A/N: Hello again? Maybe? Depends if you decide to read this or not. But I WILL publish this all the way through, gosh darnit!
Okay...I don't know what that was.
Now, you're going to find that we have skipped ahead quite some time. Well if it's good enough for Signor Verdi to use in an opera it's good enough for me!
ALSO! I found that writing disclaimers actually is pointless! the website itself ACTUALLY has legal disclaimers written out so WE don't have to! Gotta love it...
It had been three months. Three wonderful months since the party when Courtesan Michiko Ran met Crown Prince Akihito Sutoku. They had been formally courting for nearly that time, walking in gardens and having dinners and going to the theater. Michiko was well beloved by the Royal Family at that time. Princess Yoshiko had declared Michiko to be a wonderful woman and said in as many words that she looked forward to being able to call her sister.
And Yoshiko was never wrong. Ever.
Michiko was a common sight in the Royal Palace, talking with the Vizir Tadamichi Fujiwara. He and his wife were also fond of the woman, and were quite pleased with whom the Prince had chosen to court. Not that their opinions truly mattered in the scheme of things, but it was nice to have lots of people enjoy the company of a prospective future queen.
Queen Tamako had even said to Akihito one night after he bid Michiko adieu that she thought her to be an exquisite woman and perfectly suited to him. And if the Queen and Princess were in agreement, then there was nothing the King or Crown Prince could do.
And that suited Akihito fine.
"Esteemed Prince, will you tell me where you are taking me?" asked Michiko as they rode in the carriage to the unknown destination.
"Of course, fair lady. We are going to see an opera," said Akihito. "It is new, written by Takeda Izumo."
"I do very much enjoy his work. Pray tell, what is this opera about?"
"It is a story of young love. Two young men and two young women."
"This is not a tragic story, is it? I have never been too fond of tragic operas."
"Nay, it is a comedic story. My sister attended a performance of it in these last few days. She has been so worried about possible war with the Kingdom of KÀ."
"I understand that fear. It haunts my every day," said Michiko, turning to watch the city go by. "I fear that one day, all that we love about our home will be gone forever. That we shall lose our home and never regain it. All things must die. Who is to say that the death of our land is not at hand?"
"My fair lady," said Akihito, catching her gaze. "I will stop it. I will keep you safe. Do you doubt me?"
"Nay, good sir, I do not. But some things are out of our control."
"I am Crown Prince. Do you see this marking on my shoulder?" He turned his torso so the cut of his robes showing his tattoo was facing her. "I am a General. I will keep you, and all this land, safe." Michiko smiled.
"I do not doubt you." And she did not. She had complete faith in her handsome, dark haired prince to keep her and all his people safe. And King Munehito would be helping too, of course.
At that point, they had reached the opera house, and had made their way to the front of the auditorium, ready and waiting for the opera to begin.
This was the first time that Michiko had accompanied Prince Akihito to an opera outside of a performance exclusively for the royal court and to be honest, Michiko was nervous. Their courtship had doubtless reached the ears of some, through hearsay from servants in the Royal Palace and from her own servants, but there was still that most of the citizens of the Kingdom of the North did not know.
As though he could read her mind, Akihito subtly took her hand, running his thumb over her hand soothingly. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
Soon enough, the play began, and no more were there whispers about her surrounding her.
Michiko spent the next three hours laughing. The women were masquerading as each other and questioning their lovers of their faithfulness, the men masqueraded as women, and there was singing all around.
Her favorite piece was in the second act, on the beach. They were singing a trio with their nurse. It was a light, bouncing piece sung by the two women (sisters named Shizuka and Ozato) and their nurse (named Oryū). They were singing with a chorus of fishermen-a bright sea shanty of the beauty of the places one can sail to and to let the Orinoco flow (Orinoco being, naturally, the drink of the low classes)! As they were, the two men (princes named Yoshitsune and Yazaemon) and their valet (called Ginpei) hid and watched them. When the song ended, the audience applauded politely, and the two princes emerged from their hiding place. Naturally, the women were frightened, and they sang a bit about it, before getting into a romantic song.
At the end, as expected in any comedic story, they were wed, Shizuka to Yoshitsune, Ozato to Yazaemon, and Oryū to Ginpei. When the opera ended, the Prince and his Lady were the first to leave, as they were (of course) of the highest ranking.
"Sweet lady," said Akihito, the smile still on his face. "Will you come to dinner at the palace?"
"I would loathe to turn down an invitation from you, good prince," said Michiko, a matching smile on her painted face. "Shall we be drinking Orinoco, perhaps?" Akihito laughed at the idea of them drinking the drink of the low class. His laugh was joined by Michiko, who giggled behind her fan.
"I do believe," he said, his words punctuated by chuckles, "that that is why my sister adores you so. You are kind, polite, intelligent, and can make anyone you meet laugh."
"I try."
Michiko took her usual place at the King's Table, between her suitor and his sister, and fell into conversation with Princess Yoshiko about the opera.
"What did you think of the trio on the beach?" asked Yoshiko politely.
"It was marvelous. Did you not think so?" said Michiko.
"I adored that piece."
"Excuse me, but what performance is this?" asked Queen Tamako, her golden hair shining equal to her jewelry.
"Beg pardon, mother. It is the opera by Takeda Izumo, 'For the Love of a Woman.'"
"Ah yes, the same you saw a few days ago," said King Munehito. "And what did you think of it, Akihito?"
"I thought, honorable father, that it was a marvelous comedy completely suited to the tastes of both my esteemed sister and my graced lady," said the Crown Prince.
"A very fine opera then," said Queen Tamako, silently eating her steamed pork bun. "I believe that you must take me to see this, Munehito."
"Of course my love. We shall go as soon as appropriate," said the king with a smile.
Soon, their conversation turned to other topics, such as the emerging love between Baron Taemin Suzumiya and Lady Mulan Hua. And after Michiko excused herself to return home, the royal family too retired.
"Brother," said Yoshiko, catching Akihito up in the halls of their palace. "Tell me honestly. Are we safe?"
"Kishi, you know the Palace is well defended and is heavily staffed with guards and locked—" started Akihito.
"No. Be plain. Will we be taken over by KÀ?"
"Not if I can help it. Kishi, look me in the eye." Her blue eyes met his brown eyes, and a flame of trust was burning in hers. "Do I look like I am lying to you?"
"No…"
"Then be content in that knowledge! I shall keep you safe, even to my dying breath, do you doubt me?"
"Never, brother mine. Never."
"Then doubt me not on this. Whatever is within my power that you require to feel safe and content, I will do. Tell me."
"Just…attend the war meetings and tell me what comes out of them, yes? I want to know how the plans are going."
"Of course. Sleep sound in the knowledge that I will protect you."
"Yes, brother. But do not worry over much. I have always been fearful of war. I know it is silly, we are one of the mightiest kingdoms in the world, but still…there is a fear still there."
"Hold steady, sister." He pressed his lips to her brow, and retired to his rooms, worried over his sister's newfound sobriety.
"I worry, Munehito," said Tamako, breezing into her husband's rooms, his servants bowing to her. "You never neglected to tell me what came of war meetings, even when they were just skirmishes with the Pechenegs." She wrapped her arms around him from behind. "What is becoming of us? Tell me plain, my love."
"I do not know," said the King, closing her hands in his. "We cannot know. There has been no sign of certain war, but things do not bode well."
"Kishi has been fearful these past few weeks. She has been having nightmares of the end of our kingdom."
"I only wish that a sign of true war would appear, that they would openly declare it. Then I would know what to do. As it stands…I will keep you safe, Tamako."
"I doubt you not, sweet husband. I honestly do not." She let him go, and he turned, holding her close. "I worry for Michiko. She is a fine woman, and she will do our son well, but there is still a worry I hold."
"Do you worry that she will not succeed you well?"
"No, not that." But Tamako would say no more, instead holding her husband fondly. "My bed seems so cold…"
"Then stay here with me."
"Munehito, you know that after the twins were born I am no longer fit…"
"I meant to merely sleep. If you fear and worry so, then stay with me. Being near another might help your anxiety." Tamako smiled, and let her husband lead her to his bed. The two settled in for the night, Munehito pressing a gentle kiss to his wife's shoulder. "Sleep well."
"And to you." Yet Tamako could not find it in her to ease the growing pit of anxiety in her stomach. She knew the appeal of escaping to a comedic opera, but she also knew the reality of having to stay strong in the face of adversity. How else could she have married Munehito, what with all those higher ranking women vying for his eye and all. Tamako closed her eyes, and let one single tear fall from her eye, slowly making its way across her pale face and finally absorbed by the soft pillow beneath her head.
There was another meeting the next day, to evaluate impending war. Akihito and Munehito sat side by side, watching the only female General (and she had clawed her way to the top against all opposition and was holding that position with iron claws and sharpened teeth, thank you very much) present the current state of their southern neighbor as shown through messenger bird communication with the troops stationed in the south.
"Border patrols have been varying very slightly," she was saying. "Nothing to be worried overmuch about, but the patrols from KÀ have been coming more and more into our land. Just a mile at present and only in the areas where there have been confirmed settlings of the Sauromatian tribe."
"Are they so frightened of a tribe?" asked Akihito.
"With all respect, your royal highness, the Sauromatians are a vicious tribe. They rival the Pechenegs to the North. Rumor has it that a woman of the Sauromatians cannot wed until she has killed a man. It is enough to make anyone wary."
"I see. Do continue."
"Thank you, sir." She continued, and Akihito did not miss the look his father gave him, the frown half obscured by his dark beard. He should have known about the Sauromatians! He was Crown Prince! Where had all his lessons gone?
The meeting dragged on, and once the king ended it, he turned to his son and looked him up and down, saying nothing. That was the worst in Akihito's mind. The absolute worst. His father didn't think him worthy of words, and that alone hurt the young man. King Munehito swept out of the room, followed by the standard set of military men and courtiers, and Prince Akihito left as well.
The prince met his sister just, holding the batons she was to be practicing dancing with. "Brother, what have you to say?" she asked, her worried blue eyes searching his face.
"It is yet uncertain. Border patrols from KÀ have been passing into our land. They pass a mile in at present." Yoshiko put her hand to her mouth, letting out a whine of despair. "But they are merely avoiding a tribe which rivals the Pechenegs in their fierceness. It is not a declaration of war, they have said as much to the soldiers in the south."
"It sounds like one to me. You will keep to your promise?"
"To keep you safe, yes. I will unto my last breath, Kishi, you know this." She smiled a small, frightened smile and took his hand.
"Keep that promise, and keep us all protected. War frightens me."
"The nightmares again?"
"They have never left, brother." His eyes went soft and he took her other hand in his. "I see father killed near every night, our home wrecked and you and Michiko…I dare not say. I fear in self-fulfilling prophecies."
"Kishi, we shall not be killed. Go see the court physician. I am certain she can give you something to sleep without these nightmares."
"Yes. You speak wisely, brother. I shall. Yes." She smiled weakly and left, holding the batons she loathed close, returning to her lesson.
"Are your fears assuaged, my lady?" asked her tutor, Madam Tokushi.
"Not entirely," said Yoshiko, though offering a smile. "Shall we continue?"
"Of course, my lady." Madam Tokushi was well known as one of the best tutors in baton dancing, so it was only natural that she eventually came to teach Princess Yoshiko. Yoshiko liked her the best out of all her tutors. She had come from the southernmost province, and as was commonly found in the citizens in that area, she would have no nonsense, thank you. And that was something Yoshiko admired greatly.
That, and Madam Tokushi understood her fear for the kingdom as a whole. Being from the south, the idea of invasion frightened her more than someone in the northernmost province. But at the same time, she was not easily scared and, until there was a declaration of war, Madam Tokushi was not going to let Yoshiko whimper in fear about something that didn't exist. It was that strength that Yoshiko sometimes needed.
"Princess!" snapped the tutor in question. Yoshiko stopped, staring at her. "That is not how you spin the baton about your elbow. Have we not gone over this?" Yoshiko smiled. "Spare me the look, princess. You must learn this before you marry! Now, watch me carefully." Madam Tokushi took the baton from the princess and demonstrated, the baton spinning about her elbow gracefully, the Madam's skirt flowing with equal refinement. "Try it like that, your highness. You are graceful enough, we both know this." Yoshiko nodded and took the baton, attempting yet again. It was always hardest to spin around the elbow, Yoshiko found. Though her late aunt (rest her soul!) had always said it was spinning the baton up the arms that was hardest.
She had no time to ponder those things! She had to focus! If she slipped up again Madam Tokushi might very well berate her as one does an errant child.
And, oddly enough, that thought brought a smile to her face.
While this was happening, the Kingdom of KÀ to the south was gaining support from the smaller kingdoms around it, more manpower and more resources to make weapons. The Song Kingdom and the Qui Kingdom were siphoning all their soldiers and even the volunteers from the villages to support KÀ. They had dreams of grandeur.
The others were only sending a few, enough to say they supported them, but not enough to be loyal. They had no illusions. If their neighbor was going to attack the mighty Kingdom of the North, they were not going to stop there. If they manage it, their king, a man named Shi Huangdi, would be drunk on power. He would be an emperor, and would not stop until he ran out of easily conquered land.
"Anyone who conquers that place will not be able to control themselves any longer," they would say to each other.
Shi Huangdi on the other hand, did not think of it that way, and neither did his people. Their ideas were those of a shining, glorious Empire, gained from the knowledge and wealth of the Kingdom of the North and their own glory.
It was a painful reality, but the Kingdom of KÀ was preparing for all-out, cold-blooded war.
A/N: Yes indeed. I have notes to give.
Takeda Izumo was a real man. He wrote one of the three most popular Kabuki plays "Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura" (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees). Yoshitsune is of course, the main character, and was a famous general in the Ginpei Wars of Japan. In the play, Shizuka is is mistress, so there's her. Yazaemon is a sushi shop owner, engaged to Ozato. And Oryū is the wife of Ginpei, which is a last name (Hey, don't judge me!) and whom a rival general of Yoshitsune is disguising himself as.
Yeah.
And now, two AWESOME tribes. The Pechenegs and the Sauromatians (or Sarmatians). They both come from Slavic history but I love them so shut up. So the area which is now Ukraine/southern Russia was, a good two thousand seven hundred years ago, ruled by the Iranian tribe of the Scythians. The Sarmatians are generally considered to be a subtribe. The Scythians had a few women soldiers, which was what give rise to Amazons in ancient Greek Myth. They also appear in The Lysistrata as police force in Athens (which they were, actually) to try and get the women out of the treasury so they can a) continue having their big war with Sparta and b) sleep with them.
But the Sauromatians called their women "The Lords of Men" and no girl was eligible to wed a man until AFTER she had slain an enemy in battle. They would also use the skull as a drinking cup and the scalp as a handkerchief. Disgusting huh?
The Pechenegs were a Turkic tribe (if I remember correctly) which were always attacking Kievan Rus. They were pretty impressive. Grand Prince Sviatoslav conquered from Kiev to the heart of Bulgaria over to the Danube and then back over towards the Caspian Sea and a fair portion north. AND HELD IT. Gives you an idea of his military strength. He also sacked Constantinople. Violently. Now, after conquering Bulgaria, he was going home, where his eldest son was temporarily in charge. He was accompanied by a good two thousand men. The Pechenegs killed him. And according to Nicholas Riasanovsky-they used Sviatoslav's skull as a drinking cup for the Chief. So yeah. Pretty impressive.
Also, Tokushi was an Empress. She was the fourth daughter of Emperor Go-Sanjō and then married to her nephew, Emperor Horikawa (who was Emperor Toba(Munehito)'s father!).
Review, perhaps?