Free The Ronin and the Green Maiden by Travis Heermann Page B

more than a pebbled trail encroached upon by mossy stones, grass, and wildflowers.
    Much of the landscape around Hakozaki and the remains of Aoka had dimmed to the customary dull greens and browns of winter, but here the land was as lush and verdant as that of a perfect spring. The cold chill of the winter shores of Hakata Bay and the cold winds of the mountain pass were replaced by pleasant, moist warmth.
    Thunder kept looking with hunger toward the lush grasses that lined the trailside.
    “Steady,” Ken’ishi said. “We must be wary.”
    “Bah!” the stallion said, tossing his head. “The man is gone, and I have not seen such tender grass since spring!”
    “The Warrior’s Path does not allow for indulgence.”
    The stallion snorted. “It might be said of warriors that few men indulge themselves more.”
    They rounded a bend in the river and found a woman kneeling at the water’s edge filling her gourd.
    The sight of the mounted samurai drew a gasp from her and she fell back. Under her broad-brimmed straw hat, Ken’ishi caught sight of wide eyes and beautiful countenance. Her glossy black hair was drawn into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. Robes of pale silk, woven with intricate patterns, draped from her shoulders. These were not the garments of a peasant woman.
    She stood up and bowed. “Good day, sir.”
    “Good day, lady. I apologize for startling you. I am Ken’ishi, a vassal of Lord Otomo no Tsunetomo.”
    “Please be good to me. I am Midori.”
    “Your name is ‘green’? A strange name.”
    “Look closer, sir, and see why.” She slipped off her hat, fully revealing her face, a simple movement but so steeped in poise and delicacy that it held his rapt attention.
    Ken’ishi’s breath caught at the sight of her. Only once before had he seen a woman so beautiful, and the splinter of his love for her still remained in his heart. Full lips, flawless cheeks, and eyes—
    Her eyes were green.
    Brimming with deep soulfulness, perhaps tinged with a bit of mournfulness, they regarded him as if she knew him and bore a strange cunning and wisdom that went beyond her indeterminate age.
    He cleared his throat. “A lady of standing and wealth should not be traveling alone in the wilderness. Where are your guards?”
    “Forgive me, but I am not a noble lady, nor am I rich. It is fortuitous, our meeting. I am traveling to Lord Tsunetomo’s castle to entreat to serve his wife as a handmaiden.”
    “You have no husband? No protection? These mountains are full of bandits. I encountered one not two hours ago.”
    She looked away, an expression as blank as slate settling over her face. Her head tilted forward, and she brushed a few strands of crow-black hair behind her ear with fingers long and slim and graceful.
    “I am sure that Lord Tsunetomo’s wife would take a woman of your grace and beauty into service,” Ken’ishi said. “On my honor, I shall escort you there safely.”
    Her face brightened like the sun emerging over a mountaintop. She clasped her hands over her heart and bowed.
    He slid to the ground and offered her his hand that she might climb into the saddle.
    * * *
    For two more hours, Ken’ishi led the stallion and the lady down the path, but his alarm grew as the road became a trail, the trail became a footpath, and finally diminished altogether.
    He was an experienced woodsman with a clear direction in mind, but tromping across trackless mountains with a lady was a bit more difficult than doing the tromping alone.
    As they walked, he often felt her eyes on him, and the buzzing of the kami at those times raised his awareness again that perhaps they were being watched. Perhaps she was not alone at all. Perhaps she was leading him into a trap. But what did he have that anyone would want?
    Except for Silver Crane.
    The underworld crime lord Green Tiger had gone to great effort to find and steal Silver Crane. Precisely why, Ken’ishi did not yet know, save that the sword was more powerful