All standard disclaimers that I have already used so far with any of the various stories that I now have on will apply. For your information, all of the characters that you may not actually recognize well enough in this story are original characters of mine, unless otherwise stated, in fact. So please don't steal my original characters from this story or any others, for that matter.
Now without any further ado, let's get on with this story again, if that's all right with you here, readers. And I really hope that if you've read this series up to this point here, you've enjoyed what you've read of its story series so far. And this part of the story is actually going to be the seventh chapter of this second story here, in fact, readers. That's so that all of you people on who've followed the story and its related story series well enough, and often enough, will be able to eventually read the whole related series of stories here, of course. Please do read, review, and enjoy, if at all possible, quite naturally enough, for all the obvious reasons, readers!
Meeting the Menace
A The Chrysanthemum Chronicles Series Story
A Mountain Cabin
Wembuto, Kuzaruno, Ozotov IV
September 13, 986
Some unknown length of time later, Darien eventually left the cabin again. He gathered up as many of his things that he could. But he couldn't carry them all. So he either disposed of the things he couldn't carry at the current time. Or he buried them. Most likely, he disposed of them to the best of his current ability to do so. He also studied all the scrolls currently in his possession. He then decided to take the Womeru Road that ran just south of the Kuzaruno border with Yonishiki, but not too close to it. Little did he know that while he was traveling the thirty or so miles of it, he'd likely meet at least two other people from Earth on it. And do it for reasons that weren't yet obvious to him.
He soon left the area of the cabin. He did that after he tried as best as he could in order to make sure that no signs of his stopping over there were left there. Or at least as few signs as possible of his staying there were left there, of course. He might leave signs of his having been there, obviously. But before he left the area of it, he did his best to eliminate as many signs of his earlier presence there as he could possibly eliminate. He did that so that if anyone else in Kuzaruno found out somehow that he'd been there at all earlier, they'd have a harder time in finding him elsewhere on Ozotov IV's Marzotekan landmass. After he did the best that he possibly could to eliminate all of those signs of his recent stop at the cabin, he left the area of it. He did that so that he could continue on his way to wherever the road might lead him. At least while he was still actually trying to find as many of the sentients that he was now searching for, anyway. Sentients who were now missing from anywhere in the Moon City area of the Moon. If not from anywhere else on the Moon, as well, for that matter.
He soon got on the Womeru Road to Womeru. He spent at least the next few hours walking as fast as he could down it. As he did that, he often thought about all the things that'd happened since he'd last gone back to the Earth quite a few days before. As he did so, he also tried to figure out how he'd ever be able to find all the people that he was hoping to see again someday in the future. God willing, of course. Especially for those people who were quite close to him in his own mortal life. And most especially for Serena and all her crowd.
This he did at least until he was at least halfway down the Womeru Road to Womeru about four hours before local dusk. By then, he'd traveled on foot about fifteen Terran statute miles in about six or so hours of walking down it. He continued walking down it for a few more minutes with his mind somewhat clear, at least for the moment, anyway. By the time he got at least another 400 or so yards down it, he suddenly heard rustling sounds in some nearby roadside bushes. These bushes were about as tall as he was, if not even taller than him at all. In fact, the tops of the bushes that he heard rustling signs in were about eight to ten feet above the surrounding ground that he was traveling on part of, as he traveled some more down the Womeru Road toward Womeru.
He quietly unsheathed his sword, not yet knowing who or what was making such rustling sounds. And he hurried, as quickly as he possibly could, to the edge of those bushes that was closest to him. That was so that he could await the emergence of the person or animal that was making such rustling sounds in the nearby bushes. Or somewhere near that edge of those bushes, at least. That was if he couldn't go all the way to that edge of those bushes, of course. He did these things for all the obvious reasons. Then he hid just behind a rock that was about waist-high on him at the current time. He watched the nearby bushes, and quietly laid in wait. While not yet knowing what to expect, quite naturally enough.
He quietly waited to see who or what actually would come out of those bushes. And he eventually saw a young female back out of them, as she was also trying to pull a sack out of them at the same time. He patiently waited to see if she was currently armed or not, for the obvious reasons. And he saw that she wasn't. So he waited a bit longer, to see if anyone was trying to follow her and do her harm. He heard her speaking in Terran English that was much like the Terran English that he'd often speak whenever he was visiting the Moon. He soon sheathed his sword again. But he did that only after finding out that nobody was apparently following her right now. He suddenly saw her stumble slightly over a nearby limb. This limb was currently about six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. So he decided to try to catch her before she fell to the ground, if he possibly could. He sprang from his hiding place. And just before she was about to lose her footing totally, he caught her well enough, by stretching out his hands to do so. And still without her knowledge. For the simple reason that her back was still turned to him, of course. He caught her with at least some ease, in fact. And then just as easily, he withdrew her sack from inside the nearby bushes. He did that after he first set her down with her back still toward him, near the rock he'd been hiding behind mere moments before.
As soon as he did that, he then let her turn around. And to see who'd caught her, keeping her from unintentionally hurting herself at all. She soon asked him, "Who are you, stranger?"
As soon as Prince Darien somehow recognized well enough that she was evidently from Earth, just as he was, he said, "Prince Darien, of the Nipponese Empire on Earth, at your service."
"Princess Sylvia, of the Kingdom of Israel on Earth, Prince Darien. Are your parents Emperor Peter and Empress Elaine, by any chance?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, they are. But how do you know this, if I may ask you this here?"
"Many people travel between Israel and various countries to the east of us. We know that your people kicked the Chinese out in a revolt of sorts about five hundred or so years ago. We learned it from Mongols we captured in a war about fifty or so years ago, after we took a number of their cities that they'd built up over many years before then. We even have trade routes that go all the way to China, at least over long land distances. And other routes that go to your Nipponese Empire by sea. But we can't get all the way to your Empire by land. For as I'm sure you already know by now, your Empire's mainly a sea-based Empire. We usually need to sail quite far away from the Empire of Bangalore. At least whenever we want to use the southern trade route to the Kingdom of Siam's major ports, and to your major ports, if not other ports elsewhere in Asia, anyway. For Bangalore has a very strong navy, and they normally patrol out from the island of Ceylon at least several hundred miles, if not more."
"How far away?"
"Until we're just north of the equator by the time we get to about 75 degrees East Longitude as reckoned from London, I believe."
"And how long do you have to sail that far away from Ceylon?"
"Until we're almost directly due south of Calcutta. When we reach about 90 degrees East Longitude, we can start turning to the northeast, and start heading toward Rangoon, Singapore, and Bangkok. As soon as we get done in Bangkok, we usually head back toward home. Or we head toward other ports closer to your Empire, if not in your Empire, depending on what we choose to do at that time. If we're trading, we usually head east. But sometimes we head west again. We occasionally visit your Empire's ports in our ships. The last time that I know for sure that we did so was about five years or so ago."
"Yes, I think I remember hearing that some Israelite ships came to Kobe, Osaka, and Tokyo about that time, at least, if not also to Toyohashi and Shizuoka and Yokohama, around then, Sylvia."
"I liked visiting your city of Kyoto, when I actually came there on our last trading mission to Osaka about that time. It usually takes us a few weeks or months, depending on the weather conditions, of course, to get from Muscat, which we currently control, and at least to Bombay. Which, as I believe you may know by now, is currently under the control of the Kingdom of Punjab and Kashmir. That's if my most recent information about both Muscat and Bombay is sufficiently accurate, by the way, Darien. Then we usually have to start heading away from the Indian subcontinent about the time that we get even with Karwar. We usually have to give the remaining western coast of the Indian subcontinent quite a wide berth, for the obvious reasons. We're usually not out of danger from the Bangalorean Navy until we get quite close to the Equator near 75 degrees East Longitude. And we don't usually head west afterward, at least for the most part, until we reach at least Calcutta or Rangoon. Especially whenever we're on a trading mission to southern or eastern Asia. By the time that we reach Muroran, on your island of Hokkaido, we usually begin heading west, though, for the obvious reasons, of course."
"I see. And how often do you try to visit our ports, Sylvia?"
"As often as I can, Prince Darien."
"And what do your parents think of this?"
"They really don't like it much, if at all. For I quite often hide from them whenever I find out somehow that a trading mission's being arranged by various people I know of well enough in my life. Especially to any number of rather distant ports elsewhere in the known world, at least as we currently know our own world."
"I see. And how soon after you hide do they usually find out what you've done?"
"Usually too late to keep me from getting aboard a ship to one of them, if not all the time. I've visited your nation about three times since I was born. I'm now about twelve or so years old, Darien. And you?"
"I turned 25 last month."
"I suppose you have a girlfriend or a wife by now, then."
"No. Not at the moment. I'm still unmarried."
"I see. But do you have someone possibly in mind as one, God willing, of course?"
"You'd not likely believe me, if I told you."
"Does it have anything at all to do with 'Operation Cocoon', by any chance, Darien?"
"Not really, but how do you know about that?" Of course, when he asked her that, he gave her a very surprised look. For he didn't have any idea that someone from Israel might have somehow found out about it. Mainly due to the great distances between Japan and Israel. If not for any other reasons as well, for that matter.
"Some loose-tongued dock-workers in the area of Osaka were talking several years ago, about a certain project that your nation was supposedly working on somewhat secretly. And I overheard them doing so, during the unloading of certain things that we'd brought to your nation not too many hours or days before then. I didn't hear much, I think. But I did hear at least enough to learn at least a bit about 'Operation Cocoon,' Darien."
"How much do you know about it?"
She told him that she'd heard that some people weren't happy with increased amounts of money being spent on "Operation Cocoon." Sylvia told him every single thing that she could possibly remember now about what all those dock-workers had then unknowingly mentioned in her hearing range. At least as of that particular time, anyway, in terms of their rather careless discussion of "Operation Cocoon" and of various parts of it. And she told him everything else she'd learned about it ever since then, as well.
Prince Darien wasn't very happy to hear all the things that she told him had been discussed concerning "Operation Cocoon." Which was normally only supposed to be discussed in great secrecy, for all the obvious reasons. But he was glad, at least, of course, that she'd let him know about such things that she'd learned ever since she'd first heard about "Operation Cocoon" several years before. He promised himself that he'd try to let all the necessary people know about the unwanted leaks of information relating to "Operation Cocoon" as soon as possible, if he possibly could. Especially Queen Serenity and both his parents.
After having chatted at reasonable length with her for a while as they'd eventually continued on their way down the Womeru Road to Womeru, Darien soon shut up again. And he began thinking about everything she'd just told him, even while he still walked down it with her. Sylvia soon thought, "He's cute. I wonder if some girl's quite interested in him, in his life."
They both continued in relative silence down that road until just about an hour or so before local dusk, when they encountered another person who was apparently also from Earth. But this person was riding a horse and leading another. They were about two miles away from Womeru, when they encountered him. He soon identified himself as Prince Rolando of Inverness, Scotland. And that brought a smile to Princess Sylvia's face. For she'd heard the name at least once before, from her travels to ports all over Europe. Even as far north as Reykjavik, Iceland.
Evidently, Prince Rolando and his two brothers had run off to sea for at least a few years. They'd left their parents and sisters back in Scotland in much the same way that Sylvia had done years before, when she'd first run away from home. And they'd not often been back since then, if at all. They'd spent most of the time since they'd run off to sea either sailing or traveling all over Europe at least one step ahead of their parents who were now trying to locate them all. Their two sisters wanted to do the same thing. But they'd all told both their sisters that they were still too young to do so. Even though they did sympathize with their sisters' dreams to travel all over the known world. For they all loved their sisters very much. They all promised to do what they could to make it possible for both of their sisters to do the same thing as they were now doing. And do it just as soon as they could. But they reminded them both that it might not be easy for them to do so.
Rolando had been in Barcelona just a few weeks before. At that time, he was with his brothers. He was taken in the middle of the night of August 26, as he slept in a room of a seaside inn with them. He was taken just before about 11 pm at night there. And without them actually knowing yet that he'd been taken in much the same manner that Sylvia and Darien had been taken from either Muscat, or Moon City. At least as the case might then be for either of them. Meaning, essentially, his brothers somehow knowing that he'd been actually taken in that way. Or them somehow knowing that Sylvia and Darien had been taken from where they'd actually been taken, in a similar, if not the same, manner, for that matter. At least not for a while, if at all, anyway. That was only supposing that they'd ever know that, somehow, before he could actually return to Earth, in fact. God willing, of course.
He'd eventually found himself in the Womeru area of Kuzaruno. And ever since then, he'd spent much time exploring the local area. For he'd been hoping to find a way to get back to Earth in as much the same way that he'd been brought to Ozotov IV some time before. While he'd been doing that, he'd eventually found some relatively tamed horses. They'd soon afterward willingly gone with him as he explored the area of Womeru in Kuzaruno to at least some degree.
And now he'd met other people who were evidently from Earth just like he was. He spent at least a few minutes getting to know both Darien and Sylvia. Just after he had Darien put Sylvia up behind him on his horse, and after he had Darien mount his other horse, he began doing so with them. That was after all their things had been loaded on both horses as they needed to be put on them, of course.
They all headed off toward Womeru, as Darien and Sylvia had originally planned to do shortly after they'd met each other not long before. As they did so, they continued to get to know each other here. They did this at least until they reached an inn with enough room for them and their horses in it for the rest of the night, at least.
They soon found places to sleep in it, and for their horses to sleep in it, safely enough. They all did this just before local dusk, of course, before they all soon afterward retired for the rest of the night in three different rooms in the inn. They all spent the night in those three rooms. And they were frequently lost in reasonably pleasant dreams in them, while they slept in each of them.
I suppose that I'd better stop here now. For this will be where the next part of the story will take up from, in fact, readers. I hope that you have so far enjoyed the story, if you've gotten this far, and that you'll continue to read it, once I put more of it up here on I don't know how long it will take me to get each story in this series up fully on But it might take a while for each story in this series, just the same, readers. Until later, then, this is "The Universal Storyteller" signing off here. Happy reading, and God bless, and all that, of course, readers! Over and out!