Amare Dividere
Title: Breadbasket [Part Five]
Series: Vision of Escaflowne
Rating: PG-13 for some violence.
A/N: I just have to say that I
really love the flashback sequence in this one.
***
The first attack came unexpectedly. Both in time and place. Of all the nations of Gaea, the first strike logically would have gone to Asturia, since they had been weakened by the loss of their queen. But instead, it went to Egzardia.
The troops from Norte, having hidden in trading vessels from several of the country's merchant allies, stormed their way through Aves and into the heartland of the seaside nation with little resistance. Instead of burning the farmland and taking prisoners, however, they had left the countryside more or less intact, leaving small groups of guards, members of the trusted military force, to keep the peasantry in hand while the bulk of the army moved forward. The Egzardian military, in response to the overwhelming numbers and the element of surprise, fell back to protect Egadia, but were well aware that there would be little hope of success, once the scouts reported the size of the invading army.
They had been bolstering the reserve army, and raising militia to defend the land, but had waited until the harvest was over to call up the troops to station, and so were understaffed. The ground work was lain for the military to expand, but the manpower did not yet exist, the trained farm lads working with plows in the fields.
In the end, it was the better part of valor to retreat the scene and wait for a better time to fight rather than to try and raise the army at the knowledge of their attackers. And so the royal family and the people of Egadia, and the western half of the country, prepared to evacuate.
"I don't like turning tail and running," the king says to the captain of the guard as he mounts his horse, his wife and daughters being ushered into the carriage preparing to take them out of the country.
There is no certain destination for them, but the closest place to head to is Fanelia, and so, while sending advance warning to the castle, they had set that as their first destination. In both the king and the general's minds there is little doubt that they will be turned away, but not likely without at least well wishes from the Queen of the dragon country.
Getting there will be half the battle.
"Neither do I, highness," the guard captain says in return, handing him up his sword. "However there is no choice."
"We are unprepared to fend off Norte's attack. The army will join you once it is safe for us to retreat behind you," the general says, handing up the guard captain's sword once he mounts his horse.
"Godspeed," the king says to his general, looking to the women and then bowing his head slightly in the general's direction before making the command for the guard and the carriage to begin their departure.
The general, taking a deep breath, turns back towards the castle and the morning light, the fall of his boots heavy on the packed dirt road as he heads towards his troops. The upcoming retreating battle will be a difficult one, he knows, and he remains puzzled at the size of Norte's army. The country of Norte had never had as large a population to be able to raise such an army before. In the last war many of their soldiers had perished, and it was too soon for them to have been able to replace all of them, through either immigration or a population increase.
And there had been Guymelefs in the army that he had seen.
Large ones with the famous Ispano white finish had been reported.
It was the lingering fear in the minds of the soldiers after having seen the fighting of the only serviceable Ispano guymelef during the last war that made the troops so reticent to fight. Egzardia was largely a merchant country and so there was little cause for military guymelefs among the fleet of vessels used for trading.
Men did worse battle with an enemy they were unfamiliar with.
***
Rising from her kneeling position at the altar, Hitomi straightens her gown and heads out of the chapel, her footsteps obscenely loud in the quiet room. The sunlight filtering in through the stained glass windows is the only light inside, except for the candles on the altar and on the pillars lining the main aisle. A little bit of peace in the turbulent days she'd been having, ones filled with meetings and treaties and economic concerns.
It had started to affect her sleeping habits, making it harder and harder to get to bed at night, and in the mornings she often woke up with an upset stomach, throwing up on occasion. Her breakfast had gone down from a full meal to a little more than toast and orange juice because of it.
No one can tell how hard she is taking all the problems presented her, however, because her free time she spends alone in silence, trying to prepare herself for more of the same.
As she steps out, the guards close the thick wooden doors behind her.
Peralis comes jogging up to her almost immediately, Merle in tow.
"Your Majesty," Peralis coughs out, obviously out of breath from his frantic search to catch up with her. "Royal refugees have arrived… from Egzardia."
Merle, standing tall and disapproving behind the shorter advisor, swishes her tail behind her, batting her thick braid with it. Hitomi narrows jade green eyes at her friend's reaction. "What's wrong with refugees, Merle?"
"If they come, the people who are after them will surely follow…"
"As will the army that stayed to protect their retreat," Peralis adds.
"And that brings the war right to Fanelia's doorstep."
"I very much doubt that it is as urgent as either of you say," Hitomi says after a long pause, straightening her gown. "I will meet them in the throne room… Merle, I'll need you to bring my circlet, Peralis, see to it that the General is in attendance, I will need his council."
The short man bows deeply and scurries off about his duty and Merle speaks up, "You certainly were cut out for this, Hitomi," she says softly, one hand guiding her by the elbow towards the throne room. "I thought you'd fall apart after Van-"
"I did. You were just unconscious," Hitomi corrects softly. "I only hope that I am doing what he would do given the circumstances. I don't want him to have a ruined country to come home to…"
"And I'm certain that you're doing just fine," Merle reassures her, "I'll meet you in the throne room shortly with the circlet. Try to relax a bit." The tall cat woman heads off down a hallway, leaving Hitomi to make her way to the throne room in solitude.
Idly, she rings her hands. Neither she nor Van had ever mentioned to Merle what had happened during their brief stay in Egzardia, and she wonders what will happen now that she is queen and married to the man that Inah had thought to pair off with one of her daughters. Squaring her jaw as she steps through the opened doors to the throne room, she makes her way to her seat.
Now is not the time to obsess over little details like that.
***
"The first attack has come," Fariah announces, nodding her thanks to the messenger and motioning for him to be shown to quarters to rest in. Chid sits stoically silent over the remains of his meal, staring at the plate as though it holds all the answers to the upcoming turmoil.
When he finally looks up at her, his eyes almost break his Kathis' heart. "Survivors?" he asks in a meek tone.
"The royal family fled the country, and there were evacuations. By now Norte holds Egadia, if not the entire land that belonged to its people." She sets the scroll down near his meal and steps back.
"What does this mean?" Chid muses softly. "I need to speak with Hathei," he announces to the walls, but can sense movement meaning that the general is being sent for.
"Freid is not a direct neighbor to Egzardia," Fariah says in a quiet voice. "It may not mean anything to you and your people, yet, that it has fallen to the enemy."
"It will mean that the soldiers from Norte are better supplied than they were before. It will mean that they have a place to retreat to after future attacks," he runs a pale hand through his blond hair and looks down at his dinner plate in disgust.
At the same moment, Hathei, the tall, broadly built general of Freid, enters the room, bowing deeply to his sovereign before standing opposite Fariah.
"You have heard the news?" Chid asks gently.
"Yes, my Duke. Norte has taken Egzardia."
"What are your thoughts on this?"
"Norte by itself is a rocky country, a mining people live there that import almost all of their food from other countries. In the past, Egzardia was their chief supplier…" Hathei says, "Which brings into question whether or not the retreat of the monarchs is a genuine one or a feint to aide their ally."
"But King Benanoir and Queen Inah have fled their homeland to seek shelter elsewhere. Logic would conclude that they are not supporters of Norte," Fariah says, gray eyes puzzled. She had never been at the top of the group when it came to political strategy, though she was good at infiltration and at leading a group.
There were other Kathis that were better at strategy than she was. For instance, Selassie, who had received no external assignment, recently appointed as the Mistress of Strategy in charge of teaching other young hopefuls the arts she had mastered well. Perhaps, Fariah thinks quietly, it will do her good to seek out her old friend's advice.
"Logic is not always required when contemplating betrayal, miss Fariah," Hathei says, turning his deep brown eyes on her. "Betrayal often defies logic."
"I see," Fariah replies, hearing what Selassie would say in the general's words.
"And your recommendation, General?"
"I recommend that the guard on the palace be increased, and that more soldiers be called up into the army to defend Freid in case of an attack. It may not come soon, but there is little doubt that Norte will not overlook us forever, my Duke."
"Make it so," Chid replies, still staring at his dinner plate. "You may go."
The general eyes Fariah closely, as though weighing her worth with her mass, and snorts under his breath. What good could a slip of a girl like her do for the Duke? He dismisses the reports from earlier about how she has twice saved his life, preferring to take the same stance that Chid's adopted father took in regards to members of her order.
Fariah can see his judgment of her worth in his brown eyes as he passes.
Dispensable.
She shudders, and turns her eyes to the ornate carvings on the wall, getting lost, quickly, in the patterns. The military is, afterall, none of her concern.
In the past, occasionally, especially in Freid, the Kathis had joined with the military to aide in protecting the palace, but not this time. Especially not with that sort of an attitude from the general.
Slowly, Chid picks up his utensils and begins eating again.
***
The thick doors to the throne room open, and the small entourage from Egadia enters, looking travel worn. Seated on her throne, Hitomi's heart goes out to the four daughters as they straggle in, obviously worn out from their travel, looking disheveled.
King Benanoir lowers himself to one knee, and at his side, Queen Inah lowers herself to both knees, bowing her head. Behind them the four princesses do the same. "It is on hard times that we make this visit," the king says, swallowing a lump in his throat. "Norte has attacked our country, and we were unprepared for such a massive attack. We have had to abandon our country, and so, our only safe place to stay.
"We kneel before you here, Queen Hitomi Kanzaki de Fanel, to ask for shelter within the walls of your castle and the boundary of your country, bringing nothing more than ourselves, and the promise of the remnants of our army to bolster yours in the event of an attack."
A small smile threatened on her face to hear, for the first time, someone address her by her married name, but she forces it to the side, contemplating. She glances over at Merle, who still looks distrustful, and then at Peralis, whose expression is almost pleading. After a long moment of deliberation, she speaks, "You may rise, King Benanoir, as may your family. You have never been anything but kind to me since I have met you. I cannot make such a serious decision without conferring with my advisors, however, until that decision is made, you are more than welcome to stay in the palace and make yourselves comfortable." She rises as they do, and bows her head graciously.
Inah takes her husband's hand, clasping it tightly. It is more than she had dared to hope for, after her inadvertent faux pas when Van and Hitomi had passed through their country. The girls behind her, as they stand, breathe a sigh of relief.
"Merle," Hitomi says, "have them shown to a suitable set of rooms. Peralis, call the advisors together, I will speak with them before dinner."
The two indicated people nod in response, moving off to do their assigned tasks, and Hitomi heads out the side door of the throne room without further comment. Her stomach is upsetting her, suddenly, and she feels the need to find a bathroom quickly.