The Seabird of Sanematsu (5 page)

He folded his arms under his head as he lay on his stomach. His thoughts returned to the strange female residing under his roof. He wanted to know what the barbarian knew, but did not know where to start. If she had military knowledge to share, knowing this would intrigue the Shogun. It would give him something to offer in return for her life, supposing he wanted to spare her further.

Why he did stay her execution was a quandary, since he could be forced to order it in the near future. The men under his command who had observed his actions were also a consideration. He had no way to explain to them he was tired of death.

He was a warrior, as they were, bound by the same chivalric code of bushido. Yet he had another authority, that of daimyo. As feudal lord, his actions required no justification. What he wanted, he did without regard to his army or subjects. He was required to answer only to his emperor, his conscience and, in his case, his Council of Elders.

He would decide the barbarian’s fate in the morning.

CHAPTER FOUR

Aderyn awoke, startled by the shoji’s opening. Groggy from deep sleep, it took her several minutes to recall where she was. She sat up, her neck stiff from sleeping on the odd wooden block, as a woman entered.

This was not the maid from the previous night. Small, dressed in layers of robes, the edges of which overlapped at the neck, she carried herself with a proud, more refined mien. Her dress had a base of plain white, with the overlying layers shades of green from the color of pale sea foam to that of the dark forest. Her long hair was pulled back and tied at the nape, with a tall comb stuck into the base. She had a pleasant round face.

She bowed. Aderyn affected a half-bow from her bed.

“I am Sachi, wife of Hikita-sama.” She spoke in soft tones, her words an airy, breathless effort. “My master wishes I become your personal attendant. I will answer your questions and teach you that which you should know.”

Sachi appeared to be a few years older than she was and did not present the cold front the others had. Aderyn hoped she and this young woman could be friends. She longed to talk with someone. There were so many questions, so much to learn.

“I would appreciate that, Mistress Hikita.”

“So sorry. You should address me as Sachi-sama. My husband’s family name is Hikita, but Nihonese wives are called by one name. ‘sama’ follows a name as an honorific. This means ‘honored one’ and is used when addressing those of one’s own rank or higher. ‘Ue’ is used with close family members. The samurai will call one another by ‘uji’ if addressing each other by their clan name or ‘dono’ if using their personal name. The peasants and the people of the fields are not addressed so. Their names are the words for their profession. Like carpenter, roofer or fisherman.”

“Oh. Thank you, Sachi-sama. My name is Aderyn Aquilla. Please call me Aderyn. It is my given name, and Aquilla is my father’s name.”

“Then you belong to no man, Aderyn?” Sachi stumbled over the name.

Aderyn noticed Sachi did not use “sama” after her name. Apparently, the woman did not regard them as equals.

“No. I do…not.” She would soon be considered an old maid but supposed the point was moot.

“So sorry.” It was hard to tell whether Sachi was sorry she had asked or sorry Aderyn was unattached. Before she had time to pursue the subject, her new personal attendant began helping her get ready for the day.

“This is an
uchiki
,” Sachi explained as she helped Aderyn arrange the ensemble of long robes. She had chosen red, with a white kosode beneath many layers of beautiful silk osode. The shades of red flowed from light to dark as her greens did.

Aderyn liked the close-fitting silk attire. Even though weighty, the fabric made the garments feel airy and free, unlike the bulky petticoats, pantaloons and woolen European dresses. Sachi tied the sash into a large flat knot at the small of her back in a deft motion. Then Aderyn wiggled her big toe into odd thick white socks. The slit between her first toe and the last four made it easier to wear the sandals, but she did not put them on. Shoes, Sachi explained, were worn outside, never in the house.

“They would crush the delicate reeds of the tatami, mar the wooden floors and bring the dirt of the world inside. Please, sit. I will bring your tea.”

Sachi put the futon away while Aderyn knelt on the floor in the manner she had seen both Sachi and the woman with Sanematsu do. Sachi set a table before her. She went to the shoji at the back of the room and received a tray from a servant. She returned and placed the tea things on the table.

“We do not eat our first meal until the sun is at its peak. Now, we have tea.” She poured.

Only tea? Aderyn hoped her empty stomach did not rumble and let everyone know how hungry she was. She had always had a healthy appetite, was used to eating the same meals her sailor father did. Concerned she would become obese; her mother had always been after her not to be such a glutton.

She and her new friend drank the hot tea without talking. As the sounds of servants moving through the corridors and workers outside filtered in to them, Aderyn wanted to rush to the open panel and watch the inhabitants go about their daily chores. Unable to do so, her thoughts filled with questions.

“Where am I?”

“I am sure our lord will be most honored to answer some of your questions.” Sachi lowered her eyes, intent on the tea bowl. “I must bring up something which I hope you do not think of as rude.”

“Please speak freely, Sachi-sama.”

“It is your speech. Nihonese is a language of several layers, from that of the peasants and farmers to that of the samurai and even further to the language used by the imperial court. So sorry, but yours is the speech of the lower classes.”

“Oh.” Aderyn sipped her tea. “I guess Lord Sanematsu does not wish for me use it, then?”

“No, he does not, nor will you be able to understand what he is saying if he uses his manly words. He will allow your poor language to himself but does not wish you to speak with others, who would not excuse you.” Sachi allowed a grin to come to her lips. “There is also a language for women in which we can speak our minds without insulting the men.”

“And you will help me with all of these?”

“It is my duty.” Sachi went back to her tea bowl.

**
*

As she and the foreigner drank tea, Sachi thought back to her conversation with Sanematsu the night before. Surprised when he sent a maid to summon her from her bed, she had no choice but to comply with the command. His further request was equally baffling. He wanted her to make the foreigner feel comfortable enough to confide in her. He wanted to know things about the girl, and he wanted her to know their ways.

Normally, Sachi would not allow a stranger to call her by name, but Lord Sanematsu had instructed her to become the barbarian’s teacher. He ordered her to make the mysterious woman a friend. So, Sachi would treat her as such from the start.

On untried ground, she was afraid of this barbarian female. Like the rest of his subjects, she never doubted the wisdom of Sanematsu yet did allow herself a bit of bemusement. No foreigners, not even victims of shipwrecks or from ships that had been stolen by pirates, had ever been allowed to stay alive in Nihon. For the foreign girl to do so put her daimyo in danger. It endangered them all. If he were executed for his indiscretion, his subjects could face death or worse. Did the girl have strange powers, as some suggested foreigners did, to cause Lord Sanematsu to risk all their lives?

She kept her suspicions silent and threw herself into the task before her.

“Will I be seeing him today?” Aderyn’s words brought Sachi back from her thoughts. She tried to imitate the ritual of tea-pouring while Sachi guided her with only her hands.

“He is a very busy man and will let me know when he has time.”

She corrected the barbarian’s speech, subtly and politely, so she would know the words proper to use when speaking with the Lord of Satsuma Province. And, with the wisdom of a mother, she made sure Sanematsu’s Barbarian was comfortable, which included a trip to the privy behind the dwelling. The secluded pathway kept her from seeing much of Sanematsu’s world, but when they returned to her room, Sachi led her out into the public areas of the castle.

**
*

Sachi guided Aderyn through Lord Sanematsu’s residence. Down the halls, past closed shoji, she could feel unseen eyes watching them but did not speak of it. Sachi told her these were the women’s quarters. Glancing into the open rooms, Aderyn saw they were empty except for an occasional chest or pile of pillows. She wished she could study the brush strokes on the silk panels of folding screens standing open in two of the rooms.

When they stepped into an inner courtyard garden, a maid provided Aderyn with sandals. A cobblestone pathway led into the building on the opposite side through the islands of small pebbles groomed into precise designs. All around, the castle rose above them. Once more slipping off the sandals, they entered the wing, and Aderyn followed Sachi down a corridor to a stairway.

“These are the banquet and public audience rooms where Lord Sanematsu greets his people.”

Aderyn recognized the chamber were she had upset the tea table. She would rather not be reminded of it. The women moved further into the residence.

Sachi paused in the corridor at the entrance to a larger, grander audience hall. Made of silver with a golden background of tree branches and flower blossoms, a pair of sculpted cranes flew downward toward each other on the heavy oak door panels.

“These panels are called
fusuma
.” Sachi noticed her charge’s rapt stare. “They were fashioned by an artist in Kyoto and transported here. Our master is a patron of artists and very knowledgeable about such things.”

Inside the room, more gold emblazoned the walls, panels and ceiling. Eight huge pillars of oak, unadorned, rubbed smooth to show the natural grain, held up the ceiling. Maids cleaned the shoji and hardwood floor. A raised platform set with cushions, an armrest and a writing table took up the far end of the wide, bare room.

“The household servants live in the back so they can come and go without disturbing the master and his family.” Sachi continued her lecture as they walked through the back doorway into another hallway.

Aderyn trailed her fingers over the beautifully carved railings as the two women ascended the large stairway. Sachi left her no time to examine the artwork.

“These are Sanematsu-sama’s private rooms. Also, those of the male members of the household and his family.”

“He must have a large family,” Aderyn muttered, but Sachi heard her.

“Yes and no. Most of the rooms are empty while older retainers of long-standing use some. Lord Sanematsu’s grandfather and our master’s three daughters are his blood relatives. He has one stepdaughter. There is also his half-sister, who is in charge of his household business.”

They went back out to the courtyard. Guards stood at intervals along the ledge of the high wall encircling the very large compound. The protective wall enclosed the gardens, both vegetable and flower, along with the stables and kitchens, outhouses and workshops. The castle, tiered like a cake, rose above the tall trees and spread out at the base into wings, separated by flower-filled oases. Wide verandahs encircled the first story and several higher ones, open to the elements but with shoji that could be closed to shut out the world. A heavy wood-and-iron gate closed the castle grounds off from the city. There were no other breaches in the wall surrounding the compound.

Servants’ quarters and the garrison, both to the rear of the grounds, joined the daimyo’s dwelling. Large amounts of fine sand covered a wide area beside the garrison. Aderyn recognized the bathhouse where she had been reborn near the part of the house designed for Lord Sanematsu. The kitchen was behind the women’s quarters.

Sachi did not offer to tour Aderyn through the shrine standing opposite the garrison. Large in neither width nor height, it appeared to be so a tall man could just manage to stand upright inside. A water bucket and ladle rested on the porch beside the broad, dark doorway. A porch, floored with boards polished to a glossy sheen, encircled the entire hardwood building.

Sachi prodded Aderyn along politely, directing her into the house. Inhabitants of the unique world moved through it without care or concern for the stranger within their universe. Gardeners tended the growing things; grooms brushed spirited horses; soldiers worked at martial exercises in the area next to the barracks. The kitchen garden grew food for the household; in others, flowers and greenery flourished for beauty. In a corral near the stables a man worked with a horse. An older man showed a young boy how to care for the tack used by samurai. Women’s work centered on the house, scrubbing and polishing everything in sight. Even the smallest child had a cleaning task.

Aderyn’s calves ached by the time they returned to the residence, and she kicked off the wooden sandals at the first step with a grateful sigh. In her room, the women sat down to the first meal of the day, and Sachi continued Aderyn’s training in the area of proper dining etiquette. Aderyn knew how to use the eating sticks, which she suspected surprised her teacher.

**
*

Inside the shrine, Lord Sanematsu Yoshihide knelt before the altar. A stone icon of Nihon’s god of war and warriors sat on a small wooden table. Two hundred years ago, the first Sanematsu daimyo had commissioned a stonecutter in Kamakura to fashion the twenty-eight-inch-tall image of Hachiman Taro astride a warhorse.

Sanematsu came here every morning to pray to the fierce god for the strength and wisdom necessary for his position in life. At his most vulnerable, he prayed alone, unguarded. When he was out in the public world, at all other times, his guards surrounded him. Two were on duty outside his room at night while he slept and at the doorway of any room during his waking hours. Only the most trusted retainers were given the weighty responsibility of seeing to Sanematsu’s safety. After so many years of such protection, he no longer noticed their presence.