Frozen hearts

18

- Ah, your highnesses. So this is his highness' betrothed, finally come to pay your respects, eh?

- I apologize for the late visit..

- No matter. His highness should have brought you here before, but what's done is done

- Your holiness, her highness would like to pay her respects to our ancestors

- Ah, yes.. Here is Takahiro to lead you there

- Thank you

- Right this way, your highnesses

- Lady Chihiro has written to tell me you need help

- Yes.. You see.. I need a way to contact his highness' ancestors. I want to shed some light on events that may help him..

- Takahiro-san, do you know the truth about what happens to male heirs in my family?

- I only heard rumors, but know nothing of certainty.. They usually fall ill after getting married, and are barely seen. If you would allow me to be honest, I believe none of them has really governed for a long time, and the Yoshimura clan ruled instead

- You are right.. My mother and the empresses before her have tried, but there is only so much they can do without support.. We've gotten off topic.. We are here because my brother has fallen to the curse earlier than the rest of our family..

- A curse..

- Of sorts.. You see

- Mariko, let me say the rest

- No! You are risking enough

- And you are all what is left for the empire if we do not succeed.. So please, let me speak! I have found a journal, of one of his highness' ancestor. He was betrothed to a woman named Yuki.. He was led to believe she wasn't faithful, and in a fit of jealousy he threw her out, meaning for her to be returned to her parents' house, yet a Yoshimura, a councilman then, betrayed her, and left her to die of exposure to the cold. The emperor married another, after a while, and even though he felt guilty she died, and he had no hand in orchestrating her death, she returned as a Yuki onna, and vowed to claim him and every male descendant of his

- I see.. We suspected it could be a curse, the other monks talk, but none could understand why no monk was ever brought to help, if that was the case. Knowing it is a Yuki onna sheds some light, but even though they are hard to deal with, very hard indeed. There is no reason why no one should have tried

- Is not the fear of them dying, or being targeted together with their loved ones reason enough not to attempt it

- Perhaps.. But it is in poor form. We should help people when we can, and that would have helped the entire empire

- Can you even exorcize a Yuki onna?

- I do not know. It should be possible, but it is not easy. She is old, from what you've told me, so she might have a greater attachment to this world, therefor she's harder to expell

- I think I might have a chance. I've met her and she did not kill me

- She did harm you, though, take care, Ismie

- She is giving me a chance to save them, of finding some proof the emperor wasn't responsible for her banishment and death

- And how would this work? What do you think you can learn, and how?

- I was hoping you would help us talk to some of their highnesses' ancestors

- It is rather difficult to summon a spirit. You would need to have some degree of spiritual power. Do you?

- Well, not exactly..

- Oh?

- I have a bit of magic