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akagami-no-rae · 5 years

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ANS Week Day 3 - Wind

AO3

An autumn wind swept through Tanbarun’s western mountains, stirring up orange leaves and a chill that promised an early winter. Most of the Lions of the Mountains were going about their morning chores, the hunting parties who left hours before sunrise were just returning with their haul of deer and rabbits to fill the reserves before the snow came and made food scarce. The wind blew again and a royal messenger from Tanbarun arrived at their gates with horse, carriage, a present, and a single armed guard.

He was there for an audience with Chief Mukaze. The messenger and his guard were escorted into their territory and brought into the big house where council and war meetings were held. The guard stood posted at the doors as a small crowd of gossiping people formed outside whispering about peace negotiations and victory. Mukaze leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. “Tanbarun’s crown has agreed to our terms,” he repeated back slowly and skeptically.

“Yes, your grace,” said the messenger who sat with perfect posture in the chair opposite Mukaze.

“You can stop that ‘your grace,’ business.” Mukaze waved a hand. “I haven’t been a Lord in years.”

“The title is a curtesy given at the crown’s request.”

“If they’re agreeing to free us from their reign, then tell them they can expect us to be a very different country from what they’re used to.” “Of course, your g- Chief Mukaze.”

“Speaking of,” Mukaze leaned forward in his chair, “What are Tanbarun’s terms in this arrangement? They haven’t fought us this hard, for this many years, just to let us go so easily.” The messenger sat up straighter, “Tanbarun, of course, requires that the Lions of the Mountain ally with them in the war against Clarines. And to insure the bond of this alliance Tanbarun’s crown has less of a condition, and more of an amicable arrangement in mind.”

“Let me be the judge of that.” Mukaze narrowed his eyes, his mouth quirked in amusement.

The messenger was silent for a moment, his lips twisted slightly as if trying to find the words to properly explain. “Tanbarun’s crown,” he began slowly, “would like to extend an offer that is highly coveted amongst their nobles. It must be stressed that the fact that rebels are being offered this opportunity, at all, is unheard of.”

“Apparently the royals need these rebels’ help to win their war so spit it out already.”

The messenger’s brow creased in anger. “It has reached the prince’s ears that you have a beautiful daughter with rare red hair, is that true?”

Mukaze chuckled and shook his head. “Choose your next words. Very. Very. Carefully.”

“Are you threatening me, Chief Mukaze?” The messenger sputtered, “To be offered a place in the prince’s harem is a great honor, to the woman and her family!”

“Get out.” Mukaze’s voice was a low rumble.

“Excuse me?”

“Get out!” Mukaze advanced on the messenger suddenly. The messenger stood and stumbled over his chair scrambled to take his present box into his arms before backing away. “She’ll have the prince’s ear!”

“I said, get out!” Mukaze shouted. The council members stepped away from the wall and gathered behind Mukaze.

The messenger stepped backwards until he backed into the wooden double doors of the big house. He looked across the group of men and women in front of him and stood tall. “One day, if she gains his favor, she’ll be the first in line as candidate for queen!”

Mukaze stepped forward and in a quiet, almost friendly, rasp said, “Leave now, or we’ll throw you out.”

The messenger slipped one hand onto the door handle. “You should know what you’re giving up: An alliance. A chance at power.”

“I am intimately aware of what you’re offering. Our people knew what we were getting into when we started this rebellion and we won’t sacrifice our children for an easy victory.” The messenger made the slightest turn of the handle and the door flew open, a gust poured in over the crowd and sent the doors shaking on their hinges. Back lit, face dark, cape billowing in the wind the messenger spoke.

“You’re making a mistake you’ll regret.”

He turned and came face to face with a crowd of people all staring expectantly. His guard came to his side in a useless display. The messenger scanned the crowd and his eyes fell on a patch of red hair. He watched as the girl slipped through the crowd and came to stand in the front.

So, the reports were true after all.

The messenger gathered his dignity, held the box in front of himself, and walked towards the red-haired woman. Mukaze appeared from inside the big house and stepped between them before the messenger could get too close. The young woman stepped to the side to look between her father and the messenger. The messenger stepped forward with the box and handed it to Mukaze, “These gifts are intended for your daughter.”

Mukaze reluctantly took the package but made no movement to hand the box over. He simply stared at the messenger who finally turned to his guard. “Let’s go,” he said and the two pushed their way past the crowd and walked towards the town’s gates, a couple Lions followed to ensure their egress.

Shirayuki watched them disappear from view then looked to her father. “What was that about?”

“Nothing,” he said, “They simply came to insult us.”

“So, you weren’t going to even give me a choice?” Mukaze and Shirayuki were in their home now. The royal messenger’s visit had created quite the scene. All the Lions were buzzing with what had happened. It didn’t take Shirayuki long to hear it all. She stood across from her father who sat on his chair, the present box opened on the low wooden table between them, its contents on full display. Perfumes, a bottle of fine red wine, a golden hair ornament, apples from the royal orchard, and a dress made of red silk. Tokens of what a life as the prince’s concubine would promise her, meant to entice her. Things she was to use to make herself more presentable to meet a prince.

“What choice?” He picked up the hem of the red fabric, “This is how he sees you. Just a pretty thing he can buy.”

Shirayuki saw the glistening red fabric in her father’s hand turn in her mind’s eye to a blood-soaked sheet on the medic table. Deep wounds beyond her care. The slow fade of a pulse. The Lions were a small faction is this war between two countries. Their high position in the mountains made them difficult to attack and their own strategy relied heavily on guerrilla tactics. Yet this war had taken so many of them. She tended to those who were carried back from skirmishes and raids, some half dead. There were too many she couldn’t help, who were brought to her with infections and gashes that couldn’t be sown together. She helped save hundreds, but how many could she do nothing more than hold as their hands went cold? She’d never be able to look a dying man or woman in the eyes again knowing she could have saved them. Knowing that this war continued because of her. “There are worse fates,” she whispered.

Mukaze’s fingers released the silk and it fluttered back down to the table. His head fell into his hands. “I can’t let you do this,” he said, his voice rasped more than usual, “escaping this very fate is how your mother and I came to the Lions.”

“You always said your uncle tried to marry her...”

“My uncle was the previous king of Tanbarun,” he said, “Your mother and I were newly married, but he wanted to add her to his harem anyway. We’d just discovered she was pregnant with you when they came to take her away. They told me to forget about her and find a new wife. So, I did the only logical thing I could think of: I broke into the palace, set her free, and we ran away to the mountains together. It was winter and we nearly died that first week, I’m sure my uncle hoped we would, but the Lions found us and took us in.” They were silent for a long moment after that. Shirayuki hadn’t heard that version of the story before. Her stomach churned at the thought of the fate of her life being decided by another, but...

“They’ll come for us, won’t they,” she said. It wasn’t a question. “If they’re smart, they’ll wait till after winter when the snow on the mountains melt and our food stores are at their lowest. They’ll come and wipe us out.” Mukaze attempted a protest, but Shirayuki spoke over him. “That messenger came straight to our front gates. They know exactly where we are.”

“We’ll fight them like we always have.”

“For how long?” Her voice nearly cracked. “Until there is no one left?” Her words hung thick in the air. Mukaze was always the one preaching the importance of the retreat, of staying alive and living to fight another day. “My life isn’t worth any more than anyone else’s. Besides, I’ll be okay. This prince is trading a portion if his kingdom for me,” a fire burned in her eyes, “He has no idea what he’s getting.”

Shirayuki spent the rest of that day preparing and stockpiling medicines for the Lions. Salves for topical treatments, medicinal teas, powders for the aching joints of the older residents. She packed everything she’d need for a long journey away. She tried not to think about how she may never come back. She didn’t bother to bring the prince’s gifts with her. Instead she told her father to sell it all and put the money towards food and medicine. The only item she kept was the bottle of wine. Bundled in her traveling clothes, bag over shoulder, she walked through the quiet town.

All the lights were out except for the deck of the bar. She saw her father with his back leaned against the railing, a beer in one hand while he spoke casually with some soldiers. She wanted to remember him like that and continued on her path.

She stopped at the stables to get her horse before going out to the graveyard outside of town where her mother and grandparents were buried. She left the horse to wait for her outside the graveyard gate and found the three plots all in a row. From her bag she took out the bottle of wine and four small cups. She poured a small portion of the wine in each and placed one at each headstone before taking a sip of her own.

She never cared for alcohol herself, but her grandparents had owned a bar in Tanbarun where she grew up. When Shirayuki heard of the Lion’s rebellion she had already been studying herbology for several years and knew that she could help. So, at her behest her grandparents and her moved to the mountains. The two of them ran that bar in town for years before they passed. One sip was enough for her and she set it aside. She left the bottle with them, said goodbye, and left.

On horseback she rode down the mountain path towards Tanbarun. It was a few days travel to the capitol and she hoped that if she rode through the night she’d catch up with the messenger by morning.

It was a long cold night of riding into biting winds. She welcomed it. It kept her awake and fueled something in her to keep her moving forward. She cared about the Lions, she didn’t want to see harm come to them, especially not because of her. But she’d only lived there for four years, all during a time of war, and it never felt like home. Especially not after her grandparents had passed. Leaving Tanbarun, the place she’d grown up, hadn’t been that sad either. Probably because her grandparents had been with her. She missed them but was glad they weren’t here today. They might have tried to stop her, and she might have let them.

The sky was brighter, though the sun hadn’t shown itself through the trees yet, when she finally caught up with the carriage. “Who goes there?” yelled the guard from next to the coach.

“My name is Shirayuki.”

The messenger peeked out the door. “Move along, we’ve no business with you.”

“Your prince is selling a part of his country for me but only knows exactly one thing about me?” She pulled back her hood to reveal her hair. “The girl from the Lions. So, you’ve decided to accept?”

“Yes.”

“Please, come in the carriage and out of the cold. You must be exhausted.”

She hated that he was right. She dismounted and the guard tied her horse to the bridle of the ones leading the carriage. She took a seat inside and the messenger offered her a blanket that she accepted.

“You’re not wearing your gifts?”

“Silk isn’t very practical for traveling.” He didn’t need to know that she left them all behind. She fell asleep before he could ask more questions.

Shirayuki awoke to find herself in midair. Her head suddenly hit the side wall of the carriage which was now below her. Her ears rung and her neck radiated an icy pain. She took stock of herself to make sure she could move, wasn’t bleeding, or trapped. When she was convinced, she was fine she looked around to see the messenger standing and trying to peek out the cracked door above their heads. He must be feeling fine, but she’d wished he’d let her evaluate him first. But he didn’t know her name, how could he have known she was a healer. His face was a pale white.

“What is this?” He turned to Shirayuki. “Do you know these, men?”

Shirayuki’s brow creased and she crawled to her feet and rose to her tip toes to look out as well.

The guard, bless him, stood between them and group of about six armed men. The one who stood in front of him now hit his sword against the guards playfully, like a cat pawing at a mouse. The guard’s leg was obviously injured from falling off the carriage where he rode.

The guard lunged forward, struck once, twice, then the butt of the other man’s sword struck him in the back of the head. The guard crumpled to the floor. The men watching laughed and jeered.

“Are these the Lions? Have they come to steal you back?”

“No, I’ve never seen these men before.”

The men turned their attention to the wagon and Shirayuki dropped to her knees. She searched for her bag in the wreckage of the interior. She felt blindly under a blanket and got a handful of glass. She recoiled, balled her hand into a fist, and pulled the blanket back. Glass shards from a broken window and her bag. She grabbed it and fished around with her good hand. She pulled a small bag of powder. She’d been saving it as a present for the prince, but she needed it now.

She turned to tell him her plan when the messenger forcefully grabbed her hood and shoved it over her head. “Act mute, girl,” he hissed. She didn’t appreciate the rough handling, but she wasn’t going to argue right now. She slipped the powder up her sleeve.

He shouted at the door above, “Take our money! You can have it, just let us go!” The toe of a boot appeared in the crack of the door and kicked it open. He whispered to Shirayuki “Quick give me your things." She looked at him pleadingly and shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous!” he shouted and grabbed her bag from her. He rifled then turned it over. Rations, first aid, packets and jars of medicines, a couple books that had been her mother’s. “Where are they!?” Shirayuki stared daggers.

“No gold?” The man above sighed. “That’s fine, we trade in other things.” Hands reached down and hauled the messenger out like he was nothing. Shirayuki heard him thud to the ground outside. “Please, I don’t have anything, I’m just a messenger. Our food is strapped to the roof-er-side, now.”

“Is that so? What about the girl?” The man above turned and looked down at Shirayuki with a smile. She glared back.

“Some mute girl lost in the woods,” the messenger lied, “Poor thing wouldn’t hurt anyone, best to just let her go.”

The man above jumped down into the carriage. Glass cracked under his boots. He towered over her; he tipped his head to keep it from hitting the new roof. She stood to face him. “Prettier if you didn’t scowl so.” He lifted a hand to brush her cheek. She slapped it away before he could. He looked intrigued then yanked back her hood. Her hair pooled around her shoulders in red waves, her ribbon having fallen out. She thought to use the powder but using it in close quarters with a sure to be angry man thrashing around was too dangerous. She’d wait for the perfect moment. He called back over his shoulder, “Looks like we found our prize!”

They locked her in the carriage that night, took her bag and supplies, but didn’t search her. Nor did they let her treat the cut on her hand. They let the guard, coach, and messenger go. Told them to tell the royals the Talon of the Sea bested them. Seemed an idiotic thing to brag, but Tanbarun’s crown had famously ignored the Talon’s doings for years, or at least they were good at covering up their failed attempts to thwart them. Why not brag?

Unable to sleep she stayed up planning an escape instead. Since someone sat guard on the door above, she could hear him snoring, she made a plan for morning, but it also occurred to her that aside from a quick peek outside earlier she had no clue where she was aside from inside a flipped wagon. If she somehow was able to make a break for it, she didn’t have much of a plan beyond that. She supposed it didn’t matter too much though.

“Psst, wake up. Do you see that?” She heard the voice of the man above. The snoring stopped. The door rattled under the moving weight of the man as he sat up.

“What?” Asked a groggy voice.

“There’s a soldier approaching. Rich one too from the looks of it.”

“That’s some nice-looking armor.”

“That’s what I’m thinking.” A sharp whistle. “Boys, get up. We got a quick job coming our way. Probably coming home from that battle between the warring countries. We strike quick and he won’t know what hit him.

“Soldier, stop right there!”

“Looks like you’re having some cart troubles,” a more distant voice said.

She hoped this soldier had a sense of humor and wasn’t actually that stupid. She heard the twang of a bow string then a slash and crack. “Whoa there, I’ve had enough fighting for one day.” He sounded unhurt, friendly even. “I’m just trying to pass by.”

Without another word the sounds of fighting began. Swords and bows. Horses whinnied. She heard the man above her swear and hop from atop the carriage. Without missing a beat. She pushed the door open and pulled herself out. She looked around to get an idea of the area and the best direction to run. She saw the soldier fighting the pirates on the road, it was dark, but the full moon shone on his hair, pale as the moonlight itself, and his armor. It looked well-fortified and decorated, though she couldn’t imagine killing someone over it. She looked elsewhere for an escape and saw that part of the road and been dug out. The pirates must have cut loose the horses and without control the carriage rolled over the soft dirt and flipped.

Then she saw a narrow bridge ahead. Only wide enough for a single wagon at a time. She remembered taking that bridge to the mountain’s years ago, she’d been afraid of it, but Grandpa and Grandma assured her it’d fine. She hoped they were right tonight. She hopped down and ran through the pirate camp, stopping only briefly to grab her bag and quickly check its contents- all there. She thought to grab her horse, only to see all but the soldier’s horse was running away. She supposed she couldn’t blame draft horses nor her own mare for being scared off by the noises of a fight. Without wasting a moment more she ran for the bridge.

Just as her foot was about to land on wood panels a hand yanked her shoulder. The man from above was there grabbing hold of her.

“I’m not going back to Umihebi empty handed.” He tried to pull her and grab her arms, but she freed herself. She pulled the powder from her sleeve, opened it, and threw it at the man’s eyes. He screamed, clutching his face, trying to rub the powder away. She ran from him, not taking a breath until she was certain she was far enough away.

Adrenaline fueled her, telling her feet to run faster to forget height and rushing water below. She almost didn’t hear the sound of hooves over the sound of her own heart beat. The soldier on his horse pulled ahead of her before slowing and reaching down a hand.

“He’s about to cut the lines,” he spoke the words and her head whipped back to see the man above eyes swollen and red sawing on the corded ropes with a knife. They were only halfway across.

“Hurry!” He shouted and she took his hand. He swung her to sit in front of him on the saddle and kicked hard. They galloped, hooves barely making purchase with the bridge before already making the next step. Then the next step didn’t come, and they were falling.

#ans week 2019 #answeek2019 #wind #war au #day 3 #really getting down to the wire on these #I couldn't stop adding to it it just felt weird ending without her and zen having met up #like why else am I here?#I found a draft of this is my notes wrote A YEAR AGO #so I brushed it up a little and #gave it an ending #posting without editing!! what could go wrong!!

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