Princess Ai

I wrote this was a Japanese story about a fictional Dynasty of my creation.

  It was for an anthology with the theme of Japanese culture. Sadly, the book never went ahead.

Princess Ai’s nostrils stung, and her skin was burning from the decaying bodies piled on top of her tiny frame. The Morikawa Dynasty had not fallen. Princess Ai lived. Her body had rejected the poison that now coursed through Ai’s Royal veins. Taking a deep breath, she quickly pulled herself up through the ten giant warriors. Each one Ai knew spiritually and emotionally, as she had handpicked them one by one personally for her security detail.

I see a slippery dog tail between its legs. Checking its handy work, Ai thought, remaining calm, trying not to give away the fact she knew a trusted friend and traitor approached.

“M-m-m-my princess, you li-v-v-v-ve”, Sutan, her aide, stammered nervously.

Ai fell to her knees, placing the blade from the poison arrow into her boot. Sutan attempted to lift his beloved Princess, his big fists wrapped around her slender waist. Ai spun around on her hip and reached up, whispering in Sutan’s ear, “I know what you did. It broke my heart, but I forgive you.” Sutan attempted to control his spiralling thoughts. Feeling pain in his throat, he touched his neck, looking for the source. Slowly, he raised his hand towards his face and saw the blood. Ai had already taken the arrowhead from its hiding place and slit open the monstrous dog’s throat from ear to ear. Ai crumpled to the ground, passing out as her body attempted to flush the poison out.

She lay in a small clearing below a cliff face surrounded by jungle on all sides. In the distance, an albino tiger had appeared, approaching the clearing. One would assume to feed. The smell of blood and death attracted him. But no, he had sensed a powerful aura of distress. As the tiger exited the forest and approached the Princess, he saw a company of soldiers around her unconscious body. Swiftly, the tiger bounded up and snarled as the soldiers backed away. He gently tossed Ai on his back and sprinted off, carrying her to safety.