"High, middle, low! High, middle, low! High, middle, low! Don't look at your feet! Your enemy is not going to wait for you to finish inspecting your shoes before he attacks! High, middle, low! Keep your hands apart on that staff! High, middle, low! And halt!"
The clanking of wood on wood came to an abrupt halt as the soldier's movements ceased. Tenten was just staring at them.
"What's wrong?" asked one of the soldiers, a young man who was new to the army.
Tenten shook her head and smiled. "Nothing is wrong. I'm proud if the progress you young men have made in these last two weeks. Take the rest of the day off!" This got cheers from the hundred or so young men who had been under her care for the last three weeks. "But I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow morning! We are going to do laps around the city!" This brought about a large groan and a few laughs.
Giggling, Tenten waved away her soldiers and stretched, feeling her joints pop and her muscles stretch and relax. Today had been a good day.
"Hey, wench."
Or at least it was a good day.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Tenten turned to look behind her. "Can I help you, Judar?"
The dark magi shrugged, grinning innocently. "I was just wondering how you were doing. You seem to be in a bad mood."
"Yes, because some kid came to darken my day with his presence."
Judar faked a look of hurt, hugging himself. "You're so mean to me; all I am trying to do is make sure you are alright! You're so cruel, thinking that I am only here for something."
Tenten rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh, and I woke up this morning with a strong urge to do embroidery. I don't like you, Judar, and you don't like me, so what do you want?"
Judar dropped his innocent, hurt act and scoffed. "The emperor wants to see you tonight. He will send someone to come and get you when it is time."
Tenten raised an eyebrow. She knew that Judar would not have lowered himself to deliver a message to her, no matter who ordered him to.
Judar grinned at her. "And I want to know if you remember anything. Or are you going to give up this charade."
Tenten sighed. Ever since she had been employed by the Ko army, Judar had come to seek her out every few days, saying that he wanted her to stop faking amnesia and tell him where she was from. He was always going on and on about the ruhk around her, whatever that was. It had been almost a month since the King of Sindria had left the capital after negotiating the terms of Balbadd's future with the emperor and the princes and their soldiers had been allowed to return home.
Since her return, Judar had not sought her out even once. Tenten had hoped that he had tired of his badgering of her by the time she returned to the capital but apparently he had just been taking his time. "There is no charade and I don't remember anything. Believe me, if I could remember I would tell you, if only so that I wouldn't have to see you every other day anymore."
Judar grinned. "I feel the same way, but you are something strange, something I don't know about, and that annoys me." His voice hardened and his eyes narrowed.
Tenten grinned despite herself. "You and Kouen have that in common at least." Ignoring the sharp look he threw her, she continued. "Fine, I'll go see the emperor tonight. Anything else? If not, I'm going to get something to eat." Not waiting for his answer, she turned on her heel and strolled away.
Tenten did wonder why the emperor wanted to see her, but she suspected that it was about her past and where she got her talent for weaponry. It kind of annoyed her that people kept asking; hell, she was the one who wanted to know the most, but there was nothing she could do about her amnesia other than keep moving forward and hopefully gaining back her memory with time. She let out a long sigh; this was becoming depressing.
"Boss!" Tenten looked over to where a few of her soldiers were drinking. "Come join us!"
Tenten grinned. "SURE!" She walked over to them and spent the rest of the day drinking and eating, laughing and singing and dancing with her men.
It was that night when Tenten was actually summoned to appear before the emperor. She detangled herself quietly from the gambling and brawling masses when the masked man came to get her. Something about the way the man was dressed put her on edge, but she just brushed it off as the alcohol that she had drunk that night, though she was sure that she didn't have that much.
No one saw her leave the impromptu festivities with the masked and robed man.
And no one saw her return.
It was five hours past dawn when Prince Kouen, Prince Kouha, and Prince Koumei, conducting their weekly review of the soldiers, came upon an entire company standing in ten straight lines, all with practice weapons. The princes thought it was odd that the soldiers were just standing there whispering to each other and not training. From the looks of their clothes, the hundred-plus young men had been training, but judging by the dried sweat stains on their clothes, that had been a while ago. Some of them were subtly glancing around, while others were actively turning in place, craning their necks to get a good look around over the tops of their comrades' heads.
The men became very quiet when the princes approached. Kouen glared at them. "Why are you not training? The Ko Empire has no use for lazy soldiers!" The men snapped to attention but not one of them answered him. "Well?! Someone speak up!"
A young man, probably no older than fifteen, was the one who finally answered. "Sir, as required by the army, a trainee soldier may not leave their inspection lines until their superior officer inspects them in the morning, sir!"
Koumei raised his eyebrows. "But you all have obviously been training."
The soldier nodded. "Yes, your highness, but we have not left this spot!"
"Why is that?" The young soldier, who had been doing so well at answering questions, faltered.
"Um, that is… well…-"
Kouha narrowed his eyes, understanding the soldier's hesitation. "I'm guessing your company's training commander has yet to arrive?" The soldier, not trusting his words, nodded. Kouha looked at his brothers. "It seems like the trainer is the one who is being lazy. I hope he knows that laziness is not tolerated by anyone." He gave a little chuckle. "How unlucky for him to sleep in on a day we do inspections."
Koumei nodded. "No matter who he is, he won't get off easily for this. He'll be lucky to keep his position."
Kouen addressed the company as a whole. "Who is your trainer?" He phrased it like a question, but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that it was an order.
This time an older man spoke up. "Your highnesses, we are trained by Captain Tenten."
Now it was Kouen's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Captain Tenten? Has she ever done this before?"
The soldiers shook their heads. The young soldier who first spoke up added, "Your highness, it is not like her to be late to anything; she's usually the first one here. It's strange because she was all excited on taking us on an endurance run this morning, but she never showed. We first thought that she was testing us, but even she wouldn't test us for this long."
Kouha frowned. "That doesn't sound like her." He looked to the soldiers. "Has anyone been sent to her room?"
The older soldier shook his head. "We are not allowed to leave until dismissed, and since your highnesses are during inspections today, no one has left their posts."
Koumei nodded and waved one of the many servants who followed them around forward. "Go to the captain's room and bring her here. She has some explaining to do." The servant nodded, bowed, and sped off.
Kouen turned back to the soldiers. "You may go." No one moved. Kouen glared. "What is it?!" He was running out of patience.
The young soldier, bowed. "If we may, your highnesses, we would prefer to remain and make sure she is alright." The other soldiers murmured in agreement and bowed as well.
The princes were shocked that these hundred soldiers had disobeyed a dismissal, but then again, this was Tenten they were taking about. Normal kind goes out the window when she is involved.
The servant came back a few minutes later at the run, and alone.
"I thought I told you to bring her here." Kouen stated sharply.
The servant trembled. "I went to her room as asked, your highness, but when I got there, the door was open and no one was inside. Many of her things were still there, but some of her clothes and weapons were gone."
"Gone?" Kouha asked. "Where in the world would she go?"
"Maybe she remembered something and left?" Koumei asked, fanning himself lightly.
Kouen shook his head. "She still wouldn't leave without telling anyone. Was there any signs of a struggle?" he servant shook his head.
"What about her large scrolls?" The young soldier looked up from his bow. "The ones stacked on the shelves? She never goes anywhere without them."
The servant shook his head. "I saw no scrolls larger than a small letter's worth."
"That's because a servant collected them last night." The princes turned to see Judar strolling up to them. The magi smirked at them before continuing. "The emperor called for her last night, after which she packed up her things and left with a servant and a mage. She left a note with me." He tossed the not to the crown prince. "I guess she found better things to do."
Kouen handed the scroll to Koumei, who unrolled it and read aloud:
To whomever may be reading this:
Sorry for the short notice but I have remembered something about where I am from. The emperor believes that the fighters of my home could be a huge asset to the Ko Empire and has ordered me to return home and convince them to join the empire's army. I will be gone for quite some time and ask you to forgive me for leaving without telling anyone.
To my soldiers: Captain Higen is going to take over your training; he's tough but fair. Make me proud to have been your trainer.
To the princes: I am sorry that I have left so soon; I do not want to risk forgetting again. Keep up the good work and may we meet again in the future.
Tenten
There was a long silence. No one spoke during that time, no one moved. Finally, Koumei snapped out fo his daze.
"Well then that explains that; father must have sent her away late last night." He looked up and saw Kouen narrow his eyes. "What is it, brother?"
Kouen was a more than just a little mad. "Father needs to learn that matters that involve soldiers must be run through me. Emperor or no, I am in charge of the armies and I don't appreciate him sending off my best trainers for who knows how long without informing me."
Judar grinned. "Well, the empress probably told him to do so."
Kouen glared. "Regardless, he should have informed me. I am going to talk to him." He took a step toward the palace before he was stopped by the magi. "What?"
"The empress has forbade anyone from bothering him with trivial matters since the king is tired and needs his rest. She says any matters can be taken up with her."
Kouen bit back a groan. He really didn't want anything to do with his stepmother and he knew that no matter what he asked, she would not give him a straight answer. Grunting, in dismissal, Kouen swept away, his brothers at his heels.
"What now, En-nii?" Kouha asked quietly.
Kouen took a deep breath. "Something doesn't feel right. Send out spies and cast your nets, I want to know if she actually left the capital last night." His brothers nodded and followed him through the rest of their rounds.
Later that day, spies from all three princes swept through the capital, but it was all in vain. Some reported that a woman had left late last night with two men, while others reported seeing no one of Tenten's description leaving the capital. The spies gathered information for a week, but there was no change. Finally, the princes had to turn their attentions to other matters, leaving only a few of their spies to keep an ear out for information.
Little did they know that there was a secret dungeon deep below the city, where one brown haired woman was chained in the middle of a giant, empty room. She sat there, unmoving and in silence. It had been days since they had brought her here, and it had been hours since they had taken from her the ability to move.
A door on one side of the room swung open and some people filed in. Some were older, some younger, and a few wore their standard green and white robes with a white cloth and headdress over their heads.
"Is she ready yet?" One man asked.
"Not yet, we still need more time to break her spirit and grab her mind." That was a woman in a cloth mask.
"Is she work all this?" Another, older, man asked.
"She is an oddity, to say the least. We had her in custody months ago before she managed to escape, but not again. This time we will be more careful."
"What makes her so special?"
The masked woman chuckled. "She comes from a world of war and death and destruction. She is not afraid of it, and will fight to the death if need be."
The older man giggled. "Then she is the perfect tool."
"Yes, and when we are done with her, her only loyalties will be to Al Thamen."
Tenten didn't react when they laughed and poked and prodded her; she didn't even notice. After days of magical torture and prying into her mind, she had begun to retreat far into herself so that they could not find her.
"For our father, for Al Thamen!"
Tenten barely heard them leave before the darkness pressed in around her and pulled her away from her body to rest in a silent, black abyss. Her last thought was that she was late for morning training.