To Stop A Fae: Monster Hunter Tales, #2

Chapter 1

Sakura Nightshade sat in her small bedroom at her desk.  A single lamp illuminated the book she was studying.  It was well after midnight, but her finals were less than two weeks away and she needed a top score to ensure she would have a wide selection of apprenticeships once she graduated from Master Eyoroko’s school. 

Competition for the top student honor in the graduating class was fierce, but Sakura was one of the most dedicated and accomplished in her class.  By anyone’s count, she was a model student and had performed exceptionally well given her circumstances.  Her mother, Yumuru, worked in the nearby pleasure house of Lady Iruchime.  Sakura had no known father.  The town of Hiamuo, where Sakura was born, followed a strict caste system the citizens were honor bound to follow.  Under normal circumstances, they would send a girl like Sakura to work in a kitchen.  Children born outside of wedlock were the lowest ranked individuals in the caste system.  Hiamuo shunned these children and often denied them luxuries such as an education.  However, when Sakura turned seven, an anonymous donor paid for her schooling and board with the request for her to attend Master Eyoroko’s school.  Sakura understood that her life could look different if the donor had not paid for her schooling.  The opportunity to have what others in her situation missed out on drove her to achieve top marks.  Which was why she was up studying instead of sleeping like the other students. 

The purple clock on Sakura’s desk clicked over from 1:59 am to 2:00 am.  It let out a small beep that caught Sakura’s attention.  She closed her book and pushed her chair back careful not to scrape the legs against the wooden floor.  Sakura stood up and stretched, trying to loosen the crick that had formed in her neck.  She moved four steps from her desk to the side of her bed.  She pulled back her cover to climb into bed when there was a knock at the door.  Puzzled by who would knock on her door at such a late time, Sakura took five steps from her bed to reach the door that led out to the dormitory hallway.  She turned the knob to find a courier standing in the hallway.  The woman donned a traditional Hiamuo courier outfit made of light leather and accented with golden leaves.  Sakura stared at the woman. 

When Sakura did not speak, the courier cleared her throat.  Sakura Nightshade?

Sakura shook her head.  Tired from lack of sleep and confused by the courier arriving at such a late hour, Sakura rubbed her face attempting to snap out of the daze.  Yes, I am Sakura Nightshade.  How can I help you?

The courier swung the delivery bag strapped onto her back to her front.  She reached into the long, leather pouch to withdraw a package.  The brown wrapping paper was decorated with a simple design, but someone folded the edges of the package in a meticulous manner.  It was obvious the sender took great care in wrapping the parcel.  The package was square and almost two feet long.  The courier offered the package to Sakura.

Sakura hesitated to accept the parcel.  She stared at the unusual package in the courier’s hands while she scratched her head.  Who has sent this package at such an hour?

The courier’s lips pressed together as she frowned.  She didn’t know who sent the package.  All she knew was that she wanted to be in her bed.  The courier shoved the package into Sakura’s hands.  There is no sender listed, but it was in our storage until about a half hour ago.  We had specific instructions to bring this package between 2 am and 3 am.  Please, take your package so I may go back to my bed. 

Sakura glanced around uneasily.  Her hands shook as she accepted the package.  Thank you.  Sakura bolted her door and sat the package down on her desk, which was the only place to lay anything in her tiny room.  She went to bed, but her mind raced.  She tossed and turned trying to get comfortable.  Around 3 am she succumbed to sleep until a loud pounding on her door caused her to stir. 

At first, she was unsure what the noise was.  Sakura pulled her arm out from beneath the cover to grab her purple clock thinking her alarm responsible for the noise.  She squinted at the device and tried to push snooze.  The noise continued despite Sakura’s efforts to silence the alarm.  The pounding became louder and caused Sakura to jolt up in her bed.  She realized someone was at her door.  Again?  No one ever visited Sakura while she was at school; so, to have someone knock on her door twice in such a short span of time was confusing.  Sakura dragged herself out of bed walking the five steps to her door for the second time in so many hours.  She unbolted the door to find a school guard standing in the hallway.  The muscles in her back tightened and her skin tingled.  Why would a guard be here? 

Student Sakura, you are to report to Headmaster Eyoroko’s office without delay.  I am here to make sure you arrive in a timely manner. The guard stood there staring straight ahead like a robot.  Unlike the courier dressed in leather, the guard wore silken robes dyed in the school’s colors of yellow and red.  A katana hung from his side. 

Sakura’s body trembled.  She had to take a deep breath before speaking.  She bowed to the guard.  Allow me a moment to dress and I shall follow you.

The guard nodded and turned his back towards the door while he faced the outer courtyard to wait. 

Sakura hurried to don her school uniform, which was a simple white shirt and a long black skirt.  She brushed her hair and pulled it back with a red and yellow ribbon.  She took a quick look in the mirror and grimaced at the fact that there would be no time to wash the sleep from her eyes.  Sakura grabbed a few mints out of a bowl that sat on the shelf above her desk to help freshen her breath.  She picked up her satchel and opened the door. 

The guard motioned for Sakura to follow him as he set off walking in a brisk pace down the covered hallway.  The covered hallway protected the dormitory doors from harsh weather.  The open-air courtyard was at the far end of the school grounds.  Fortified stone walls protected the school; so, the original master decided the dormitories should have an area that would allow the students to commune with nature while still inside the safety of the walls.  Many of the students were children of the wealthiest and most influential people in their country.  Thus, their protection was a top priority of the school. 

Sakura followed the guard without an argument, although she could not fathom why Master Eyoroko would need to see her.  All of her assignments were current and she would graduate in less than two weeks.  An uneasy feeling settled in her gut.  Something was not right, but she could not quite put her finger on it. 

The pair exited the courtyard and turned onto a stone path.  This path led to the main building and Master Eyoroko’s office.  The guard continued his brisk pace, but Sakura had no trouble keeping up.  They arrived at the main building in less than five minutes. 

The school’s main building was an architectural wonder.  It stood two stories high and had a beautiful yet imposing quality to it.  The curved, black roofline sat juxtaposed against the morning sunlit sky. White stones comprised the walls.  Sakura climbed the seven steps up to the main hall of the school and walked through the large double doors.  In the past, these doors gave Sakura a sense of invitation, but this morning they felt like they would close on her and never let go.  She turned left down the hallway to Master Eyoroko’s office.  Pictures of accomplished students lined the walls of this corridor, and this gave Sakura some comfort.  Perhaps Master Eyoroko gave her the honor of being the top student and needed her to pose for her own picture.  Sakura’s daydreaming stopped when she reached the door to Master Eyoroko’s office.  She held her breath as she knocked. 

Enter, Sakura, Master Eyoroko’s voice came from the other side. 

Sakura took hold of the golden handle and pushed down to open the door.  She walked over the threshold and turned around to push the door closed.  She took a deep breath as she walked towards Master Eyoroko.  The office was ten times as large as her bedroom at fifty steps long.  Unlike her bare bedroom walls, fine tapestries and carpets adorned the office walls.  Hiamuo may have been a small city on the isolated island of Yamatai, but students came from all over the world to learn at the Hiamuo school.  Grateful students often sent back gifts to Master Eyoroko from their hometowns.  Sakura stopped a few inches in front of Master Eyoroko’s desk and bowed.  You called for me, Master Eyoroko?

Eyoroko had been sitting with his back towards the door.  At the sound of Sakura’s voice, he turned around.  The chair groaned at the slowness Eyoroko turned it with.  The middle-aged man who devoted his life to his school and its students stared out from his chair, but something was amiss.  Eyoroko’s eyes were red as if he had been crying.  Bags hung under his eyes while his overall appearance was rather