Liberation

Two days later, the group arrived at Foxfire. But something was wrong. The village was in shambles, and the Kitsune were nowhere to be found. That wasn't the most disturbing thing though. Soldiers of the Empire of Moradis were on every street corner, patrolling the town.

Reina motioned for her companions to follow her to the alley between two houses. One by one, the group walked behind her, slow so not to be suspicious, but not slow enough to look like they were sneaking through town and committing illegal acts or plotting rebellion. The young Dragon looked around in order to see if anyone was listening in on the group, before she began to speak.

"What should we do now?" Reina asked the others, "I don't know how we can get past the soldiers without attracting attention. Imperial Soldiers set checkpoints up past conquered towns, so that rebels can't escape. How should we go about getting through the barricade."

"We could always fight. They're certainly not gonna open up for a group of strange travelers, one whom is a Dragoness, and one who is openly against them," Katrina stated, thinking of herself and Reina.

Nida inquired, "How are we going to fight against a force that big? This isn't a simple patrol, this is a full battalion of well-trained Imperial Troops. They're much tougher now."

They all then heard a female voice whispering somewhere close by. "Come with me. We can get you through the Imperial front lines without any difficulties. Just trust us. Go through the door on your right, and take the stairs down into the basement. I'll be waiting for you there."

"What do you think?" asked Barbara, "Should we trust this mysterious voice, or bust right through the Imperial lines. I don't know about you, but I vote to go through the door."

"I'm with you Barb. It doesn't seem like a trap. She's probably with the rebel units in this town. So we're heading to meet her," Reina decided. With that, she went through the door. Nida followed her closely, with Barbara coming not to long after. Katrina and Jarin looked at each other, and then they also followed. Then, the group went down the stairs, into the basement.

Waiting there was a young woman from the Kitsune Clan. She had long brown hair, hazel eyes, and seemed to be about sixteen years old. A pair of large hoop earrings hung from her long white ears. The dress she had on was Magenta, with the back being longer than the front, and her white fox- like tail hung out the back of the dress. Her breastplate was gold, and she had on a gold belt with a sapphire clip.

She told them, "My name is Aurora, leader of the Foxfire Crusaders. We're out to rescue our village from the Empire's clutches. If you're heading for the Empire to kick the Empress's butt, I'll be willing to lend a hand. Just please, promise me you'll rescue my brother from them.

Katrina looked her over. "You're kind of young to be leading an entire rebellion. Where are all of the adults in the village? Protecting themselves by selling the rest of you out."

"No, Commander Celia took all of the adults away," lamented Aurora, "I'm the oldest person left in the village, so I organized the rebellion to save my big brother. He's only nineteen years old. All of the members of my group are between the ages of ten and sixteen. We meet once a week using the tunnels under the village. But we're also supposed to help out any person stranded in the village due to the Imperials blocking the routes out. So, when do you want to leave, now or later?"

"As soon as possible. But we're not going to just up and leave. I think your knowledge of all the tunnels might be able to help us get the soldiers out of your village once and for all," stated Reina.

* * *

An emergency meeting was held to discuss Reina's plan. When it was over, Aurora showed the five warriors to the tunnel leading to the Imperial garrison. She helped them enter the base, and went with them as they walked to the commander's room, hoping not to be seen.

Seated at the desk, was not Celia but a man of about thirty-six years old. It was, in fact, the legendary General Falkner, the most competent soldier in the Empire. He had on gray steel armor, gauntlets, and greaves. A steel belt was around his waist, with a piece of metal hanging down to protect his "weak spot". His tunic was red, and his breeches were black. Blond hair framed his face, and he had deep brown eyes. This gave him a look that won many a woman's heart in the past.

Falkner told his second, "Something strange has been going on with the Empress lately. I remember when I first started out in the army as a lad, and she was the kindest woman on the face of the planet. But after that man named Marino came here twenty years ago, she began to change. Now, I barely recognize her. I still don't understand how she could burn all those villages to the ground."

The second looked at him. "Pardon me sir, but if you've known this for years, why haven't you said anything? She's been burning villages over fifteen years now."

"Well, you don't question the Empress," reminded Falkner, "When I was young, I had no power to do anything, and no one in power would recognize me. But after I moved up to the rank of general, I have enough power to organize my men into rebellion. But I just can't do that, I gave my oath."

"So you're just gonna let whatever will be happen?" the second inquired.

Falkner informed him, "Sometimes, a man can only do so much. We can't stand against the Empress with our forces. So we've got to follow her commands. Besides, our families are in the Empire, and she's not gonna spare them if we go against her. I so long for the old days."

Seeing that he was distracted, Reina decided to take action. She crawled on the ground, towards the gunpowder in the corner. Her plan was to light it on fire. But before she could, she felt a sword at her back. When she looked up, Falkner was standing right before her. "And what are you doing?"

"Nice day, isn't it?" joked Reina, "So, how about a game of chess, or tic tac toe?"

- - - -

In case you can't tell, Aurora is from the same clan as BoF IV's Ursula. There was no name for it in the book, but she looked like she had a fox tail, an impossibly big fox ears. So I named her for a mythological Japanese fox spirit. It's also how you say fox in Japanese. How big are her earrings, you ask? Well, let's just say real big. Bigger than hoops worn by most girls today. All the characters are created by me, and then given to my cousin/best friend Lufia to draw them, so I can later on describe them in the fanfic. In Lufia's artwork, the earrings go down past her shoulders. Don't ask how, must be magic.