Free Spirit's Princess by Esther Friesner Page A

try to turn their enemies into monsters. But you took your daughter’s wild words seriously ? Incredible. Are you fools, or have you lost your minds?”
    Suzu’s parents fled. Her mother was wailing. I couldn’t help hoping that things would go badly for Suzu when theygot home, but I never heard anything about it. More days passed, and no others came to accuse me; that was all that mattered.
    Winter drifted over our village with a light dusting of snow and a faint chill that turned breath to mist. I played alone, except for those times when Aki could spend time with me, or when Masa and Shoichi were so bored that my company was better than nothing. When the weather wasn’t too cold and while sunlight lasted, I continued with my plan to exercise my leg, trying to walk more steadily, working hard toward the day when I’d be able to run.
    That day didn’t come, and no matter how diligently I practiced, I never quite lost a small hitch and hobble when I walked. At last I realized that if a broken walk was the best I would ever be able to manage, why should I even try to dance? I turned away from my dreams.
    My home and my family became my world. They were all that I could trust to never let me down—not like my own body, or my so-called friends, or the supposed spirits. If I’d said such things aloud, other people might have thought that my life had grown empty and sad. The truth was, I felt relieved. Everything was simpler. Why break my heart trying to reach a goal that might always remain beyond me? It was better to enjoy the things I knew I could have. That was what I told myself, anyway.
    I wasn’t a hunter. I wasn’t a dancer. I wasn’t someone who wasted time fretting over the whims of beings who might or might not exist at all.
    I was Mama’s helpful, reliable child. I was Father’s good, obedient girl. I was Aki’s favorite. I was Yukari andEmi’s darling, indulged and cuddled and fussed over and told twenty times a day how pretty I was.
    I smiled and laughed and sang and did what was expected of me. I didn’t ask questions. I was Himiko, the chieftain’s daughter, and someday I would be a Matsu nobleman’s senior wife.
    I was supposed to be happy.

Two full turns of the seasons passed. I didn’t miss having friends. After all, I hadn’t spent much time with them before Suzu showed her true nature. If our paths happened to cross, I made sure to give my former playmates a smile that shouted in their faces, Who needs you? Not me!
    I saved my real smiles for my family, Aki above all. When it became clear that I had no more friends among the village children, he took every opportunity to fill that empty spot in my life. I was so pleased to have more of my beloved brother’s attention that I never told him how little I missed Suzu and the rest. I treasured each moment he spent with me, but some occasions were more special than others.
    One morning of my ninth year, I awoke to a wonderful sight framed in our doorway: almost overnight the breath of springtime had blown the cherry trees on the distant hillside into a soft froth of blossom. I’d grown up witnessing this spectacle year after year, yet every time was as gloriousas the first. When I saw them at their peak like that, a splash of wind-tossed pink against the new greenery, I clapped my hands, knowing today would be wonderful.
    “Oh, so you’ve finally decided to wake up, eh, Little Sister?” Aki’s familiar voice sounded behind me. My oldest brother dropped to one knee by the side of my bedroll, a quiver full of arrows on his back, his bow in one hand. “Everyone else is out of the house, and I’m about to go too.”
    “Not without me!” I cried, gesturing toward the doorway. “Look there, Aki: the cherry trees are all covered with flowers. You took me to see them up close when that happened last year, so you have to do it again.”
    “Oh, do I?” he asked, teasing.
    “Yes.” I was firm. “This is our day! I know it’s a long walk to