Godo bent low, his round belly pushing open his shirt as he kneeled next to the corpse. He grunted as he lifted the body. There was a loud thunk as he dumped it into the cart. He pulled a dirty sheet over the body and wiped his stringy hair back from his face. His head turned slowly to face Iroha as she spoke. The beautiful woman had a tone of authority even though her attire showed her to be a servant like any other. He had seen her before but knew little about her, though she seemed to enjoy some special privileges for a servant. Godo had always assumed she was sleeping with one of the samurai or even with Lord Amoru himself. Godo’s eyes washed over her, that supple body and those large breasts, he had rarely seen a woman like her. Her eyes caught his as he stared and he turned quickly away focusing his attention back on the cart. He grabbed the rough wooden handles and pushed it through the doorway.<br/><br/>As they left the room the young maid knelt down to the floor taking rags from the bucket she carried. There was a wet slop as she scrubbed the blood from the mat.<br/><br/>Godo’s footsteps echoed down the hall as he pushed the cart out of the building. He couldn’t even hear the woman following behind him and stopped a several times to see if she was still there. She always was just a couple of steps behind him and he turned and resumed his march.  Eventually they came to the rear of the castle where a great fire was already burning brightly. Mamoru Akahige, the man who had been arguing with Lord Amoru before , stood watching the leaping flames. He was wearing a bright red Kimono with two swords tucked into his belt, one a katana the other a wakazashi.  Godo reached over and picked up the body he approached as near as he could to the flames and chucked the body into the fire with a loud grunt.<br/><br/>Mamoru turned and saw Iroha standing in the flickering light and snorted. “This is all taken care of girl, you can go,” said Mamoru. He was Lord Takezou’s brother-in-law, known for his abusive attitude toward the servants. “And take that smelly oaf with you.” Godo turned and grabbed the handles of the cart lumbering quickly back toward the castle in the early morning light. Sounds of life echoed from inside the castle walls as people rose to begin their day.