Ai of the Mountain (A Fairy Retelling #2) by Dorian Tsukioka Read Free Book Online Page A

Kaito?” I have never before considered that we have anything other than forever to share with each other.
    Kaito doesn’t answer me. Instead, a lone tear escapes from the corner of one eye and glides down his cheek.
    “Kaito,” I say, putting my hands up to cup his face, “who are you?”
    “I am yours. For as long as I have.”
     
    I can still see the leaf in my hand when I wake in the morning, and for a moment I think it is truly there. I blink. It is gone. I check inside my robe to see if the coins that Grandfather Koi gave me last evening are only a figment of my overactive imagination as well. The washi crinkles in my hand, evidence that they are truly real. I pull them out and stare at them in the barely visible morning light. Even in the darkness, they shine.
    Okaasan has woken, though she is confused and half of her body still does not work correctly. I help her sit in the kitchen and find a task that she can do without becoming frustrated. The first time she suffered from a stroke, we weren’t sure she would ever regain her functions again. She was so frustrated that her body that would not obey her wishes and move the way she wanted. The doctor in the village gave her some simple exercises to increase her strength and coordination. I pull those items out for her now and am glad to see that she is able to do most of the tasks without assistance. Perhaps she will get better more quickly this time.
    I prepare Father’s meal and wonder if I should make one for the daimyo as well. I cannot leave my mother in her condition, so I will not be making the trek up the mountainside to the castle today. Surely, Lord Nakaguchi will understand. But, then again, will he? I doubt that compassion is among his strongest traits. I decide to prepare a lunch for him, even though I cannot bring it myself. Perhaps this will be enough to appease him today.
    Father takes the bundle of obento boxes and looks at them for a moment. He says nothing, but I know he understands my thinking.
    It is not until Father has long since left that I remember the gold coins still hiding in my kimono. I will need to deliver them to the daimyo. Soon. I’m not sure why I didn’t just give them to Father to take the daimyo. Explaining exactly how I came to have them would be difficult. Though Grandfather Koi did not expressly say I should not reveal his gift, this is our special secret. His and mine. I am not ready to share him with the world just yet.
    I have just helped my mother back into bed for a rest after lunch when I hear a knock at the door. It is so rare for anyone to visit us here on the mountain, the noise makes me jump. Father shouldn’t be home yet, and if it were him, there would be no need for him to knock. Perhaps somehow word of Mother’s condition has gotten out to a neighbor in the village. Likely, it is an obasan of the village, come to call on her. Mother will be so disappointed to miss a visit from a friend.
    The house is so dark inside that the sun blinds me for a moment when I open the door. I blink and my eyes adjust quickly. Standing at my doorstep is the daimyo, Lord Nakaguchi, holding the obento lunch I prepared for him this morning in his hands.
     

Chapter 5
     
     
    “My lord!”
    “Konnichiwa, Ai-chan.”
    I do a quick survey of the yard and see two guards standing sentry next to a rickshaw and its drivers. Relief washes over me that I am not here with the daimyo alone. The relief is quick-lived as I remember that he did not curb his behavior the first time we met, and that was in front of many people, including my father. Having a few guards will not guarantee me safety from the daimyo’s lack of propriety. I need to tread carefully.
    “How may I help you, Lord Nakaguchi?” I ask.
    “Actually, it is I who would like to help you.” He pauses for a moment. “I was saddened and surprised to hear that you would not be able to join me at the castle today. Your father expressed your deep regret at having to stay