Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Fushigi Yuugi: Daydream's Embrace ❯ Episode 2: The Priestesses of Suzaku ( Chapter 2 )

Episode 2
The Priestesses of Suzaku
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan

Tamahome fought like a demon, kicking and punching so quickly that the men, though they outnumbered him, didn't even stand a chance. Soon, every one of the slave traders was unconscious on the ground. Tamahome turned back to Katherine, who was sitting on the ground. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Katherine said shamefully, embarrassed that she couldn't even take care of herself. "Thank you."

"You were doing pretty good," Tamahome remarked as he helped Katherine to her feet..

"I'm sorry but I still don't have any money to give you," Katherine admitted.

Tamahome gave Katherine a look of pity. "That's okay…I guess…" He quickly changed the subject once he saw the look of defeat on her face. "You're new here aren't you?"

"Yeah…how could ya tell?" Katherine wondered sarcastically.

"Well first of all your clothes…" Tamahome started, not picking up the sarcasm, "and second of all your lack of street smarts."

"Thanks." Katherine said mockingly, rolling her eyes. "Will you please come to the palace with me?" she asked seriously.

"Do you know a scholar there?" Tamahome asked, anxiously hoping for a reward for saving the girl's life twice in one day.

"No, but I have to meet the Emperor," she replied.

"The emperor knows you!?" Tamahome asked excitedly, his eyes wide as he dreamt of the amount of money he would receive. Piles of gold and jewels danced in front of his eyes. He could swim in a pond filled with golden coins.

"Well, no..." Katherine muttered truthfully. The gold and jewels disappeared.

Tamahome was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing. "There's no way you're even getting near the palace, let alone the emperor, if you don't have connections," he choked out in between laughs.

"I guess you're right… I was just having high hopes." Katherine stood there for a while, trying to think of a way she could meet Hotohori. There had to be some way. Thoughts flew into her mind, but she easily dismissed them as soon as they arrived. She had even thought of doing what Miaka did, tripping over herself and almost getting killed. But she ignored it, telling herself it was too dangerous. But after a couple of more moments of thinking, she remembered that she was in a dream. A person can't die in a dream.

"Well, speak of the devil," Tamahome said. Katherine looked up to hear trumpets sounding. She followed Tamahome's gaze to the main street, where a huge caravan threaded through the crowds, watched with interest like the St. Patty's day parade, but without the drunks. Gilded carriages and litters passed by, covered in expensive fabrics and jewels that sparkled like the sun. Katherine followed behind Tamahome as he pushed his way through the crowds for a closer look.

"Okay, here's my chance…" Katherine thought as she moved her way to the front of the crowd, where guards were keeping the masses at bay with their outstretched weapons.

Tamahome muttered, dazed by the riches before him, "Man, that crown on his head… If I only had one ornament off that crown…"

"Here I go…" Katherine mumbled to herself, feeling like a kamikaze pilot. She walked up to the caravan as stealthily as possible hoping that Tamahome wouldn't notice.

"Your Highness!" Katherine shouted, sneaking her way past the guards and standing next to a carriage that was so expensive-looking that none could mistake it for anything other than the emperor's private carriage. "You are the Emperor right?" Katherine continued loudly.

"Who are you?" said the low, velvety voice Katherine had heard so many times from her television.

Katherine thought, "Yes! It's him!" She replied quickly, trying to hold in her squeals of joy, "Oh me…? I'm a nobody…I just have one small favor to ask…"

"Is she…?" Tamahome wondered, his eyes wide in hopes that he was mistaken.

"Could I please have an ornament off your crown?" Katherine continued, holding out her hands as if a jewel would be thrown out of the carriage at any moment.

"That idiot!" Tamahome screamed, pushing his way to the front of the crowd to be held back by a guard.

"Please…can't you just spare one for my friend?" Katherine had never thought she would call Tamahome her friend, but she would have done anything to get the emperor's attention. She pretended to trip over the ground, "accidentally" tearing off a piece of the gold-embroidered cloth that decorated the side of the caravan.

"Uh-oh," Tamahome whispered, shocked at the sudden turn of events.

Katherine added mockingly, "Oh no! I ripped the Emperor's cloth!" The guards turned on her, dozens around her fallen body in a split second.

"You little…for your unforgivable rudeness to your highness, you will be punished!" one of the guards yelled. "Hold still while I cut your head off!"

But Katherine wasn't through yet. She continued sarcastically, "Oh no! What will I ever do without a head?" A cloud of gray smoke surrounded both Katherine and the guards that surrounded her, and she felt someone picking her up.

"Are you stupid!?" Tamahome's voice yelled through the smog. Katherine felt herself stopping, for Tamahome had knelt down on the other side of the street.

"I promise never to act like that again…" Katherine swore, for indeed, after that incident she vowed never to impersonate Miaka ever again. It almost made her cringe that she had acted like the person she hated most.

"I don't think you'll have a chance to act that stupid ever again," Tamahome said worriedly, looking at the guards that had suddenly found and surrounded them. Katherine wanted nothing more than to get away from the guards, whether she met Hotohori or not.

Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation, and the guards began to back off. Katherine looked down at herself to see she was bathed in a bright, red light. She looked at her hands, and found she could see through them, like smoky glass. Tamahome's eyes widened in amazement.

Katherine looked around at the crowd staring at her, like she was some monster. The girl saw the scenery of Konan fade to black. She still heard the voices of the people, thought all she saw was black and red.

"Get his Highness' caravan out of here!" one of the guards ordered, beginning to back up the horses and return to the palace.

"Wait," the emperor said from within his carriage, "What's all the uproar?"

"It's that girl from before," the guard answered," she suddenly began to give off a red light."

"A red light?" the emperor questioned quietly, more to himself than the guards that encircled him.

"Look! The girl is disappearing!" another guard shouted. Katherine screamed as she fell into darkness and red light. At the end of the tunnel of black and red swirls, she could make out a white house.

"Christina's house?" she asked herself. As she fell towards the house, the roof seemed to turn invisible, allowing her to fall through the walls until she saw Christina, lying upon her bed and sketching. "Christina!" she shouted. "I'm right here! I'm in the book!"

But, to Katherine's dismay, Christina didn't seem to hear one word of her yelling. Katherine stretched out her hand to touch her friend, hoping that it would catch her attention, but felt a strange feeling. It was the same feeling she had gotten when she had begun to disappear, almost like a roller coaster. Katherine knew she was being called back to Konan.

Katherine looked around to see the streets of Konan reappearing around her. "Guard!" the emperor's voice yelled. "Seize the boy and girl at once!" Katherine looked up to see Tamahome staring down at her, a look of shock upon his face.

"You…what?" he stuttered. A circle of guards closed in upon Tamahome and Katherine, and dragged them off.

*

Tamahome and Katherine were brought to the palace, where they were led down into the dungeons and thrown into a cell. Katherine stood up off the dirty floor where she had been tossed, and dusted the dirt and grime off of her pants.

"Sorry," she sheepishly apologized. "But at least we won't be in here long…I'm sure of it," she added hopefully.

"Yeah," Tamahome replied sarcastically, "before we know it, we'll be executed."

"I'm Katherine," the girl introduced, holding out her hand to Tamahome, a twitchy smile on her face.

Turning his back to her coldly, he replied, "I'm Sou Kishuku, but everyone calls me Tamahome." He threw a dirty look over his shoulder, adding, "But I suppose you already knew that," remembering how she had chased after him, calling his name. "Just out of curiosity, do you always get people who save your life thrown into prison?

"No…" she guiltily answered. "But I think I know a way to get out," she answered, fishing through her pocket for her keys. "Found it!" she said happily, pulling out the chain, where a tiny, yellow, aerosol can was attached. "I knew this pepper spray key chain would come in handy someday," she lied. To be truthful, she had made fun of her mom when she had been given it, wondering when she would ever use it. She fumbled with the chain for a few moments before finally pulling it off of the key ring.

*

"Highness, the boy and girl must be executed!" one advisor warned the emperor from where he was seated. He continued, "They say that the girl gave off a red light and vanished! They could be demons!"

The emperor sighed, then replied, "The girl was dressed in foreign clothing. Do you not think she could be more than a demon?"

"But…" the advisor stuttered.

The emperor continued quickly, "I think she may be the Priestess of Suzaku." The advisors looked stunned.

"The Priestess of Suzaku?!" another advisor asked. "You mean the girl of legend, Majesty?"

"Yes. The Priestess of Suzaku…"

*

"What is that?" asked the guard, seeing the strangely dressed girl playing with an odd-shaped object.

"Do you wanna see it?" the girl asked slyly, approaching the bars of the cell where the guard was peeking through. "Look at the neat thing it does…" she added, spraying its contents in the unfortunate man's eyes.

The guard screamed in pain. "Ahh! My eyes! What did you do?!" he scratched at his face, rubbing his eyes and dropping his keys as he fell to his knees, raking his eyes in an attempt to get the spray off of his face. Tamahome caught the flying keys as they were thrown at him.

"Tada!" Katherine proudly stated, her arms up in fake modesty as she turned to Tamahome, who opened the door and dragged the still-screaming guard inside before locking it shut.

"Sorry…" Katherine apologized to the guard as she and Tamahome began to leave the dungeon. "But the good news is your eyes will feel better in a few minutes…I think…"

*

Katherine and Tamahome snuck down the halls, marveling at the expensive rugs that lined the floors, staring at wonder at everything that was gilded, and looking around in wonder at the expensive vases that lined the walls. The pair hugged the walls, sidling across the halls to look around corners. "Are you sure I can have this incredible stuff?" Tamahome asked excitedly, holding the tiny pepper spray to his heart. "No take backs!"

"I don't see why'd you ever need it..." Katherine muttered, remembering how easily he had defeated the hoodlums who had attacked her. "But sure, why not?" A sudden tapping of feet on the shining wooden floors warned the duo that someone was coming. "Uh-oh..." Katherine gasped quietly. "Someone's coming."

Tamahome grabbed Katherine by her shirt collar, and pulled her and himself into the nearest room. The blue-eyed boy clamped his hand over Katherine's mouth, making sure she didn't speak. They both waited in silence until the footsteps passed. "Man, that was close," Katherine breathed as soon as Tamahome had taken his hand off of her mouth. Katherine looked around to see that Tamahome was no longer behind her. "Tamahome...?" she wondered, looking around the darkened room.

She wandered around the room, and found that it branched out into a larger hall, where a gigantic, gilded statue of a great phoenix was standing, surrounded by candles. Tamahome was standing in front of the golden beast, looking up into its ruby eyes silently. His face was slack, as though the statue was hypnotizing him somehow. Katherine waved her hand in front of his face jokingly. When he didn't notice, she sighed, "I don't have time for this." She left the darkened room, leaving Tamahome in his daydream.

Katherine shut the door and left. The slamming door caused Tamahome to jump, snapping out of his reverie. "Katherine?" he asked, looking around the room confusedly. "Katherine?" He rushed out of the room and into the hallway, where he continued in the direction where they had been heading. "That girl is going to be the death of me..." he muttered in frustration.

Katherine had walked aimlessly down the corridors of the palace. Luckily, she hadn't run into anyone the entire time, and ended up in a courtyard. She walked over the stone pathways, looking around that the beautiful flowers that surrounded her. She turned around to see a person sitting upon one of the railings, wearing a plain white robe. "Here he is..." Katherine thought to herself, recognizing Hotohori in an instant.

"Are you lost?" the man asked, leaping off of the railing and gliding up to the girl.

Katherine, still in a daze, answered, "It's all good..."

"What?" questioned the cross-dressing emperor with a tilt of his head.

"Oh, sorry," Katherine apologized, shaking her head and returning to reality. "It's just a phrase people use in my world..."

A look of surprise appeared on the emperor's face. "Your world? That's so interesting!?" The man walked around Katherine, prodding and staring at her with wonderment. "Wait...aren't you that girl who assaulted the emperor?" he asked, a look of sly mischief upon his face.

Katherine quickly replied, "That was all a misunderstanding. I wish I could tell the emperor I was sorry..." she said, trying not to reveal that she knew who the cross-dresser truly was. "And what's worst of all..." she continued, "because of me, Tamahome's in trouble too..."

A loud voice in the distance caused both Katherine and the emperor to look to the other side of the courtyard. "I don't know where she is!" Tamahome's voice yelled.

"Still won't talk, eh?" a guard replied angrily.

"I can't tell you what I don't know!" Tamahome shouted back. His hands were bound behind his back, so he couldn't move.

"Why you little..." another guard threatened, pointing the tip of his spear at Tamahome's neck.

Another guard pointed in Katherine's direction, bellowing, "Look! There's the girl!"

"Katherine!" Tamahome shouted. "Run!" The soldiers began to rush towards the girl, who began to slowly back away, frightened by the mob of guards chasing after her. As the guards closed in around Katherine, the symbol on Tamahome's forehead began to shine fiercely. In one swift move, Tamahome broke the rope that held his wrists apart.

"Silence!" the man wearing the white robe shouted as he spotted the mark on Tamahome's forehead glow. He threw aside his robe, revealing much more sta

The guards all froze, then sunk into low bows. "Your Highness!" they said.

Tamahome paused, looking back and forth from the guards to the man who had been in the white robe. "You...You're the emperor?!" he asked in disbelief. The man smiled and nodded slightly.

Tamahome and Katherine both struggled to kneel upon one knee as quickly as possible, bowing to the emperor of Konan.

*

"I apologize for tricking you," the emperor said as he sat upon his great, gilded throne. "But I had to find out your intentions," he explained. "And now that we know you're not demons..." he continued, a smile playing on his face as he stared at his advisors, who cringed from his glare, knowing they had been mistaken.

"That's okay," Katherine shrugged, staring up at the beautiful emperor.

"But, I do have a favor to ask of you," he continued.

"What would that be?" asked Katherine innocently, although she was sure she knew what the question would be.

"There is a legend that proclaims that, when the empire is in turmoil, a priestess will travel from another world to save it. Will you become the Priestess of Suzaku?"

"Ye-" Katherine began. But, before she could finish her answer, her mind flew to the deal she had jokingly made with Christina, months and months ago.

"So, if one of us gets sucked into an ancient Chinese novel..." Christina began.

Katherine finished happily, "Then whoever got lucky would go back out and get the other." The girls shook hands, smiling on their deal.

And here was Katherine, in the very spot she was sure she never would have been. Katherine found she couldn't break their promise, whether it had been more of a joke than true deal or not. "Can...can there be two priestesses?" Katherine asked meekly.

The emperor looked quite taken aback. "The legend does say `girl'..." he replied slowly.

"It's just that I made this promise with my friend...and I think it would work better if there were two of us..." Katherine mumbled quietly.

The emperor placed his hand under his chin, and asked, "Is your friend with you?" He looked at Tamahome, as though the blue-haired boy would know.

Katherine sighed, "Well...no...but can't we travel back to my world and get her?"

The emperor frowned; he was in quite a predicament. He couldn't just deny the girl what she wanted; she was the girl of legend, he was sure of it. And if she couldn't get her friend, then there was a chance that she wouldn't become the Priestess of Suzaku. "If we try our hardest to find your friend...will you then become our priestess?"

"Of course!" Katherine shouted happily, jumping to her feet.

The emperor stood up from his throne, lifting his arm for all to pay attention. "Listen, all of you!" he proclaimed. "This is the girl who will gain the power of Suzaku! She who shall save our empire, the Priestess of Suzaku, has appeared!"

Katherine, now the Priestess of Suzaku, was led outside from the throne room. She stepped out of the palace to find hundreds of people waiting outside and bowing low. Her heart stopped as she viewed the crowed of follower. She had agreed to save a country.

To be continued…