“I’m awake. Come in,” she responded. The door slid open and a shadowy figure entered, bearing a silver candlestick in one hand and leading a smaller figure by the other. Balsa’s eyes widened when she saw the pale face illumined by the feeble light of the candle. Impossible! she thought. But there was no mistake. The face belonged to the boy she had rescued from the river last evening — the Second Prince.
“You-Your Majesty?” she stammered. Their eyes met, and Balsa wondered if she would go blind. But far from being filled with lightning, the eyes that looked into hers were drooping with exhaustion. The boy seemed about to fall asleep.
“I feared for you,” the woman said softly. “But looking into the eyes of royalty has not blinded you. I should have expected as much from a woman reputed to be so strong.”
Balsa realized that the slender young woman before her was none other than the Second Queen, the Mikado’s second wife. She scrambled hastily out of bed and onto the floor where she knelt stiffly, her head bowed low. The queen began to speak in a low voice.
“Thank you for saving the prince’s life yesterday. I am always terrified to cross that river on the way to the mountain villa — but you dived into it from a bridge! Four of his attendants jumped into the river after him, but only one survived. The bodies of the others have not yet been found.”
The poor men, Balsa thought. She closed her eyes. If they had not dived in after the prince, they would surely have been accused of failing to try to save him. The thought that death was their only option filled her with helpless pity.
“You must be wondering why we came to you at night and why I wished to speak with you alone. Balsa, raise your head and look at me.”
She did as she was told, and the sight caught at her heart. Though the queen was still young, her face was as pale and drawn as if she were ill. But her eyes brightened as she looked at Balsa.
“It is just as rumor reported!” she exclaimed. “You look so brave and bold! The serving women told me what the men said about you. Although you are a woman, you make your living by guarding others. There are none in the trade who do not know the name of Balsa, Spear-wielder — a wanderer from Kanbal fluent in many tongues, a spear-woman who has saved many lives. Is this not so?”
Balsa looked away. “The rumors you have heard are far too glamorous, I’m afraid. I’m just a bodyguard. I protect people for money. That’s my job.”
The queen nodded. “So if you are paid, you will save someone, yes?”
“Well, no, that’s not quite …” Balsa searched for words to explain. “I suppose in plain terms you’re right, but there’s no guarantee that I can always save the person I protect.”
The queen’s face grew stern. “That is strange. I have little association with the outside world, yet even I know that the item sold must have the same value as the item bought. If what you are selling is saving lives, then you must save the person’s life if you are to receive payment.”
Balsa smiled suddenly; she had courage after all, this queen. “That’s correct,” she replied. “And if I fail to do so, I don’t get any money.”
The queen frowned. “Why? Are you paid only after your work is finished?”
“I’m usually paid half the money at the beginning of the job and the rest at the end. But that’s not what I meant. What I was trying to explain is that if I fail in my work, it means I’m dead.”
The queen fell silent for a moment. Then she asked, “Why do you do it then, if it means risking your life?”
“My lady, I’m sorry, but if I told you my whole story, the night would turn to day.”
The queen hesitated, then glanced at her son, who had fallen sound asleep against the sliding door. Balsa had already guessed that she wished to hire her as his bodyguard. There must be trouble of some kind brewing in the palace, and the queen, fearing for her son’s life, wanted Balsa to protect him. As an outsider, she would have no connections with the court; she would be merely a new pawn that no one had ever seen or heard of. And after her rescue of the prince, Balsa must seem like a miracle-worker to the queen. She seriously believes that I can save the prince! Balsa thought. But against palace intrigues? It’s impossible.
But what the queen said next surpassed her wildest speculations. “I have come to you tonight resolved to part with my son forever.” Balsa’s head jerked up in surprise. The queen gazed at her steadily. “I am certain that the ox’s rage on the bridge yesterday was no coincidence. Someone is trying to kill him. Two weeks ago, when he was bathing, a rock at the mouth of the hot spring crumbled and boiling water shot from the spout. If he had not slipped and fallen at that exact moment, he would have died a horrible death.”
“Forgive me, Your Highness, but are you sure it wasn’t an accident?”
Balsa expected the queen to be angry, but she only sighed.
“That’s what everyone insists. But only because they do not understand why anyone would want to kill him.” The candle made a sputtering sound. “About two months ago, when we were in the villa on the mountain, my son began moaning in his sleep, as if he were disturbed by a nightmare. He seemed to have the same dream every night, yet when he woke up, he remembered nothing. But a very strong feeling lingered in his mind.” She fell silent as if she found it hard to go on.
“What kind of feeling?” Balsa prodded.
“He said — he said he wanted to ‘go home.’ ”
“Go home? To where?”
“Somewhere. Somewhere he didn’t know. But the feeling was so strong that it deeply disturbed him. Soon we had to keep watch over him at night or he would wander off in his sleep. When this tale reached the Mikado’s ears, he came to the villa with a Star Reader.”
Balsa knew that the Star Readers were scholars who lived in the Star Palace and had a thorough knowledge of Tendo, the divine forces that control this world and the next.