"Shall we go ring the bells in Omasas, Duchess?" Sanada asked Sita with a smirk.
"You're ambitious, Lady Sanada," the leader of the state of Miiro said teasingly.
"I will always be ambitious. I can't really help it. I rarely lose," the strategist replied.
Within two days, Sanada Morin and Sita Katyana had re-equipped the rebel forces; their ranks now swelled by the entire state army of Miiro, as well as part of those of Efttal and Saiyonn. Lord Hal was going to push around the lake to the southeast and they would sweep out the Dunan region to the southwest, meeting in Daymer. Every step the rebels took was a step closer to the Holy City of Rupanda, the Golden Capital, the home of Emperor Leo Maximillian, and their final objective.
The return of Kichitsu to the Slalain Citadel with Ayutureik of Nysmorengald caused quite a stir. The place swarmed with excited people: citizens of Onwya who lived in the region, those who had been with the rebels for a long time, and the newest recruits who followed Ayu. Even Meiyar, the Imperial prisoner, had a smile on his face. Mekkachi, pleased to be reunited with his partner after their separation, arranged for the situation to be evaluated outside under the trees like a picnic. The idea was nice, but sitting among the colorful leaves no one was able to focus.
"Would you like some more tea?" Hyoko asked the frustrated knight, offering the teapot.
Mekkachi sighed and held out his cup, watching the others enjoy themselves around him. "You'd swear the war was already won, the way everyone's behaving."
Hyoko sipped her tea and smiled, "I think it is good for them."
"Maybe..." he admitted weakly.
Ayu had climbed into a nearly leafless tree and was eating his lunch from his perch, teasing Tywin and his father by flicking sunflower seeds at them. Tywin was annoyed by the tiny seeds, but choose not to indulge Ayu by responding. Tas, however, was not of a like mind. The slightest offense caused him to spin around and wave his fist at his feisty son. Ayu grinned and laughed, nearly dropping his bowl onto Father Shiku who sat below with a book.
Haneh pushed Hittoko in the swing Lucien had put up for them. The assassin did not laugh like the others, but her eyes sparkled like a clear summer sky. Lucien was asleep under another tree, snoring loudly. Zawn and Russ scurried about collecting dishes to be washed and generally trying to clean up the mess one bit at a time. Kichitsu returned to Mekkachi's side from a small bit of archery instruction Waia and Dattel were giving out for fun as their master looked on. Their bows were a bit too small for the knight and so their teacher had been cajoled into loaning Kichitsu his larger bow. The black-haired knight proved to be a fairly good shot, while Kenta, still wearing the revolutionary flag, it having become a constant part of his wardrobe, was relatively bad.
"I didn't expect such frivolousness at a meeting with you," Mekkachi remarked to his friend.
Kichitsu shrugged and sat down cross-legged, "Captain Louis Abdul says that revolution is catching, I say that fun is contagious. You should loosen up a bit, 'Kachi."
"Yeah, yeah, say that to me again when this whole horrible thing is over," Mekkachi muttered.
"If you remind me to," Kichitsu teased.
Mekkachi could not stay frustrated any longer, he began to laugh, "I'll try to!"
Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni
"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"
Chapter 42- The Pass and the Bell Tower
Kiisan shivered from the cold. As the revolutionaries moved both further north and deeper into the mountain range it grew colder. There was a time each day at dawn and dusk when he could see his breath rise like a puff of white smoke into the chilled air. On the lower land where Tanrensho was located the weather had still been nice, but now Kiisan was beginning to understand why Louis Abdul had been against returning north through the mountains when the plan had been decided so many weeks ago. Although on the plains it might still be fine, in these mountains snow could fall soon. He prayed silently to himself for it not to fall quite yet.
Tej K'aan, former general of the Aronian Imperial Army, was a great motivator when he faced those still attached to the Aronian cause. When he crossed the border into the northernmost part of the state of Daymer, beside Sita and Sanada, the Imperial troops camped outside the capital fled further south. His two lieutenants, Rift and Okino laughed at the men fleeing upon their advance. They were both from the western part of the country, with dark skin and dark hair. When they left for battle they made a great show of hanging some good luck charms on their saddles. Rift offered one to Sanada, but she refused it coldly. "Luck has no place in this war," she said.
Lord Keizo D'Arthur was not especially thrilled about the arrival of the rebel army in his area of jurisdiction. He was of southern background, and his family had received the state of Daymer as a reward for their outstanding efforts in battle for the emperor. But when the rebels came, they came for good, he understood that much from what word had been brought from the north. As much as he wanted Emperor Leo Maximillian to succeed, he could see that a unified Aronia was unlikely after this uprising. Not enough of the Imperial Army remained to push back the rebels and crush them entirely unless Kiyon de Silverburg still had something of the genius remaining in him. Keizo D'Arthur was one of the Imperials at that time of the opinion that the emperor should try and make a deal with the rebels. Father Kiisan appeared out of the state of Serif. It seemed possible to him that if Emperor Leo Maximillian was able to swallow his pride and give the "Wheat Field" States over to the rebels that they might be satisfied with their own freedom and withdraw.
However, at the moment he could not stay in his study and ponder these matters. He recognized Duchess Sita Katyana sitting outside of his manor on her horse, along with a few unrecognizable figures; probably the rebel leaders. Keizo rose slowly from his desk and left the room, walking calmly down the stairs, out of the front door, and across the well-tended lawn to the front gate. He opened the latch timidly and stepped out in front of the "invaders."
"Greeting, Lord Keizo D'Arthur," Sita called to him.
The relatively relaxed attitude of those assembled outside his home was intimidating. They were not uncouth or crazy. They seemed quite normal and actually somewhat happy.
"Greetings, Duchess," he replied with a slight wave.
A pretty woman with dark-brown hair that spilled down to her waist approached him and shook his hand. "Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Sanada Morin, no doubt you've heard of me. Lord D'Arthur, while Father Kiisan is not present I am in command of these troops. Now, I know that you've always been an Imperial sympathizer, but I'll be willing to forget about all that if you just go back into that nice manor of yours in your yellow slippers and let me run this state for a while."
At the mention of his yellow slippers, Keizo's looked down and his feet, his face turning bright red. He had not thought to change his footwear before he came outside to confront the rebels. It was the kind of thing that made him look a good bit less dignified than he wished to in front of his fellow state leader, Sita, and the rebels.
Tej gave Keizo a quick nod of encouragement, adding, "She keeps her promises nowadays. At least as long as we're around to watch here. You won't be executed."
The leader of the state of Daymer did not wait to hear anymore from anyone. He turned tail and fled back inside his manor in a hurry. Tej and Sanada laughed heartily. Even Sita could not help but a smile a bit, she had not expected to ever see Keizo D'Arthur in his slippers.
From the wall-top of the fortress city of Ang'harad Rift could see his partner's signal flare flashing over Lord Keizo D'Arthur's manor. As the purple and red sparks flickered out, he readied himself to relay the good news of an easy victory to Lord Hal. The flare went up into the sky with a loud blast. Rift took his fingers out his ears gingerly as he looked up at the blue comet-like streak that flew towards the horizon. "If they don't see that, I don't doubt they won't hear it," He remarked to himself cheerfully before scaling the ladder back down into the city.
Snow had begun to fall slowly in the mountains. Remembering how swift their first journey through the mountains had been Kiisan hoped that it would not be enough to stop them and that they could press onward back into the Central Plains States. Unfortunately, the bad health of many of his companions slowed their progress significantly.
Yuki, who picked up the rear of the procession, stopped at one point to examine some footprints in the snow slightly off the trail. They were faint, the prints of someone wearing sandals and walking lightly, perhaps to conceal their path. As the blond man fell behind Carlos turned back to see what was taking him.
"What are you looking at, Yuki?" he asked with curiosity.
Yuki pointed at the footsteps with his spear; "Someone else has been walking around up here."
Carlos observed the direction of the footsteps with interest, "Why are they headed up over these rocks?"
"I wouldn't know," Yuki said with a shrug, "It's just strange. I guess we should keep an eye open for company."
Despite Tej and Sita's requests that she stick to her plans, Sanada decided not to bother meeting with Lord Hal de Calico after his victories in the state of Wesder. The rebel troops pressed on to the northernmost fringe of the Omasas Plains. "There is a shrine on the outskirts of the plains," Sanada told Sita, "That contains a large bell that was once rung to rally the troops here. I want to ring that bell to shake up the Imperials."
"M'lady, I thought you didn't believe in good luck charms," Rift noted.
"I am not so much of a hypocrite as you might think, lieutenant," Sanada responded coldly, "The bell isn't for good luck. It's merely a battle tactic. And plans are something I fervently believe in." She gestured to the east, where a tower could be seen rising over the grass. "That's where I'm going. Tej, you get started to the south. Without Kiisan I don't want to pass over into the Toran States because he's necessary to get a good response from the locals, so we need to pause on the southern fringe of the plains."
"You got it!" Tej nodded with a valiant smile before commanding his troops forward. Sita paused for a moment and looked at Sanada, who rode alone towards the bell tower before giving her troops the same command.
The dark-haired strategist spurred her white horse on over the stretch of plains separating her from the old bell tower. A cool breeze blew the grasses and made Sanada's hair wave behind her like a banner as she rode. The tower rose across the horizon, sliding closer.
"The road divides here," Mio observed, "I didn't notice that on the way down."
"We were more focused then," Louis Abdul explained as he shivered, "It's getting pretty cold."
Hai-Yong brushed some snow off of Mitsu's yellow hat; "It sure is comin' down. We might need to take shelter..."
Yuki pushed his straw hat back and squinted at the map, "This other fork doesn't go very far. Maybe there's something there."
"Okay!" Falina replied, "Mio, let's go check it out. Everyone else can wait here so if there's nothing they haven't wasted the time of all going down that way."
"You two be careful," Kiisan cautioned.
"Of course we will," Falina smiled, "We'll be right back!"
Kiisan watched blankly, not sure of what he was feeling, as Mio and Falina scuffled along through the layer of snow covering the path. He followed them with his hazel eyes intently, until they were out of sight around the bend.
Sanada climbed the spiral staircase up the highest point in the temple's tower. Everything was sprinkled with a fine covering of dust. No one had entered the building in many years. The dust was undisturbed. At the top of the staircase was a wooden door. She pushed against it and it slowly opened, with hinges creaking and some rust flaking off the doorknob.
She was standing beside the huge bell. A mallet, like the kind used to strike a gong, lay beneath the bell. Seeing no other way to make the sound she wanted, Sanada picked up the mallet and swung it, striking the bell as hard as she could. The bell let out a loud, reverberating, but somewhat bird-like ring. Sanada smiled and put down the mallet. She looked out over the plains in the direction she had sent her companions, still feeling a bit of shaking in her hands from hitting the bell and hearing echoes in her ears of the bell's sound.
Mio slipped on the slick ground fell onto his knees. Falina offered him her hand and pulled the red-haired strategist to his feet. They had nearly reached the end of the path and had not yet seen anything of much use.
"Do you smell something cooking?" Mio inquired, hurrying to look around the last bend in the path.
"No, do you?" Falina asked, scurrying after him.
"I do! And it must be coming from that house!" He exclaimed with a squeak of surprise. A very neat looking house was built at the end of the path. Warm light spilled from its windows, enticing Mio and Falina, inviting them to come closer. Sliding a bit on some ice they hurried to the house and stood upon the doorstep, both afraid to knock.