AUTHOR'S NOTE

Happy Monday! In my part of the USA, it's a very cold day, indeed!

Does anyone watch the cartoon called Supernoobs, which can be seen on the Cartoon Network in the USA? I never would have guessed that Michael Adamthwaite, who voices Jay, is the same voice actor who does the Supernoob blue alien! Two other Ninjago voice actors also have roles.

A big "Howdy!" goes to my soldier tale's followers, favers, and the commenters on the last chapter: lovesgod12, FirstFandomFangirl, NinjagoMasterOfTheForce, and MMM.

Below, the ladies learn more about the war...


Chapter 11 - The War Has Begun

A chorus of "What?!" emanated from the ladies upon hearing of the start of the conflict.

"Yep, we're at war," Cole affirmed. "Two nights ago, the Purple Army crossed the southern border into Ninjago from Snake Territory and attacked Jamanakai Village. Eleven innocent citizens were killed by those slimy Purple varmints while trying to defend their homes and their town from being taken over."

"Now the Purple flag flies over that village, 'cause they said, 'This property is being claimed in the name of the rightful king of Ninjago,'" Jay said, quoting the Purples in a high-pitched, mocking voice.

Kai continued with more information. "Mr. Wu found out about all this when he was in town, so he came out to the range to tell us. The governor of Ninjago has issued a call for volunteers to join the Yellow Army. Captain Noonan is heading up a cavalry company of a hundred men, mostly made up of ranch hands from our county. We're going to join a regiment with nine other companies from western Ninjago."

"Ye lads be joinin' up with the Yellow Army? And not be talkin' to the lassies before ye be doin' it?" Miss Gayle scolded them. The housekeeper always had a jovial attitude and would pretend to be mad on occasion, but this time she really did sound upset. She felt protective of the younger women, and it sounded to her like the cowboys were about to enlist in the army without consulting with their wives.

The ranch hands seem to settle down from their exuberance, as they remembered that their women were also going to be affected.

"Don't worry, Miss Gayle," Kai assured her. "Sam and I talked about it recently" - he smiled at his wife for a moment - "and Jay and Cole said they discussed it with Nya and Brooke, too."

Sam smiled back at her husband in order to disguise her worry. She turned to the group. "Being from the eastern part of the United States, I don't have official Ninjago citizenship, but I do support the Yellows."

"Me, too," Brooke added. "I'm a United States citizen from Ogacich, but I also believe in the Yellow cause." She patted the hand of the black-haired cowboy sitting next to her.

Miss Gayle's face softened. "Well, I be glad of hearin' of discussion about it. I be supportin' the Yellows, too, though I never did become a citizen of Ninjago meself."

She noticed no one had touched their dessert yet. "The cake won't be eatin' itself, lads and lassies!" she said. The others got her hint and began to partake of the refreshments.

"You know, you still can become citizens, ladies," Jay pointed out before taking a sip of lemonade.

The non-native Ninjagoans looked at each other and smiled ruefully.

"When this Purple fiddle faddle is over, perhaps we can be doin' just that and then havin' a party to celebrate," Miss Gayle suggested. Sam and Brooke nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of Purple fiddle faddle," Kai spoke up after a bite of a strawberry, "For the time we're away dealing with this Purple nonsense, Mr. Wu told us to talk to you ladies about your living arrangements. He suggested you move here to the main house for the time we'd be gone, but that's up to each of you to choose." He looked at Sam. "I think you should accept his offer," he urged her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Where is Mr. Wu anyway?" Nya asked before eating another bite of cake. "And where's Zane?"

"They're at the bunkhouse. Zane's giving Mr. Wu an update on the cattle," Cole answered as he ate the last bite of pound cake on his plate. "He and Bo are going to take care of the herd while we whup some Purple - "

"Language, lad!" Miss Gayle warned him before he used a certain word in front of the ladies.

"...soldiers," Cole finished with a grin.

Sam set down her fork after finishing her dessert. "When do you leave?" she asked.

"Looks like it'll be the day after tomorrow," Kai replied. "Captain Noonan thinks he'll have his hundred men signed up right away - and I think so, too, since the Ninjago Town area's strongly Yellow - so he wants us all to leave together for Camp Goldland, halfway to Ouroborus."

Cole helped himself to more cake. "So there's a farewell parade planned for ten o'clock Wednesday morning, and we'll march straight out of town. At the camp, we'll meet up with the other companies in our regiment and get our uniforms," he added.

Sam frowned. Gone in less than 48 hours, she thought.

"When will you come back?" Nya asked forlornly. She didn't feel like eating any more cake.

Jay took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "We'll be back by the end of August. The sign-up period is for 90 days. But we'll have 'em whupped by then."

Kai watched as Cole ate his second piece of pound cake topped with strawberries. "I hope that's your last piece of cake," he said to his fellow cowboy with the black kerchief, "because we need to get to town so Doc Julien can give us our medical examinations. I'll bet he's a very busy man today!"

"And then we have to go the recruiting office and actually sign the enlistment roll," Jay added.

Cole gulped the last bite of his dessert. "Done!" he announced, setting down his fork.

The cowboys stood up, preparing to depart. "We're going to the bunkhouse to get Zane, and then we'll head to town," Kai explained to the ladies. "We should be back by suppertime, I reckon."

Miss Gayle stood up as well. "If that be all the news, then you lads best be movin' along. There be plenty to do before sundown."

The cowboys' wives also stood up and escorted their men over to where the horses were tied.

Amid goodbye hugs and expressions of appreciation for the refreshments, the ranch hands mounted their horses and tipped their hats to the ladies in farewell as they rode away to the bunkhouse. The dogs barked.

The women waved back as they watched the cowboys disappear down the road, but no one felt like smiling. A pall had been cast upon the sunny afternoon. Making curtains for the cottages no longer seemed like a relevant nor enjoyable activity to engage in.

Miss Gayle felt bad for the younger women, whose men were about to leave them. But, being the practical lady that she was, she thought it would be best to direct their energies from moping around to being productive.

She looked at the picnic table. "Let's be takin' care of the dirty dishes, lassies, and then we can be preparin' and packin' food for the lads to take with them. Soldiers be tirin' of Army food right quick!"

She grabbed the nearly empty platter of pound cake and the pitcher of lemonade and took them into the house. Nya, Sam, and Brooke took care of gathering the other items to bring inside.

As Miss Gayle went into the kitchen and watched the ladies through the window, she thought about Nya's question to the cowboys: "When will you come back?"

It seemed to the housekeeper that the lads were downplaying the seriousness of this newly declared war, but she didn't want to say so to the lassies, particularly the one bearing the child.

She recalled when her man went off to war years ago, back when she still lived in her faraway homeland. She loved her Robert very much, but their plans to marry were delayed by a war that erupted between their country and the neighboring one.

Robert and his friends were so cocky, she remembered. They all thought they'd be back home by the time of apple harvest. Robert joked about the possibility of being hit by a falling apple as he exchanged wedding vows with her underneath their favorite tree.

But Robert never came back home.