold. Her fingertips touched cold stone, and a familiar pressure clamped around her ankle. A faint groan caught Ruhya's attention and she turned to her side. Carefully she reached out her arm and touched a small warm mound. At her touch, the mound flinched and quivered.  

"Miss Ruhya? Is that you? Please say it's you." Kouta's soft voice shook as he spoke. Ruhya quickly scooched closer to the small boy and took him into her arms. He was shivering, though it was unclear if it was from fear or the cold.

"Kouta what happened? How long have I been passed out?" Ruhya asked as she gently stroked Kouta's head to calm him down.

"W-we were going to collect a new stick near the palace wall. Some strange guys dropped from the walls and blew a powder into your face. You fell down and they grabbed you." Kouta paused as he began to cry, "I tried to stop them, I swear! I tried to be brave but I couldn't stop them!"

"Shh, it's not your fault. Calm down. We need to be quiet, can you do that for me?" 

Ruhya felt Kouta nod against her chest. His cries quieted down to a soft whimper followed by small spasms. Soothingly Ruhya stroked Kouta's back. The darkness did not bother her, she had spent her whole life in darkness, but for a child like Kouta it was terrifying.

"Kouta, do you know how long we've been here?"

"I don't know, a while, I know we missed lunch." Kouta replied. As if to verify his claim, Kouta's stomach growled. If they had been gone since lunch, someone should have noticed that they were missing. Ruhya frowned. Judar was likely still drunk, and Kouta's parents were probably palace workers, too busy to notice he was gone. It was very likely nobody even knew they were missing.

Panic began to creep its way into Ruhya, but she bit her lip and forced it down. She couldn't afford to let herself panic, especially since she had Kouta with her. Taking a deep breath Ruhya strained her ears, hoping to hear any clues as to where they were. There was a faint creak above them, indicating they were in a basement or cellar of some kind. 

Suddenly a door slammed open and Kouta cried out in surprise. Ruhya clutched him in terror as heavy footsteps descended down the stairs. She could distinguish three different footstep patterns. Ruhya turned her body to shield Kouta from the oncoming men. Light filled the small basement as the men placed lanterns around the room.

"Why are there two of them? I thought we were only supposed to get one?" Asked one of the men in a gruff voice.

"Yeah, but they were together so I had no choice to grab both of 'em."

"You're such an idiot Kong. What are we gonna do with the kid? I ain't no child killa."

Kouta flinched and pressed himself against Ruhya. Ruhya bit her lip, there was no way they would actually hurt Kouta, right?

A puff of air near her ear startled Ruhya and she tried to move away, but the chain around her ankle kept her from moving much.

"Hey, this kid looks familiar." Said the third man as he crouched near Ruhya. Suddenly he grabbed Kouta by the arm and yanked him away from Ruhya. They both screamed and Ruhya reached out for Kouta while he struggled to free himself from the man's grasp.

"Let him go!" Ruhya yelled as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh shit, is that the prince?" 

The room went quiet as everyone thought about the man's question, only Kouta's crying filled the cellar. Ruhya balked in shock. Was Kouta really the prince? As she thought more about it, the more it made sense. What kind of palace worker's child would be allowed to run around the palace? Even his kimono was a sign of his identity, the silk was too high a quality for a regular child to casually wear.