Thank you to all those who have supported this story!
This chapter is shortened, the original was much longer. But after one of you pointed out that it was better to split up large blocks of content and context-building. I have decided to split this inot 2 chapters.
So here's chapter 4, enjoy!
Ritsu cracked her knuckles and stretched her back as she locked up the last of the young stallions back in their pens. Grooming them was no easy task, as they tended to fidget and generally refused to stay in one spot. She practically had to chase one particular stallion around his pen just so she could brush him, and almost got kicked several times. Her co-worker however, was not so lucky; his attempt to place a bit into one stallion's mouth ended with a bite to his arm and being shoved to the ground face-first.
Caring for horses was no easy task. It only looked easy since the entrance was mostly occupied by workers taking a break, soldiers taking their mounts and the older, more trained steeds waiting quietly within their pens. Those were the easier jobs; all they needed one to do was to clean, feed and hand over the trained steeds and your work was done. The real challenge lay within the stables, where the untrained horses, foals and mothers were housed. Dealing with those required knowledge, skill, a firm hand and a substantial amount of patience.
These younger horses, as well as the nursing mares, were all held much deeper inside the stable grounds, so that they would not be distracted or distressed by the bustle outside. They required a lot of maintenance besides the regular grooming and upkeep; the nursing mares had to be given special diets to supplement their recovery and their foals, said foals needed constant medical care and a controlled diet once they were weaned, and the younger ones… just needed a trainer who could take that kind of shit.
Ritsu herself loved working with these younger horses, stallion or mare, for they were often more spirited and energetic. Not that the older, trained ones were lacking in any fire themselves, but it was more fulfilling to train up a young one from scratch, and Ritsu loved a good challenge. Not to mention the fact that it sounded a lot cooler when saying that you train stallions. It was never easy to have to paint something coherent on a blank canvas, but when the job was done, it was immensely satisfying to survey the results.
"Nicely done Ritsu." Her co-worker patted her on the shoulder.
"Heheh of course." She gave him a smug grin, which he responded to by giving a thumbs-up. A gong sounded in the distance indicating that it was noon time, or more importantly, break time.
Ritsu really pitied the palace timekeepers; they spent all day doing nothing but counting the hours as they went by, and sounding the gong at sunrise, noon, mid-afternoon and at sunset. If it was possible to die of boredom, they would probably be the first ones to go. And as to what could have possibly possessed them to take up such a job, Ritsu decided that it was a mystery and was anyone's guess.
Remembering Mio's promise, she put her tools back to their respective places and walked out to the courtyard, giving the guards a curt nod as she passed through the gates. The noon time sun was bright as ever, but the cool air kept it from actually getting hot; the climate in the province was temperate, and even the hottest period still never went anything above being moderately warm.
Even so, the work that Ritsu did made sure she would sweat a fair bit despite the colder air; the only time she would not was when it was in the middle of winter, when it was cold enough for hell to freeze over. Thankfully, that time was past, and for now she could enjoy the comfort of spring.
Ritsu sauntered over to the base of a nearby tree and sat down while waiting for Mio; it was their usual spot for having lunch. The thick branches and newly budding leaves provided some form of shade from the glare of the sun, and the spot provided a nice view of the courtyard. It was not as secluded as she would have liked; the palace architecture and placement of guards ensured almost no blind corners. Furthermore, there were always people moving about the courtyard, be it merchants having to make a delivery or the wandering poet in need of some inspiration.
Having to eat under the watchful eyes of a foot soldier some distance away and the archers overhead was rather unsettling the first few times she and Mio did it. But they never bothered them; it was quite obvious they weren't doing anything illegal, and the courtyard was open to the public after all. Eventually, the two friends got used to it, and regularly had lunch together in the courtyard during noon time. Ritsu always loved this part of her routine, it was one of the few times she could really relax and spend time with Mio, apart from her morning walks.
The two girls had no qualms chatting about anything; from griping about their boring work day to snarking about rumors that had been spreading around. And if both were too tired to talk, they would just keep each other company as they ate. Mio's companionship meant a lot to Ritsu, her presence and opinions had become an integral part of the short-haired girl's life.
The few times she had caused Mio to be truly angry at her were painful memories. She never wanted Mio to ever think any less of her; the girl's opinions were that important. Still, her hilarious reactions often made it tough not to poke at her. Glancing up, she spotted the raven haired girl waiting at the outer gates, and waved for her to come over.
For Mio, Ritsu was the counterbalance in her life, providing energy and strength where she could not. The shorter girl, despite her seemingly shallow outward behaviour with her constant teasing and child-like antics, was actually far more mature and level headed than herself and had on several occasions helped Mio solve issues she could not face. Mio was often praised for having a cool, mature air about her, but in truth she was actually rather timid and naive in nature.
Ritsu often warned her about wearing her emotions on her sleeve, it left her wide open to be tricked and not everyone was a kind person who would take pity on a young woman. As long as you were vulnerable, it gave others a chance to harm you; such was Ritsu's take on the world around her. Mio felt that that was too harsh a judgment to pass, surely people weren't that bad right? But human nature and the human psyche was a topic for another time, for now, Mio was going to enjoy her lunch.
"So here's today's lunch. I made them myself." Mio handed one of two boxes to Ritsu, giving a proud look. She had decided to make something personally today, after Ritsu had teased her about not being able to cook some time ago. Ritsu narrowed her eyes and curled her mouth into a sly grin. Oh, a challenge huh Mio? You asked for it.
"Oh really? Let's see what the Great Chef Mio has made then…" Ritsu gleefully opened the lid, revealing six white, rabbit-shaped buns arranged nicely in two rows, complete with pink food colouring dotting where the nose was. She immediately burst into hysterical laughter and Mio's smug smile quickly dissolved into an irritated and embarrassed frown.
"So…hahaha...typical…" Ritsu was on her back now, sides hurting from the laughter and tears in her eyes as she rolled on the ground. Mio stood scowling; her plan to prove her friend utterly wrong had backfired spectacularly. But two can play at that game. Mio's scowl transformed into an uncharacteristic grin as she put her next plan into action.
"Oh? Typical? Then I guess it's not suited for the Great Tainaka Ritsu's taste then, I shall take it back and head home." She huffed, grabbing the boxes and turning away.
Ritsu shot up from the ground, eyes widening at the threat of losing her lunch. "AH NO! I'm starving! It looks good, I swear!" she put her hands together and looked at Mio with pleading eyes.
The taller girl chuckled, satisfied with the results, and sat down next to Ritsu, helping herself to her own portion of food. The two girls sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and clear sky. It was far from being actually quiet; they were barely a hundred meters away from the nearest barracks. But it was easy to ignore the dull grunts of soldiers moving around and the clinks-and-clanks of endlessly shifting weapons and equipment – all these noises had become part of the ambience over the time spent here.
Ritsu began to hum again, this time it was a slower and more relaxing song, while her hands did their usual job of tapping out a matching rhythm. Mio wasted no time in joining her, providing a deeper tone to give the resulting harmony a more solid feel. This was a song that Mio personally loved, one that she had once overheard her father singing to her mother during their anniversary; a love song that has been taught over the generations. It brought back wonderful memories, as this was the song that she and Ritsu had first learned together, and it was what made them love music ever since.
"That is a wonderful song." Mio jumped at the sudden appearance of a foreign voice, letting out a high pitched yelp and startling Ritsu. Craning her head to the source, Mio found herself looking into a pair of blue eyes graced with a light smile.
"Uh thanks… Sorry, you really surprised me." she scratched her head in embarrassment, a blush now colouring her cheeks; Mio really was not used to having an audience, much less an unexpected one that had quite literally sprang out of nowhere. Like a ninja! Is she a merchant? Or just some random person? Still, she looks like the rich kind… like not of our class… Mio squirmed a little as the blue eyes continued to be trained on her, her mind racing to trying to think of what to say to her "audience" as the awkwardness grew.
Tsumugi chuckled lightly at the girl's shyness and beamed, hoping to ease her. It was clear that this girl had absolutely no idea who she was speaking with, but Tsumugi could not blame her. After all, she had not taken up office and hence rarely made public appearances; the only time she would appear in public would be during the annual jubilee, and even then she would be sitting under a sheltered seat high over the courtyard, and far away from the crowd below while her father gave his yearly speech. It was near impossible to see her face from the courtyard at that angle – courtesy of experimenting with Yui and Ui – and thus anyone outside the main palace would not know how she actually looked like. Furthermore, she was just wearing plain – but still expensive looking – robes, and could easily be mistaken for a rich merchant.
Such a discovery had really disheartened Tsumugi at first, because in addition to being stripped of her freedom, she was also denied the basis of her personal identity – her face. It practically cemented all those twisted, lonely thoughts that swam in her head; the people who envied her don't even know the face of whom they envied.
However, she soon realized that it wasn't a complete loss, since it essentially meant that she would be a total stranger to civilians when up close. It would thus give her the opportunity to speak to them without her status getting in the way; it was uncomfortable when people would panic upon seeing her, making it difficult to have a casual, comfortable conversation.
And now that she had more or less stumbled upon two civilians singing in the courtyard, she was not going to let this chance to socialize simply pass. Besides, what harm could come out of having a friendly chat?
Thank you for reading, please rate and review, let me know what you think.