"Do you know what this letter is?" General Lin asked Mai as she handed him his dinner.
"No."
"This is a personal invite to the Emperor's birthday party celebrations in the capital. Not the general celebrations, the private party in the palace."
Mai's eyes widened in shock.
"And you're going?" she asked, mouth agape.
"We're going. And I think we'll have to take Oliver and his brother too. I want to keep an eye on that brother of his."
"When do we go?" Mai asked. "Oliver is feeling better but another few days wouldn't hurt."
The General hummed his agreement.
"Yes, if we left in two days, that should give us enough time. Do you want to tell the boys?"
"I can do."
"Good, I have some things to do at the barracks, so I won't be back this evening. Don't wait up for me."
He finished his dinner in silence, then left. Mai washed up the dishes, tidied the kitchen and then headed upstairs. She knocked on Oliver's bedroom door. From inside, the sound of a foreign tongue ceased. She had become quite used to the twins muttering in Eshian.
"Come in."
"Just me," she said as she entered. "General Lin's out for the evening. We're all going to the capital for the Emperor's birthday celebrations."
"All of us?" Gene asked, his incredulation obvious.
"All of us," Mai confirmed. "You gotta be on your best behaviour though, the General said we're going to the private celebrations, not just the general stuff."
Oliver frowned.
"Really?"
"Yes, he had the invite and everything."
"And it makes sense for a General to be going, and perhaps his wife," Oliver said. "But why me and Gene?"
Mai looked sheepish.
"He… He wants to keep an eye on Gene."
"That makes sense," Gene said quickly. "I understand. He's right to suspect me."
"So he's going to take you into the Emperor's own chambers?" Oliver asked.
"If he can see me, he knows I'm not doing anything bad," Gene argued. "He's a General, I'm sure he knows what he's doing."
Oliver did not look convinced.
"I guess you two have to wear your uniforms," Mai mumbled. "Oh no… What do I wear?"
"Clothes?" Gene suggested. "Or does your Emperor prefer his women naked?"
Mai grimaced at the very idea.
"What do you take the Emperor for? Some kind of pervert?" she asked.
"General Urado has his women walk around in various states of undress," Gene replied with a shrug. "I assumed…"
"The Emperor is not like your General Urado," Oliver said. "I have met him once, briefly. He was more like… Well, he acted somewhat like someone's kindly grandfather. Though he's not actually that old. He likes reading books and genuinely wants what is best for our country."
"How do you know he likes reading books?" Mai asked.
"I met him once, we had a conversation about books. He gave me a book to read," Oliver said, shrugging. "Of course, at that point in time, I could not read, but it was a nice sentiment."
"What book was it?"
"That one," Oliver said, pointing to his shelves. "The red one."
Mai jumped up and picked it up to read the well-worn cover.
"The Battle Front," she read. "I haven't read it. What is it about?"
"It's about a girl who fights for her country," Oliver told them. "But it is not the only fight she has, she is trying to defeat an evil enemy, but she is also fighting at home with her siblings and stuff. I think there is supposed to be some sort of moral behind it. To remind us that not all of the battles people face are against great evils, sometimes they are against the people we care about."
"And he gave this book to a ten year old kid?"
"He does not have children, I'm not sure he knew what was appropriate…"
"He does not have children?" Gene repeated. "But who will take over? Does he have siblings?"
"No, but it's a matter of great contention," Mai said quickly. "Because if he dies without an heir, then a lot of people might fight for power and it could cause a lot of trouble."
"Why hasn't he had a child yet?"
"Rumours are that the Empress could not have children," Mai said. "I heard she was cursed but I think that's ridiculous. Some people just can't… I also heard in the market that there was talk of the Emperor getting a second wife, purely for the purpose of having a child."
"Wouldn't everyone know?" Gene asked, confused.
"If he married a second time?" Oliver asked for clarification, and Gene nodded. "Not necessarily. Because of the importance of bearing an heir, the Empress has been kept under high security for as long as I can remember. There are those in this country that would seek to ensure that no heir was born."
"So they could replace the Empress and no one would know?" Gene asked.
"No one but Palace security I would imagine," Mai said.
Oliver felt a dawning realisation wash over him.
"What is it?" Mai asked.
"What? Oh, nothing," he said quickly.
"What is it really?"
"What? No! You can't do that to me," Mai said. "No switching languages, that's not fair."
"It's nothing, really," Oliver insisted.
"Oliver! Don't be a git! That's not—"
"He didn't tell me," Gene said.
"Really?"
"Really."
"You wouldn't be able to tell even if I had," Oliver muttered.
Mai hit him on the arm.
"I'm injured."
"You're a git."
"I can't tell you," Oliver insisted. "It's top secret Captains only type stuff."
Mai scowled.
"That's rubbish," she said.
"You're rubbish," he retorted.
Mai raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"I suffered a head injury, leave me alone," Oliver muttered, looking away.
"You're fine."
"Do you want me to give you two some alone time?" Gene interjected.
Mai's cheeks flared red and she stood up.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
She hastened from the room.
"Why did you do that?" Oliver asked.
"Why did you flirt with her?"
"That wasn't flirting, we're just friends."
"Sure, just friends. You can't tell me that if she wasn't married to your boss that you wouldn't—"
"Shut up."
"You're an idiot, Noll."
"I know. Go to bed. Captain's orders."
Gene rolled his eyes, mock saluted his brother and left.
"I asked Captain Oliver to come in this afternoon," Ayako muttered as she dressed yet another wound.
Mai paused in sorting out various tinctures and salves.
"Why?"
"Well, you're going to leave for the capital tomorrow, I want to check him over before the journey. I've heard rumours of increased numbers of bandits on the road lately. I want to know he's up to defending you if need be," Ayako said. "You're good to go, Henry. Practice with wooden swords if you're going to keep getting hit."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Mai watched the young man leave.
"Where do you want me to put these?"
"The ones in brown bottles go in the lower cupboard, the blue bottles go in the secure cupboard," Ayako said as she put away the spare bandages.
Mai returned the brown bottles as instructed, then looked for the key for the secure cupboard on Ayako's desk. It wasn't there.
"Ayako, where's the key?"
"On my desk."
"I can't see it."
Ayako sighed and moved around the desk to look. She frowned.
"I left it…" She leant over and checked the floor. "It's fallen behind the desk. There, can you see it?"
Mai bent down.
"Yes, I can." She reached a slim arm down the gap. "Eugh this needs cleaning. Okay, I got it."
"Give it a wash," Ayako said.
Mai complied, then opened up the cupboard to put the blue bottled substances away.
"Uh… Ayako?"
"Yes?"
"I thought you kept things tidy…"
"I do."
Ayako marched back around to the cupboard and frowned yet again.
"What on earth?"
The cupboard looked as if everything had been shifted.
"Did we have an earthquake and I just didn't notice?" Mai asked. "I mean, I've slept through worse…"
"No, we did not. This is ridiculous."
"You don't think…"
"It's not possible. I am the only one with the key to this room. The windows are barred. No one else can get in," Ayako insisted. "I had the locks changed when I moved here."
"Then… What happened?"
"Is anything missing?" Ayako asked, more to herself than to Mai. "I'm going to check. Go and shut the door, I don't want anyone else in here right now. They'll knock if it's an emergency."
Mai shut the door, then helped clear some space on the desk so that Ayako could sort out her medicines.
"Well?" Mai asked some time later. "Is anything missing?"
Ayako shook her head while staring intently at a bottle.
"I don't think so."
She put the bottle down and scratched her head.
"Help me put these away," she said finally.
They returned all the bottles and jars to their rightful places. But before they could sit down and ponder the matter further, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Ayako called.
It was Oliver, with Gene in tow.
"Soldier, wait outside," Ayako said.
Gene stepped back outside and shut the door.
"Captain, take a seat."
Oliver sat.
"Right, I'm going to walk you through a few tests and if you pass, then you'll be cleared for active duty again," Ayako said. "Mai, why don't you take Gene and find out who was on duty last night, see if anyone was seen around here."
Oliver frowned, but Mai jumped up.
"What happened?" he asked Ayako after Mai had left.
"Something has disturbed my store cupboards, but the room was locked and I should have the only key."
Oliver frowned.
"Well I can guarantee it was not me or Gene," he said. "If that makes you feel any better."
"Yes, in this barracks full to the brim with capable soldiers, I'm glad I can rule out two people."
But it made Ayako smile.
Mai and Gene returned sometime later, just as Ayako signed Oliver off to return to active duty.
"No one saw anything," Mai reported. "Everything was quiet apparently."
Ayako pursed her lips.
"Perhaps you were right then," she said finally, "perhaps it was just a minor very localised earthquake."
"Maybe," Mai agreed.
"I can't ride a horse."
"What."
Oliver meant it as a question, but his mouth did not quite make it sound like one.
"I can't ride a horse," Gene repeated.
"Even Mai can ride a horse," Oliver said. "Poorly and only because Skye is well behaved, but if Mai can do it, you can do it."
"There weren't very many horses in Eshia," Gene mumbled. "I was on the list of people waiting for training but…" He shrugged.
"We're leaving before noon," Oliver muttered, looking around as if a solution would just pop into existence. "Right, I'm going to teach you to ride. Get packed, we don't have any time to lose."
Gene packed in record time and then they hurried to the barracks. Oliver groomed and tacked up Skye.
"I wanted to let Mai ride Skye," Oliver mumbled. "But I suspect you'll need her more."
Gene pouted but did not argue.
Oliver led his horse to the mounting blocks.
"Get on," he told Gene, before turning to face Skye. "Now, I know this idiot looks like me and sounds like me," he told her seriously, "but he is not me. I need you to look after him, okay?"
Skye snorted.
"Right," Oliver said, looking up at Gene, "hold the reins like so," he demonstrated, "and be gentle with her. If you want her to go left, you pull the left rein. If you want her to go right, you pull the right rein. Got it?"
"Seems easy enough."
"If she doesn't want to go the way you want her to go, that's your problem, not hers," Oliver said. "If she doesn't want to go the way you want her to go, it's probably because its a stupid way to go."
Gene frowned, but once again, did not argue.
"To go faster, you nudge her with your heels," Oliver said, taking hold of Gene's foot and showing him. "To slow down, pull both reins back. That's the basics in a nutshell."
"That's it?"
"The very basics," Oliver muttered. "Come on, Skye."
Skye followed Oliver without any instruction from Gene to the riding school. Oliver let her in and shut the gate behind her.
"Guide her around the track at the edge," Oliver told Gene.
Gene's arms flailed a bit.
"How do you balance without holding on?"
"By using your muscles," Oliver deadpanned. "Wrap your legs around her and hold on."
Skye was kind to Gene, and listened to his poor instructions.
"Now we shouldn't be doing anything much beyond a walk on this journey, but I'm going to teach you to trot, just in case."
"But not canter or gallop?" Gene asked.
"No, you will fall off. And also this school is not big enough for galloping."
"Okay, so trotting?" Gene prompted.
Skye, who was obviously listening, started trotting. Gene shrieked and held on to the saddle again. Oliver hid a snigger behind his hand.
"What do I do?"
"Rise up and down with the trot," Oliver said. "It'll be less bumpy."
"I'm not letting go of the saddle."
"That's fine, the balance will come."
"I don't like this."
"You don't have to like it," Oliver muttered. "Slow her down to a walk."
Gene fumbled with the reins and managed to slow Skye back to a walk.
"I thought this was supposed to be fun."
"It's fun when you know what you're doing. I'll teach you to ride and shoot at some point."
Gene's eyes widened in alarm.
"Ride and shoot? At the same time?"
"Yes."
"But how do you use a bow and arrow and hold onto the reins at the same time?"
"You don't. You use your legs for steering."
"What?"
Oliver sighed.
"Don't worry about it."
"I don't believe you can do it," Gene said.
"I think you're distracting me from your poor riding."
"I have only been doing it for—"
"Get off then. I'll prove it to you."
Oliver retrieved a training bow and quiver of arrows from the store, along with a target. He propped up the target at one end of the school and mounted Skye.
"I would get out of the way," he warned Gene, who vaulted the fence to watch.
Oliver settled into the saddle and Gene watched in wonder as Skye bounded off in a canter. Oliver nocked an arrow and held it by his side. Skye rounded the corner at one end and leapt forwards. Oliver took aim and fired, then nocked another arrow and fired again.
He hit the target both times.
Gene's mouth fell open.
"Want me to prove I can do it with a moving target?" Oliver asked Gene, as he came to a stop beside him. "Get back in the school and run around."
"Nah, I'm good. I believe you."
"Good."
Oliver jumped down, put away the equipment and had Gene practice a little more before he collected another two horses. Gene rode Skye back to the house while Oliver led two geldings.
Lin arrived not long after they did. Mai helped pack the horses up and they left not long after that.
Author's note: I really need to sort my life out. Please review :)