Under Natchi and Louis Abdul's supervision, the catapult was pushed and pulled just past the front gates of Rupanda. Tiro and Datsa looked up at the siege engine gleefully, curious to see what sort of damage the Leblanc creation would do to the walls. Celan even seemed somewhat more interested in the proceedings than usual, coming out to gaze on the catapult in person. "Not bad at all," he agreed with his aunt.
"Break the walls?" Rolen inquired curiously, looking up at the engineers.
"Yes, we hope so," Datsa replied sweetly, putting her hand on the small boy's shoulder.
Han Li hurried over to them, looking somewhat frazzled, "There you are Rolen! I was looking all over for you!"
Rolen held out his arms, and Han Li scooped him up, holding the child tightly, "I thought that you were with Kona! What happened?"
The blond boy held tightly to his flustered caregiver, "Was just to see what was goin' on."
"I see... But it's not safe. You have to stay with Kona. I don't want you to get hurt or get into any trouble," Han Li told the boy in a soft, but strict tone.
"...Papa..." Rolen protested, "You do dangerous things. They say so."
The two looked at each other seriously, neither averting their gaze.
"Rolen," Han Li began, "It can't be helped, but I will make a vow to you." He shifted the child in his arms, to place a hand across the hilt of his dirk, "I, Han Li of the Kingdom of Wind, vow to you, Rolen, on the dirk left me by Shao Jun, King of the Wind, and the true rune on my right hand, that I will return alive from the Imperial Palace and when I do, I will never venture into danger willingly again."
"Long promise," Rolen noted thoughtfully.
"Let's shake on it," the older man decided with a nod. The boy shook Han Li's hand vigorously and then smiled, "It's a deal. You be good, I'll be careful."
Rolen giggled. "Now, then, let's get away from this wooden bringer of destruction and it's workers," the fatherly man said, carrying the child away toward the mismatched rebel tents.
The blond boy watched over Han Li's shoulder as Natchi directed his crew to heave a large rock into the taunt catapult. They strained and sweated, gradually moving the large block into place. Natchi drew his shining rapier and held if aloft. The early winter sun glinted off the silver piece of metal like a star, "Everyone back up! On my command!" He paused as the crew and onlookers alike rushed back from the catapult. He swung the rapier forward, slicing the rope, "Fire!"
Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni
"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"
Chapter 88- The Catapult
The entire Imperial palace shook at the blow. Susan screamed. Pietro fell to the ground. Emperor Leo Maximillian rocked with the castle at the impact, but did not stumble. His eyes were narrowed with concentration. The emperor was determined that he would not fall without a fight. If they could hold out in the compound long enough, the forces in the south that had been attempting to subdue the elves could return to reinforce them, as well as the other bands of soldiers sent out to take care of the troubled zones throughout the country. They would be able to outmatch the rebels once again in numbers and trap them inside the city. Of course, the people of Rupanda would have to be sacrificed in the process...but they were expendable. After all, they had not continued to stand against the rebels after the city was taken. They instead took the side of the victors, befriending their "liberators."
Chancellor Sembre shuffled into the room nervously. The remainder of the royal family seemed somewhat unnerved by the attack. "Have you seen it, Your Majesty?" he asked worriedly, "That catapult they have?"
The emperor walked to the window with his chancellor and gazed out over his city. The wooden contraption was far enough away to actually seem rather small. "What did it hit?" he asked.
"I- I'm still not sure," Sembre sputtered, "It passed over the front walls, possibly something in the back near the gardens..."
"Well then," Leo Maximillian said roughly, "You have work to do! Get out there and see what happened! I don't want rebels just bursting in here unannounced!" The emperor threw his hands up in the air, "Now go!"
Sembre began to sweat anxiously. He stepped backwards toward the door before remembering what he had come for. He rubbed his temples. Was now really the right time to make such a suggestion? The chancellor swallowed hard and gathered his nerve. "Your Majesty...this may not be the correct time to say this, but I think it might be in our best interests to try and...make a... treaty with Father Kiisan. Do you really want to face the notion of total surrender?"
The red-haired thick bearded emperor turned and roared at his chancellor, "Get out of here and see to the damage or I'll have you throw you off the walls to talk to those rebels yourself!"
Chancellor Sembre's face turned deathly white. He blinked in shock for a moment, then wiping sweat from his forehead, turned and ran.
"Father," Pietro asked his angry parent, "Are they going to knock the whole castle down with that big slingshot?"
Susan, still pale with fear, could not help from laughing, "Pietro, it's not a slingshot. It may work a bit like one, but it's a catapult."
"...I hope that it will not, Pietro," Leo Maximillian answered his youngest son somberly, "It could, but I hope that it will not."
The turan was somewhat amused by the appearance of a large boulder in the middle of the crumbled remnants of the northwest wall when he awoke from his nap. "So, when did this happen?" he asked Amarilla.
His secretary laughed, "While you were busy snoring away in that tent! You didn't even twitch! I couldn't believe it! Now we really can say that you'll sleep through anything!"
"It came crashing down out of the sky," Mieno clarified.
"Is it raining rocks then?" Magno wondered incredulously, "That's the only one that I can see."
"'Twas a catapult, I ken," Kano shrugged, taking the rock with the end of his long bow, "Impressive."
"Do you think it was Falina's friends?" the mapmaker mused.
"It had to be," Turan Magno realized, "Perhaps they did it so we could invade from the back way and meet them in the middle."
For some reason Amarilla did not think that was likely to be what the Kiisan had intended, but it struck her as the perfect opportunity to get Magno back in action. "Well, you should follow their initiative, Sir!" she encouraged him, "The call to arms! Rally the troops! Onward and upward!" She brushed back a lose strand of hair and tried to smile the most bright, cheerful smile she could manage. She had to utterly enchant the turan with the idea of a courageous and successful victory.
Mieno and Kano turned away awkwardly. The turan was a very intelligent man, but his could be easily swayed by charming looks and promises of glory. The thought of a triumphant entry into the royal throne room left his eyes sparkling.
"Sound the call to arms?" Amarilla inquired cautiously, making sure not to disrupt her employer's reverie.
"Sound the call to arms!" he shouted with a grin. Kano picked up a hammer and banged it against the large metal cooking pot nearby. Exclamations of surprise and excitement ran throughout the camp as the Serif State Army geared itself up and assembled to do battle.
"Rally the troops!" Magno laughed, throwing his arms up in the air, "Who'd have guessed I'd be a hero of the revolution in the end? Who'd have guessed!"
"No one, Sir," Amarilla appeased her boss.
The soldiers were moving about quickly, standing in formation, tightening armor straps and adjusting helmets. Mieno and Kano carried out a crate for the turan to stand on and look over his troops. He leaped onto it with a cavalier smile pushing back his cape with a dramatic swish, "Men! Today we invade the Imperial Compound itself! This is the day we have long awaited! In a war of heroes, we will be kings! We shall hunt down the emperor and raise our flag over the palace walls! Through that hole lads!"
Everyone watching knew that the turan was at his melodramatic best. He would lead his followers to victory or die trying, "Onward and upward!"
With Magno rushing off before them, the army of Serif entered the gardens of the palace through the hole the catapult had created. Amarilla, Mieno, and Kano hurried along at the tail end of the rush. "I love that foolish man," Amarilla sighed, watching the turan shove a guard out of his way and break a door down.
"If I have to," Sanada said sternly, "I'll torch that palace to the ground."
"I hope it doesn't come to that," Kiisan muttered, leaning his head on his hands, "Why won't they just come out of that hole they've dug themselves into? Would it really sacrifice that much pride?"
"If I know Kiyon like I think I do," Liyuin suggested, "Someone should try to provoke him into coming out here. No matter how mad he gets inside those walls, he'll take the time to think his plans out so he doesn't make a major error. We need to challenge him here on our terms."
"Challenge him with what?" the female strategist asked, "We've already fought him with armies, with tricks, with all our minds...what else would Kiyon want to prove himself superior in?"
"To me," Mio broke in softly.
"Why would he want that?" Kira wondered. At the sound of his niece's voice, Mitsu, who had been dozing, opened his eyes and looked around in confusion.
"We fought with each other for years, until I finally left. He took my mother and went to live in Rupanda while I returned to Silverburg. He doesn't like my strategic approach, he doesn't like my view of life, he doesn't like my political opinions, and he thinks I'm a weakling," Mio explained, without a trace of malice in his voice.
"Your father seems like a real jerk," Kiisan noted.
"He can be when he wants to," Sanada pointed out, "It just depends on who he's talking to."
"Not an optimum father-in-law," Mitsu said, nudging Sanada lightly.
"Weak, huh?" Liyuin mused, "Weak physically?"
"Yes," the orange-haired young man affirmed his perception.
"Kiyon fences," Mitsu pointed out.
Liyuin's eyes widened as he considered the possibilities of the situation, "And you, Lord Mio?"
Mio shrugged, "Just barely. I've spared a bit with Louis Abdul, but it's not a skill of mine. Barely even a hobby. I'll stick to strategy and rose gardening."
"Challenge your father," Liyuin urged, "Challenge him to match outside of the gates."
"But I'll lose!" Mio insisted, "I won't even last long enough to prove a decent distraction!"
The former court magician shook his head, "We'll make sure that you can do it. I have a notion, and I think that we can pull it off..."
"Then let's hear it," Sanada smiled deviously.
Kiisan shuddered. When she narrowed her eyes with a look like that on her face, Sanada seemed to resemble Mai Mai...