The Emperor's Daiyu (BWAM)

36) Mángrén

My arms were wrapped tightly around Xiang's waist as we traveled on horseback through the frosty night.
There was a nervous silence between us.
Maybe it was on my end?
Xiang was a man of his word so I knew my tattoo would gone by tonight. It was the "how" that made me fearful.

I didn't know much about the woman named Mángrén. Xiang only told me that she was blind and greater in age.

Xiang pulled the leather reigns of the horse, turning into a hidden stone path. There was a rural looking house in the middle of the canopy of trees. In one window, a bright candle shone. In another was the small shadow of a figure. Was that her? Did she know we were coming.

Xiang helped me off the horse before tying it to a nearby tree.

He grabs my hand and leads me to the door but I hesitate. He turns his head to face me and frowns once he sees the look of fear painted on my face.

"She can help us Akazi"

"But what the general said..."

"So do you wish for the list to remain on your spine?" He snaps.

"That's not what I said Xiang!" I yell back. We stare at each other before taking a break to relax. He grabs my shoulders and pulls me into his arms.

"I love you Akazi" he whispers against my forehead before kissing it. Clarity soon entered my mind as I thought back to his anger in the general's house and his impatience to remove the tatto. He was doing it for...me.
Everything he did was to not harm me, but help me. From sparing my life to bringing me here.
I would forever be grateful.

"I trust you Xiang" I whisper, pressing my face against his chest. He kisses my soft curls and leads me down the path. Before Xiang could even knock, the creaky iron door opens.

"The son of the beloved Jingfen. How are you"

——

An older woman with bright white hair and creases as deep and long as the springs of Kyoto appeared in the doorway. She had the face of someone who has lived, suffered, loved and grieved. She had a long cane made of bamboo leaves that she used to guide her. Although her eyes were glassed and foggy, it looked as if it held all the secrets of the world.

She led us into her warm abode and closed the door behind us.

"Let me see you in the light" she smiles, pulling Xiang to feel his features. She huffed then giggled then tsked as she felt his skin and lips. "Still under stress I see. And your anger? Still as lethal"

I stood back, somewhat amazed and somewhat fearful of the woman.

"And Akazi!" She turns to me. How did she know my name?

She uses her cane to walk toward me and started feeling my face. I couldn't help but stare impolitely. I tossed my politeness to the side, maybe too foolishly. Even though she was blind, she still deserved the respect any other elder would be bestowed.

But I still couldn't help but watch her. Her hair was as pale as snow and packed into a lazy low bun. Plentiful brown aged spots were speckled across her thin skin.

"He is your first love?" She announced so loudly, I wanted to shush her to silence. I couldn't dare look back at Xiang.

"The heat is rushing to your cheeks!" She exclaims, "now your ears" she runs her hands across my ears.

"Not so loud!" I pleaded, holding her hands with care. What was she trying to do! Xiang's description were far more tamer than mine.
"But he makes you feel safe! Even with the markings on your back"My heart stopped as she read my psyche so accurately.

I look back at Xiang. He watches me carefully before going to the fire that was lit.
"Mángrén. We need your help" he says.

"You should have never brought her here. Why do you think your mother barred you from seeing me" she reveals.

"My mother was over protective with matters she had no control of" he answers.

"She said your tongue was as lethal as your anger"
The woman chuckled. Xiang still looks at the flames of fire as he listened to her words. "I can hide the scar but...the darkness that follows—"

"Darkness?" I whisper.

"Well, with matters such as these. Every action has an equal but opposite reaction. Remove the markings, but something must give"

I watch her as she stared at me...or past me; I could not decipher the difference.

Xiang choosing not to kill me was life changing. But I didn't understand how much darker it could get. A woman sold me to another country as a gift, terrorized me daily. What more could be done to negatively impact my life.

"They don't call me the blind witch for nothing my dear" she says. She separated from my side and went into a tall dark cabinet. From it, she took a few needles, a jar, and a metal claw.

"This will hurt Akazi. But you must be strong"
"Xiang?" She calls for him. I look at him as he faces the fire. He still remained quiet. He new it needed to be done.

"Do it" He whispers.

——-

I slid against the cold stone table as she instructed. Carefully, she sanitized each needles from the jar and stuck line of them into my back. Each prick was more lethal then the next.

Xiang sat on the floor beside me, kissing my hand, then my arms kissing my forehead.

She rubbed a thick smelly paste around each needle and began her chanting.

"I'm sorry Akazi" he repeated again as he saw the arsenal of tools the witch was about to use.

I try not to cry from the pain but once the fire hits, I couldn't help but scream. He held my hand as I jolted  against the table, writhing in pain.

I could feel my skin being burned off and it was the most intense pain in the world. I screamed again, my back curling in from the sheer pressure of pain.

"Hold her down!" The witch shouted. How could she be so cruel to me! Xiang stands and holds both my arms down but I was relentless.

"Xiang... I — AHHH!!"

"Sit her in your lap! She must be still"

Xiang lifts me up gently before carefully forcing me into his lap. I hold his neck tighter and tighter as the flames burn against my back. I screamed and cried, I even bit his shoulder as the woman continued.

My screams probably echoed against the canopies of the forests and as lethal as they were, Xiang still forced me still.

I tried to turn but he held my neck taut, making me stare into his eyes. He didn't say much and I was thankful for that. He kissed me tenderly, making sure I remained still.

I try to be strong for him but the pain was excruciating.

"Please... stop" I begged, trying to turn away as my lifeline weakened. I didn't care about that man in the mask touching me. Anything was better than this pain. I was in hell!

"Stop! Stop!!" I scream as I felt another jolt of fire against my spine.

She passes Xiang a cloth to tie around my mouth so I could bite down.  That did nothing to alleviate the response my body was going through.

And before long, all I saw was darkness.