Office
19 December 1998
by O'donna Dean

The beauty of the land that lay before her always amazed Marako. To her no other lands even compared to the Unicorn homelands. The lands that Marako was now in charge of were no different. Rolling green hills that turned into lush, emerald plains. This land should have made her content, but they did not.

All of her life she wanted to be a daimyo. To be in charge of land, and to have the responsibilities that went along with it. Now that it had happened something inside of her was aching to be beyond these lands. Marako was missing the thrill of the adventure, not knowing what Megumi would put before her and her friends.

Marako turned and walked back into her castle. So many beautiful furnishings – paintings, rugs – all of the many things that the Unicorn had brought back with them from their 200 years of wandering. All of the things that made them different from all of the other clans. These items always made her feel at ease. Unfortunately, they did not this time. Marako decided to go to the one place that always made her feel better

The stables were only a short walk away from the castle. She walked strait to Motoko's stall, ignoring all of the stable workers. There he was, the most handsome steed she had ever seen.

"Feel like going for a ride my friend?" Marako said to Motoko

Motoko bobbed his head that told Marako that he wanted to. He moved over in the stall so that Marako would have the room that she needed to climb onto his back. So on her bareback steed, Marako took off out of the stable, being careful not to trample any workers.

The wind rushing through her hair again made Marako feel alive. It felt so natural to her. Her and Motoko were one in spirit. She could feel his energy flow through her. She knew that he felt her longing for their past adventures. That was why he ran as if they were battle. Suddenly he came to an abrupt stop. This was as far as they were allowed to go without escorts. If they went out of sight of the castle, Marako's retainers would start looking for them. So they turned around and flew back to the stables. When they arrived at the stables, Suzu was waiting for them.

"Marako-sama, is everything alright? I was summoned by the stable master when you left suddenly."

"Everything is all right now. I was feeling the need to ride, and Motoko obliged me. Sometimes the wind in my hair and being on his back are the only things that can clear my mind."

Marako turned to her steed, and patted his neck. "Thank you my brother, you always know what I am in need of." Marako turned and headed back for the castle.

The warmth of the bath relaxed her even more. She was able to think clearly now of the things that were bothering her. Yes, she missed the adventure, but what she was missing most of all were her friends. They had become like family and being apart from them would take some time getting use to. She wondered how they were doing. Were Naoki and Ishi in harms way in the Shadowlands? Had they finally caught up with Ishi's brother? Was Jinjiro enjoying his new assignment as an Emerald Magistrate? Was he able to control

his desire to duel every Scorpion in sight? Was Takehai ready for the life that laid before him? Would he allow himself to be happy?

"Marako-sama, I am sorry to disturb you, but I thought that you would want this message." Suzu handed it to her, bowed and walked away.

Marako unrolled it and read.

"Marako-sama, I wanted to send a personal note with this invitation. You are my friend and I want you to be here with me on my wedding day. As you know, I do not have a father or mother to be with me on this special day. But I feel as if you are family, and it would bring me great joy if you could be here."–Kitsu Takehai

A smile moved onto Marako's lips. She knew how private Takehai was and she felt it to be a great honor to be like family to him. She rose from the water and called for her servants.

"Help me get dressed." Marako said to one. "You, go get Suzu-san, ask her to come to my chambers."

"Suzu-san. Would you please prepare things for a journey? We will be leaving tomorrow for Kitsu lands." Suzu bowed, and went to work.

"To be with my friends again."