A Lost Hope, The Tattered Red and Green Ribbon: Chapter 2
Author notes bottom
...
Youko leaned over slightly watching the land go by. The desolate land she had fought for 15 years ago was now green and lush. It was said some of the best fruit came from Kei as the growing season was a bit longer than some of the outlying kingdoms.
"Hankyo, I think that is the village we are looking for," She said to the dog like shirei she was riding. Her red hair was pulled under a wide brimmed straw hat. Even with all the different hair colors in the kingdoms she had rarely seen her shade before.
Hankyo slowly flew lower until he was in a small outcropping of trees. It would cause a panic to see a youma in a village. When he landed the dog like youma growled softly sniffing about as if making sure that nothing was a miss. Youko jumped down from Hankyo's back when he would land.
"Thank you Hankyo," she said adjusting the sword on her back, which was wrapped in a plain cloth. The shirei vanished into her shadow to be ready for a moments notice to defend the queen.
Youko moved from the small group of trees to the well worn path towards the village. The rike was only a small part of the village, but it seemed to be one all by itself. Most villages had a rike, a common facility, which was home to orphans and the elderly. The odd group worked together to tend a small plot of land and help around the village to feed themselves. Usually a caretaker was elected to run the facility to make sure that each was taken care of like they were of their own family.
Youko moved down the path to the village, it was quite large being half day walk from Gyouten. Many used this village as a way point before traveling to the city at the bottom of the mountain where the ruler lived. The village was laid out simply, the rike to one side. Shops, inns and common buildings down the main path, homes flanking on smaller paths. In the center of the town was a small shrine, the local Riboku was housed in its courtyard.
"According to the records there was only one missing ranka in several years, near the time of my birth in japan." she said her eyes traveled over to a large plot of land that was the local graveyard. There were many graves, most were overgrown with grass and weeds. Some of the graves were tended to, slowly she stepped along the weeds and grass. Most were not marked but some of them had mementos of life leaned against them. "So many," she whispered. Youko crouched down and rang along a marking stone closing her eyes slowly as she said a silent prayer for those that were lost.
"Youko," a voice called. The queen tensed, the voice was unfamiliar, looking up she saw a woman about her own age searching around her. Youko watched as a child darted out from behind a cart and ran up to the woman.
She laughed in realization, "You were right Rakushun, my name is becoming popular," she took that with great pride. That ment the people were happy with her as a ruler to name their children after her. Such a small think ment more to her than anything else, the happiness of the people of Kei.
Youko took her leave from the graveyard and walked up to the gates of the village. Pulling the pass from the fold in the front of her robe holding it out to the guard. It felt a bit odd lying about why she was actually there. But she didn't want the awkwardness of being the queen here. She was here as Youko Nakajima, not the queen of Kei.
After being let through the gates Youko walked along the streets. The sounds of the village to seep into her ears as she moved. The merchants calling out their wears, the people haggling, the lively conversations amongst neighbors. The smells followed, the spices, crops and food from the inns wafted into her nose. Youko smiled, this was her favorite thing to do when she was able to get away from the palace. To just mingle with her people, watch them live.
There seemed to be more people than normal in the village. "I wonder if they are heading to Gyouten for the celebration," She said to herself. The village only had two inns and she would need to check later if there would be a place for her to stay for the next few days. Making her way down the street past the shops and most of the people she would find herself in front of the shrine of the Riboku.
The shrine was modest, it was was weather worn but kept up as best at the people could. The faded sign above the entrance looked like it had been repainted many times. Youko would feel her heart race as she pushed on the door to open it into the inner court yard. There in the center of the walled building she saw the Riboku. Already early in the month there were several ribbons and ranka hanging from the branches.
Long ago in the first year of her reign she knew that she would never be able to tie a ribbon herself. As odd as it seemed Youko was not upset by that prospect. Her Taisai had told her something once, 'The people of Kei are you children.' she held that dear to her heart every time there was something happening. The floods, the youma, the skirmishes for power. Each death echoed in her heart, like that of a good friend.
"I wonder, what they were thinking when they tied the ribbon," She said walking up to the tree her hand reaching out to a bare branch. She could almost feel the energy coming off of the tree in front of her. Youko would look over her shoulder when she would hear a noise from the door and she stepped away from the tree and back into the wings of the building.
A young couple came into the courtyard nervously, preceding them was an older woman, her faded red hair pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head. The couple walked over to a large ranka that looked like it was ready at any moment.
"Go, it is ready," The woman with the faded red hair said gently to the couple. The man would reach up to the ranka and when his hands went up and he gently was able to pull it down. The young woman let out a cry of happiness as they easily peeled away the from a baby inside of the ranka. It would be a few moments until the baby would start to cry as the woman lifted it out of what was left of the ranka. The couple happily spoke softly to the child, Youko watching silently from the alcove. After the couple had left with their child only then did Youko leave the alcove.
"It is a beautiful thing is it not?" the woman said still looking up at the tree and the other rankas waiting to be plucked. Youko felt something was different about this woman, there was almost a persistent sadness about her.
"Yes, I have not witnessed it before," Youko admitted, it reminded her of the storied she had heard of children being born in Japan, the utter joy at the new life in your hands. The older woman turned to her in surprise.
"You have no siblings?" she asked her, the womans deep brown eyes were warm and stoic. Youko shook her head.
"I was an only child," she said. The older woman stared at the Riboku, she had seen many children be born from this tree.
"That is a shame but alas I know that feeling, I was an only child myself." She said and she turned to her. "I am Rakia," She said bowing slightly to her in a greeting.
Youko smiled at her, "I am Youshi, I am pleased to meet with you," She said. The two women stood looking at the Riboku silently before Rakia turned back to Youko.
"I am in the mood for some tea would you like to join me."
"Youko nodded her head, "Tea would be nice," she said and she watched as Rakia turned from the Riboku and motioned towards the door for them to walk out together.
"What brings you to Amesa?" Rakia asked Youko as they walked together out of the courtyard and through the doors of the shrine.
"I am traveling to Gyouten," Youko said as she walked beside the older woman.
"It is a large place, one must be careful so they don't get lost," Rakia pointed out. Youko smiled a bit under the brim of her hat.
"I have been there several times, but I always manage to discover a few new things each time I go," Youko said. The two women reached the rike, "You live here?" she asked her a bit surprised the woman didn't seem old enough to live there.
"I am the caretaker, I took over when i was 22," Rakia said. Youko nodded her head slightly, she was familiar with how a rike worked. The caretaker usually was someone that didn't have any family or the youngest adult of the group.
"It is quite a large one, I have stayed in quite a few in my travels and I have stayed in quite a few and this is by far the largest," She said looking at the four buildings that were there. The largest building was the residence for the orphans and the elderly people that needed to stay there. That was the one to the north, the one to the east was usually used a public hall for meetings of the village. The building to the south was a smaller one that was used for travelers in the village that couldn't afford to stay at the inns. The final building on the west side was the one that Rakia took her to.
"This is my home, it is modest but i use it well," she said opening the door so that Youko could go in before her. Not wanting to be rude Youko did so, the house was made up of two rooms. There was a kitchen to one side with a modest eating area and a small lounge area to the other side of the door. It reminded her of the house that her friend Rakushun used to live in. The door inside would lead to a sleeping area, it was a small house but most of the people in her kingdom lived just like this.
"You have a nice house," Youko said smiling at all the homey touches in the house. There were many pieces of what looked like junk to most but they were art work and little things children made for her over the years.
"Thank you, I do my best as most of my time is spent out helping the children and our elders," Rakia said. She would gently motion to a chair for Youko to sit in. Slowly the red haired queen would sit on the modest chair she was offered.
"Do you live here by yourself?" Youko asked her watching the woman take out a pot and pouring some water from a bucket into it. Rakia moved the pot onto the stove and she pushed it to the back where it was the warmest so it would heat up quickly.
"I had a husband when I was younger but he died to bring food to our village," She said softly, a soft smile on her face that Youko could just see from the profile of her face. "Love is a fleeting thing, but still to this day I love him. I will never have another like him even though it has been so long since we last spoke or held hands," she whispered softly. Rakia shook her head, "Have you a family?"
Youko remained silent for a long moment before she would answer her, "I do but they are far away, I have many good friends around me though," She said. Rakia turned to look at Youko then, her warm brown eyes seemed to hold much wisdom then she let on.
...
Sina lifted her head from her desk, her dulling red hair fell out of the bun that it had been in since early this morning. It was nearing lunch time but she knew that there was nothing to eat in her cupboards. She didn't remember the last good meal that she had, but it was the children that she was worried about. Many parents had left their children in the rike in the last few months, many didn't last any longer as the food they got was dwindling from the capital. It was rumored that many people had left. It had been almost 25 years since the last ruler had perished and only a few held out this long.
"Hunger... it is all they have know," She said as she rose from the desk to stretch. Sina had taken it upon herself to keep up the records of those in the town of Amesa since the other officials had fled so long ago. Sina pulled a long cloak around her, it was many times her size and would provide some warmth to her, even thought it was only early fall she felt so cold. Her body was almost that of a skeleton, she was starving and she knew it.
"Leader," a soft weak voice called out making Sina move as quickly as she could out of her home. There outside in the dust was one of the small children that had been put under her care.
"Yes Nessa?" she asked the young child, she had taken a special attachment to this one because she was about the same age her own daughter would have if the shoku had not blown the ranka away. The young girl, thin with hunger seemed excited, "There are soldiers here, they are doing something at the town hall."
"Really," Sina pulled the cloak tighter around her body and she pulled her door shut. As quick as she could the woman moved to the opposite end of the rike to the building that was being used as the town hall. Her heart seemed almost to stop in her chest as she saw a flag being raised up above the roof. "A dragon flag," she whispered and tears fell down her face with a great joy but sadness as well.
"Leader, what is a dragon flag?" Nessa asked. The young girl had followed her from her house. Sina would look at the small girl and a overwhelming sadness over took her. She would reach down and pull the abandoned girl up into her arms.
"That flag is only used by the ruler, when it is raised for the first time in a devastation such as this it means that the kirin has found the new ruler," She said. Nessa blinked and tilted her head a bit, she knew of a ruler but not the significance. Sina let herself laugh softly for the first time in a while. "It is a good thing, soon we will be able to grow food once more, the ground will not reject our seeds and water will be everywhere." she said.
"It sounds beautiful," the small girl said. Sina nodded her head in agreement,
"Yes it is very beautiful," She said and she noticed a guard that was lingering around the side of the building. "Nessa, go to the school building for your lessons, they are very important no matter what is happening." She said gently to the child. Nessa seemed to want to protest but she let herself be put back on the ground and soon scrambled off with the other dozen or so children that lived in the rike.
"It is really true?" Sina asked walking up to the guard, she recognized him from almost 10 years before as one of the men in her husbands detachments.
"Yes, it was one week ago, the Taiho was in Gyoten when he found her," he said.
Sina shifted a bit, "A queen?" She sighed softly, the ruler she had been born under had been a queen with a lust for the finer things to the point of destroying the kingdom. The previous kirin Keirin had died from shisudo, it was said to be a horrific slow death. Sina shook her head slowly trying to forget her own childhood.
"The daughter of a merchant, perhaps she possess some skills that we are not aware of," the guard said.
Sina bowed her head slightly towards the flag, "It is wonderful news that we have a new ruler." she said.
"That is not the only thing," the guard motioned for her to follow him. Sina followed him as quickly as she would allow herself. The guard lead her to a large covered wagon.
"This is a gift from the other men, we got it from the south in Kou for Amesa, please keep the young ones strong for just a bit longer." he nodded and the cover was taken off and she was enough food stores to get them and many more through the winter until they would be able to start growing their own crops.
"Th... thank you," Sina said choked with emotion and she closed her eyes tightly so not to let tears stream out. The guard nodded to the others and they started to unload the supplies into a storage building near the school. Things started to finally look better for the future.
...
"Here is your tea," Raika said gently placing a cup in front of Youko.
"Thank you," Youko said and she lifted it up and savored the tea. She smiled at the hint of honey in it, something she herself loved. "It is very good," she said. Rakia joined her at the table and she stirred her own tea before savoring a sip herself.
"I grow the leaves myself, a bit of a hobby," She said with a gentle smile. "I quite enjoy the flavor." A loud knock on the door broke into their conversation.
"Leader, we must speak to you," a loud woman voice called from beyond the door.
"Please excuse me," Rakia said rising from the table, opening the door a woman stepped into the doorway. "Nessa, what is wrong?" she asked the young woman. Youko noted that she was about the same physical age she would have been if she hadn't stopped aging. Nessa had thick black hair pulled into a high pony tail and then braided down her back. Her light blue eyes seemed almost like ice over the koykai as she looked at Youko.
"There have been 3 more reports of robberies in the last week," Nessa said. Rakia frowned slightly.
"Were they on the roads as the ones before?" she asked her. Nessa shifted and Youko knew from her experience she knew that she was wearing armor under her outer robes.
"Yes, they were all along the road, we believe it is a group of refugees from Kou," She said with a frown.
Rakia closed her eyes and she sighed softly, "It is tragic that they must do something so rash," she said shaking her head gently. "It seems that many more now than in recent years." she said. "Prepare a large wagon with goods, I want you to move it along the roads where the others were previously attacked." she said.
"You mean to have them attack this one do you not?" Nessa asked her. Rakia nodded her head, "As you wish Chief," Nessa said bowing slightly to Rakia before she left from inside of the doorway.
"Is there not enough supplies for the refuges in the town?" Youko asked as Rakia closed the door and returned to the chair at the table. Rakia sipped her tea slowly and she shook her head after setting the cup down.
"It is not that, some of the refuges are to proud to accept help." she said shakeing her head, "They were the ones that held out the longest in the towns on the outer laying areas of Kou." She said softly. "Or so I believe, much of this town is populated by refuges under temporary status until Kou is better." She said.
"You intend to let them have the caravan with out begging for handouts." she said. Rakia nodded her head slightly.
"We have done this a few times before it helps keep the attacks limited on the roads." Youko shifted a bit feeling a little uneasy with the news of Kou refuges attacking her people.
"Where do the supplies come from, are you dipping into your own stores?" she asked her.
"No, each city is given supplies to help house the refugees as dictated from the palace I just store what we do not use and send a wagon out every couple of months with the left overs." She said. Youko smiled into her teacup, this woman was quite smart and a good leader for the town.
"You are the chief of this town, why do you not live in the chief's house?" she asked her. Rakia had a gentle laugh.
"Yes I am the chief but I do not wish opulence, it clouds my work." She said nodding to her overflowing desk. "I have run the Rike as long as I have been an adult and the chief position was something more recent. I agreed only under that I would not have to leave my home." she said.
"You must be very busy then," Youko said putting her now empty cup down.
"Yes, but I enjoy the work, it keeps my mind in the now and future." Rakia reached for Youko's cup and took them over to the counter to refill the cups. "You said that you planned on staying in the town for a few days, may I inquire why you are going to stay in the town for a few days?" she asked her.
"I would like to review some records here, I have something that I am trying to verify," She said. Rakia turned and looked at her for a long almost uncomfortable moment.
"I see. We have quite an extensive reference of records, deaths, births, marriages." She said. Youko nodded her head slightly she didn't want to go into great detail at the moment with her. "Ok, I will show you the way to where they are kept." Youko rose from her chair.
"Thank you," She said and she followed Rakia out of the door to the inner courtyard of the Rike. She lead her to the town hall building, once inside they went into a large side room and there stacked in barrels and haphazardly along walls was piles of scrolls and bound books.
"This is our records room, " Rakia said shaking her head, "I ment once to organize them but I have not had the time." She said. Youko looked at the scrolls and she looked back at Rakia. "Well I will leave you to your task, I have to go check on the children," She said with a smile. Youko laughed a bit as she left and moved into the records to start her search.
...
End Chapter 2
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Author Notes: Not really much to say. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to more.
Until next time.