Sanada had accepted the letter Xiu Kio carried reluctantly; frustrated at receiving yet another dispatch she was not authorized to open. "Good, fine, I'll make sure he gets it," she growled, placing it on top of Chief Priest Hirano's letter.
The black-cloaked man bowed slightly to her and then turned to leave the tent, "Then I'll be off."
The dark-haired strategist's voice rang in his ears hard like the banging of a gong, "Detain him."
Okino and Rift stepped quickly forward to grab him, their faces solemn.
"What?!" the Imperial exclaimed, "You can't do that to me! I'm just a messenger!"
Sanada crossed her arms and tipped her head back, a faint smile crossing her lips, "Well now, think of this as a promotion. You're now a hostage."
Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni
"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"
Chapter 49- A Simple Ruse
"Anamaria..." Kiisan began shakily, "I was sort of curious...where are you from? Where were you going when I ran into your camp?"
The brown-haired girl seemed to consider the questions for a moment, her eyes darkening, before answering, "I am from Tsurae. I believe Ignatius is a Crystal Valley native, however we became acquainted in my country's capital."
Kiisan did not give Anamaria the time to elaborate on her destination, "You're from the Far North? You're not under Aronian rule?"
"Of course not," she scoffed, "We've never been under anyone's rule but our own."
Ignatius nodded in agreement and shifted his pack; "They seem to be a very dignified people."
"What a strange judgement to make," Anamaria commented, smiling at her tall companion, "Anyway, we were going south to...look for something."
Her awkward pause made Kiisan somewhat suspicious, but he did not question her further. The fact that she was a foreigner still had him reeling. The nation of Aronia was enormous and so although Kiisan had met a great many people of varied ethnicity during his travels, they had all been Aronian. Suddenly he could understand why the bold girl was undaunted by Aronian's soldiers and laws. To Anamaria they meant nothing. She held herself like a free person. Wanting to know more, Kiisan ventured a guess, "Your homeland isn't oppressed, is it?"
She laughed and smiled at him, "No, most certainly not. We are ruled by four representatives, for the four regions of the country. The only tension Tsurae has had for hundreds of years is the border with Aronia- of course, it's pretty rough territory there and so the Aronians don't try to mess with us to often."
Ignatius raised a hand to shade his eyes from the sun; "I can see the city ahead. I think it's Suomi, the capital of Naco."
Kiisan looked at the ground, dragging his feet in the dust, "Are you still following their trail?"
"No, I lost it just a few yards back when the road started to get too dusty. However, I think that Suomi is a pretty good bet. We should head there and ask around. I'm sure someone will have something to tell us if rebels entered the city."
"I'm fine with that," Anamaria replied with a nod.
Sita pointed at the Imperial troops assembling in the dark. Their glinting armor made them fairly visible, to Jirobane's great amusement. "It's a pity none of us are much of archers. Those look like targets that'd be pretty hard to miss."
"I don't need to be an archer not to miss," Yuber smirked deviously.
"What's the plan?" Junsuke inquired somewhat conversationally.
Sita shrugged, "I asked Lady Sanada the same question and all she said was, "A plan, huh?" I don't think there is a plan...not other than go fight hard, at least."
"And if she does have anything else in mind, it would be just like her to keep it from us," Rizu sneered.
"Forget her, let's go," Yuber whispered, his voice tense, but pleased.
The black knight quickly took the lead in the charge from the far end of the camp, straight into the Imperial soldiers. His earlier boredom inspired him to be even more deadly than usual. Every sweep of his blade threw blood into the night sky.
Sanada rode out alongside Tej to watch the battle. She glimpsed Kiyon de Silverburg frowning, shaking his head, and turning back in the direction he had come from without ordering a single command. "Coward," she spat. Tej looked at his companion cautiously; he had no idea who she was referring to.
Kiyon, having seen that his plan was spoiled, had decided to turn tail and prepare a new plan, leaving the troops he commanded behind to face the rebels. At first the soldiers kept on fighting, unaware of their leader's disappearance, but as the rebels began to prove too much for their lesser numbers they looked for advice from the head strategist. When he was nowhere to be found, the less patriotic ones decided to withdraw. The remaining troops threw down their weapons and surrendered. Choosing surrender over a final stand with Yuber approaching you menacingly was not a tough decision.
"I would think that was almost too easy," Okino reported to his commander.
Tej removed his helmet and loosened his braided hair; "I know what you mean. If we weren't on such flat terrain where you can see for miles, I would've thought it was meant to be a distraction..."
"Sometimes I wish Mitsu would've stayed at home in the White Hall longer," Sanada added, "An inside contact with all these strange things going on would have made the Imperial intentions a bit easier to understand. ...Of course, it would also be useful if Kiisan would return with the rest of our force and open those letters! That might shed some light on things."
The lack of a response, or even of Xiu Kio's return, was beginning to make Emperor Leo Maximillian impatient. "Is Father Kiisan holding his tongue to anger me?" he wondered.
"Perhaps he is not even at the camp in Omasas," one of his advisors suggested.
"That's not possible. Kiyon says his spies watched him walking around among the tents every morning last week. And besides, I don't think they would make such a big show of coming and sitting on that border if they didn't have their leader present," the emperor retorted in frustration.
Had Sanada been present to hear that exchange she would've been quite pleased with herself. The 'Father Kiisan' Kiyon's spies had watched coming and going for a week was none other than Tiko dressed in the hat and robes of a priest walking about with his head held high. From a distance, it would have been hard to see a difference between Kiisan and the boy.