Sora no Ato: Chapter 13
Harvest of Friendship: Meaningful Names
Filicia straightened one of the piles of papers on her desk, got up, and stretched. She decided to take a break and wandered out to the garden to check on how Seiya and Mishio were doing gardening there as well as to get away from her paperwork here. Harvest time had come to the fortress garden in Seize, and the orphans' eggplants had rewarded their care many-fold with an abundance of fruit.
She soon came up behind the two as they looked at their eggplants' bounty. ``What wonderful eggplants you've grown here,'' she commented. Her voice was both gentle and proud. ``You two make a good pair of farmers.'' For some reason, they both blushed when she called them a good pair. She noticed and continued talking rather than call attention to their embarrassment. Weighing one of the eggplants in her hand, she asked, ``These look ready to pick. Do you think we should?''
Mishio and Seiya looked at each other, happy to be talking about gardening, not awkward emotional topics. ``Yeah,'' they agreed.
``Then why don't you pick all the ones that are ripe,'' Filicia suggested. ``I'll go get a basket you can use to carry them back.''
``Sure. Thank you, Filicia-onēchan.''
Filicia left the two young farmers to their harvesting and headed back to find a suitable basket.
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As they worked together to fill the basket, Mishio commented, ``These should make Yumina-onēchan so happy.''
``Yes. I really hope so,'' added Seiya. ``I'm so glad we followed uncle-Klaus' advice on how to care for them. That really helped.'' Klaus had enjoyed talking about farming with Seiya, and taught him a good deal about fertilizing, cultivation and pest control.
``Yeah,'' Mishio agreed ``And we should also thank Filicia-onēchan for letting us grow them here. And I had fun helping out here too.'' She blushed and didn't say that it was working together with Seiya that she really enjoyed. Well, him and her other friends here at the fortress.
``We should.'' He dropped his voice, unsure of himself. ``Would you... like to keep coming here to help them after our eggplants are done?'' he asked, then hurriedly added, ``so we can show Filicia-onēchan we appreciate her help.''
``Sure.'' Mishio nodded. Any excuse to spend more time with Seiya was welcome.
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Later that afternoon, Mishio and Seiya had filled Filicia's basket to overflowing. It took both of them to carry it, and they had to keep going back to bring another armful they had picked which wouldn't stay in the basket.
Rio happened to run into them as they made their way out of the garden and had to suppress a laugh at the way they were carrying the basket and overflow. ``Here, let me give you a hand with that,'' she offered.
``Thank you, Rio-onēchan,'' they said together.
Rio took a couple more eggplants off the pile in the basket and handed them over. These were threatening to fall of on their own, anyway. She picked up the basket. ``I'll carry this if the two of you can carry the rest.''
``Yes, Rio-onēchan.''
They picked up the overflowing armfuls and found they were able to carry these without dropping any. The three had a much easier time this way.
``Could we give these to Filicia-onēchan to say `thank you'?'' Seiya wondered, bobbing his head at the eggplants he and Mishio carried in their arms.
``Of course,'' said Rio. ``We can also let her know I'm taking you home.''
``Thank you, Rio-onēchan.''
Filicia quite appreciated the gift and their sentiments. ``We can have these for dinner. They'll be delicious.'' She apologized for not being able to accompany them back to the church. ``I really need to finish these reports today.''
After a few more words of thanks, the three left Filicia to her paperwork and headed out to one of the platoon's cars. Rio would drive them to the church. It was a much easier way to deliver the bounty to Yumina, and Filicia wouldn't mind them using the car this way. Rio thought it also beat walking through town carrying this load.
They passed Kureha on their way to the car and she decided to come along with them. She had developed a fondness for the orphans, and this also gave her another opportunity to talk with Yumina more about medicine and nursing. The young priestess was happy to help Kureha in her quest to become a doctor and save lives. Of course, Kureha didn't mention that this also gave her a chance to spend more time with Rio, time that grew more precious to her as the realization sank in that Rio's time back in Seize with them was limited.
ooo OOO ooo
Yumina went off to the kitchen with the orphans to store away the eggplants, leaving the old priest to chat with Rio and Kureha, but a knock at the church door drew him away, too. He apologized for leaving them alone as he attended to the new visitors.
They didn't mind.
While he was gone, Kureha took the opportunity to talk with Rio. ``Lieutenant Rio, may I ask you a question?''
``Sure. Go ahead.''
``I was wondering. I thought that you and the church ...didn't ...well, get along. But you ...don't seem to mind talking with Yumina or the priest here. ...I don't want to pry, but...''
Rio grinned back at her, more amused by her diffidence than anything else. ``Don't worry, Kureha. I'm not offended.''
Kureha let out a sigh of relief at this reaction. She was used to Rio guarding her privacy, and didn't want to offend her.
``But I can see why you would wonder that,'' Rio continued. ``I've never been a ...supporter... of the Central Church.'' Kureha nodded. ``You've heard the story of my mother, how when she lay sick and dying, that a corrupt priest took her money and did nothing to actually help her, but he kept asking for more.''
``Not really.'' Kureha shook her head, surprised at the implacable tone of Rio's voice. That made her wonder all the more strongly about Rio's friendliness here.
``Well,'' said Rio, ``I was only seven at the time, so I only understood as a child, but I could see that ...priest was only interested in his own wealth and power.'' The way she said his title turned it into a curse. She continued telling of her mother, how she asked for medicine that the corrupt priest never brought, how he offered nothing but platitudes and requests for money as Rio's mother steadily grew weaker and her cough and sickness sapped her strength and life. Rio was sure her mother's sickness was treatable, as several others in the village got the same illness later and recovered with the aid of proper treatment and medicine. This just made her resent the priest's corruption more.
Kureha drank in this explanation, grateful for this glimpse into Rio's past and thoughts. ``And Yumina?'' she asked.
Rio smiled. ``It did take me a while to get over that bad encounter with her and her orphans.'' Filicia had told of this when they were all reminiscing before Rio's return. ``I think what finally broke the ice between us—well, what got me to let go of my grudge with her ...with them—was her coming to the fortress to treat Kanata when she fell sick right after arriving.'' Kureha remembered this incident as well, but not Yumina's help in it. ``She came willingly, generously cared for Kanata, asked nothing in return and actually cured her.''
``She really does care for people, especially the orphans in her care,'' Rio continued. ``I later found the old priest here was of the same mindset. He cares about people, not money. And I found he shared many of my opinions of that corrupt priest who failed mother.''
``Yes. Bishop Alexander was a credit to neither our country nor the Myriad Gods.'' The old priest's voice surprised Kureha. She had been so focused on Rio she didn't notice the quiet sound of his returning footsteps. ``The job of a priest is to pray for his people, not to prey on them. I do not like speaking ill of others, but I fear he cared more for wealth and power than either our people or the Myriad Gods.''
Kureha blinked in astonishment. She had never heard such harsh words from the old priest. Not that she had a lot of contact with him, but this was not she would have expected from the gentle old man.
Rio nodded in agreement and added, ``And you were also the first person in Seize to recognize ...who I was.''
``Really? When? How?'' Kureha was curious.
Rio gestured for him to continue. She knew the old priest sometimes liked to talk, in spite of his ability to remain silent at need.
``I never really talked with ...Miss Rio here''—He smiled up at her, knowing her disinclination to emphasize her royalty—``until she returned this spring, but I first began to suspect last summer.''
``And I didn't know about him until we talked,'' Rio added.
``But how?'' Kureha was even more curious now.
The priest smiled back and began his story. ``A while ago, when both of you were little, I served a parish in the capital. That's where I was when Miss Rio's mother passed away. I remember hearing of that tragedy, and the quiet rumors how Princess Iliya came to take care of her half-sister after this. But I also knew Bishop Alexander, and the rumors of his greed—his wealth was readily apparent. When I learned he had taken on caring for your mother, Miss Rio, even though he was unskilled in medicine, I became suspicious of him, as I should never need be of a man of the cloth. When I overheard him complain as an aside, right after your mother's funeral, that he'd need to find another source of income, and that one of his plans came to naught, it turned my stomach. I then knew the capital, so near the corrupting centers of power, was the wrong place for me. I wonder whether he sought to use your mother to gain to access your father's power as well as money. I'll never know. Anyway, as a lowly under-priest, there was nothing I could do to stop or even effectively expose such corruption in the hierarchy. Nobody would have believed me, I thought, and Bishop Alexander was too well entrenched, and had made too many political allies inside and outside the church hierarchy. But I could no longer serve under such a man.'' He shook his head. ``Perhaps I have sinned by not trying to save his people from Bishop Alexander, but I feared for my own safety should I try. So I took the ...coward's way out.''
Rio put a gentle hand on his shoulder. ``What could you have done?'' she asked rhetorically. ``It's all right.''
The priest nodded, accepting Rio's forgiveness, but still not fully forgiving himself. ``So, I asked to be transferred out away from the capital. I said I felt a calling to serve the people out in the countryside.'' He smiled wryly. ``That was not a lie. The people out here away from the centers of power are just as deserving of care as any others. Anyway, that's how I was assigned out here to Seize and Treize. The bishops looked a bit confused when I asked, as this did not at all match their way of thinking. But that was why I said I wished to leave.''
The priest nodded, coming to the end of his tale. ``And so, when I began to notice Miss Rio's resemblance to Princess Iliya, whom I had seen back in the capital, I remembered these events. I thought on them a while, then came to ask Miss Rio about them. I never got to see her before I had to leave for Treize. By the time I returned, Miss Rio had already left, and her return answered my question.''
Kureha looked up at the priest. ``Thank you, father. I know you really do care for everyone here in Seize. Thank you for that, and for telling me of your and Rio-sempai's history.'' She bowed to him.
``Thank you, Kureha.'' He laid a hand of gentle benediction on her head. ``May the blessings of the Myriad Gods go with you.''
Rio smiled at the two of them, relishing how he knew Kureha appreciated this blessing so he gave it to her, and how he also understood that even suggesting such would bring the wrong associations for her so he refrained. ``We're not keeping you from anything else, are we?'' she asked. ``You don't have to do more for the folks who came to call?''
``No, I'm free now.'' He gestured back to the door. ``They were a young couple who are expecting.'' He smiled, sharing their joy. ``They just wanted to ask me some questions about naming their new child, about what a name might mean and what would be appropriate.'' The priest was one of the few in the area who still new the old ideograms. The townspeople often came to ask his help in naming like this. Personal names were one of the last remaining places where ideograms were still used, and not all parts of Helvetia even did so. Filicia had no ideograms for her name.
This got Kureha thinking. ``What does your name mean, Lieutenant Rio?'' she asked.
``I'm not really sure,'' said Rio. ``Mother didn't talk about it much. If she told me, I don't remember. And after she died I wasn't interested in something like that from the church.''
``But aren't you curious?''
``Well, it might be nice to know what she was thinking, but...'' Rio trailed off, knowing it was impossible to get messages from the dead.
The priest's expression grew distant and thoughtful.
``Father?'' Rio asked, wondering what brought on his expression.
``Would you like to know? Do you remember the ideograms?'' He asked. Even in his younger years when he served in the capital, his knowledge of the old ideograms brought many people to him to help naming.
Rio thought for a bit, then dug out her personal seal. ``I still keep this with me as it's from mother. It has the ideograms on it and I guess I am curious, now, what they mean.'' She handed it to the priest.
He looked at it, and asked Rio, ``May I?'' With her approval, he made an impression of the seal on his palm and stared at the symbols it left there. This was much easier than working out the mirror image of the characters in his mind. ``Kazumiya Rio,'' he read. ``You have your full name here.''
Rio nodded. ``Do you recognize the ideograms?''
``Yes.'' He lifted his eyes up to meet Rio's. ``And ...you have definitely grown into it.'' He had Kureha's undivided attention at this point. ``Kazumiya means `peace princess.' I think we all understand how that fits you.''
The two nodded, Rio slightly and Kureha with vigor.
He continued, ``And Rio is written as pear and flourishing or beautiful. As a flourishing pear tree brings beauty of flowers and a bounty of fruit to those who love her.'' He smiled at Rio, knowing this embarrassed her, and also foregoing his natural tendency to point out how the Myriad Gods had blessed them all through Rio. He knew that she would still rather keep the church at arm's length.
``That's wonderful, Princess Rio,'' Kureha chimed in, momentarily forgetting Rio's desire to downplay her royal status.
``And that was from mother,'' Rio commented as a smile grew on her face. ``Those were the hopes she had for me.''
The old priest nodded. ``And I think she would be very proud of you, of who you are, of the woman you have made yourself, and of what you have done for us all.''
Rio blushed and bowed her head in thanks. ``Mother, ...dear sister,'' she whispered.
ooo OOO ooo
That afternoon Filicia sat reading the paper she had picked up while Kanata made dinner. A headline caught her eye.
``Look at this,'' she called to the others. ``I think you might all be interested in this article.''
Everyone gathered round, peering over her shoulders.
``Baron Condé Convicted of Treason,'' Kureha read. ``Wow, wasn't he one of the nobles in charge of army supplies?''
``Yes, he was,'' Rio answered. ``He was also a leader of the political faction that caused the most problems with the peace talks.'' They all fell silent as they read the article.
After they all finished and looked up at each other, Rio commented, ``Well, it looks like Baron Condé finally stuck his greedy neck out too far and it got caught. I'm glad his efforts against the peace have been ...suitably rewarded.''
The article told how his machinations to turn to war to his own profit, both monetary and political, had been uncovered, and how he had tried to prolong the war so he could continue profiting. The court judged this a crime against the state as it was not only contrary to Archduke Arcadia's stated policies, but also aimed to have more Helvetian citizens killed merely for his aggrandizement. It was heedless and negligent, murder through neglect. The courts—and even more-so the people—were war-weary enough not to forgive this.
``Why would anyone want more war?'' asked Kanata.
``Because he is sick,'' answered Noël, her voice cold with authority.
``...and greedy,'' Rio added. ``Back in the capital I found that he was supposed to keep us supplied and paid. He found it convenient to take for himself most of the money that should have gone to our supplies ...and salaries.''
Kanata felt glad she really didn't understand this motivation.
``And it looks like Colonel Hopkins was also arrested for collusion with him,'' Kureha pointed out, indicating a later section of the article.
``Yes, isn't that interesting,'' Filicia commented. ``That the case against Baron Condé really began to progress when Colonel Hopkins was detained. It says for, `trying to restart the war with the Rightful Roman Empire in direct contradiction to his orders to avoid conflict at all costs.' Baron Condé tried to intervene here, and his extra-legal methods were the chink that let prosecutors open up his case.''
``And reading carefully, it looks like you all helped too,'' Rio pointed out. ``It seems that after Colonel Hopkins lost the tanks of his unit here, many of Baron Condé's opponents were less restrained opposing him, almost as if they no longer feared retaliation. It says they're also investigating Hopkins' use of his unit against Condé's political opponents.'' She smiled at Filicia and Noël. ``It looks like you did more good with Takemikazuchi than you first thought. Not that stopping the war wasn't plenty ample sufficient. Thank you.''
``We just did what we had to,'' Filicia replied, unwilling to take credit for all of this, though she would willingly have taken all of the blame. She smiled over at Noël. ``See, once again Takemikazuchi saved even more people. Thank you.''
``Yes, Noël,'' Rio added. ``Thank you for fixing him.'' She looked over at Kanata and Kureha. ``And thank you as well. You know a tank is operated by a team together, and this could not have been done without your gunnery and communication.''
They dropped their eyes, unsure if they really had done that much, but warmed throughout praise from their adored Rio.
Kureha thought beyond the immediacies of the article. ``But will this stick? Will Baron Condé and Colonel Hopkins be able to manipulate the system to release them soon so they can go back to their old, bad ways?'' She looked up at her superiors, wondering.
Noël looked worried, as such an attempt would fit Hopkins' personality. He never saw bad in his own deeds, and cared not who else might be injured, or how, in pursuing them. It sounded like Baron Condé was cut from the same cloth.
Kanata looked confused as her innocent mind simply did not think along these lines.
Rio looked over at Filicia who indicated she should answer. Rio's sojourn through diplomacy and politics to end the war left her better able to answer this than Filicia herself, and was yet another reminder how Rio had grown over the past year. A year ago, Filicia would have been the only one here to answer such a question.
Rio smiled back. She too realized what a change the past year had made in her. ``I actually think that neither Condé nor Hopkins will be able to wiggle out of this using their usual methods and connections. These investigations and convictions look to have done more than put them in jail; these have broken their power base. It seems more nobles were following out of fear and greed than any agreement with their aims or principles.'' Her expression showed that she didn't think much of whatever principles they might have. ``Their hold over others has been mostly shattered. This peace looks to be very popular with the people in general, so I guess we can be thankful we're in a republic and that they have a voice, at least in theory.'' She pointed to the paper. ``I don't think Baron Hoche would have let this quote out if there was any chance of their getting back at him. Accusing him of `pouring the blood of our children into his treasury' does not leave much room for future compromise, even coming from a changeable politician.''
Filicia and Kureha nodded, as she explained this, taking Rio's words in and pondering them.
Kanata was happy to hear she need not worry. She didn't understand the reasoning: she simply accepted Rio's word.
Noël looked glad to hear that there were other good, and maybe even trustworthy, people out there, and that these two would not be in a position to hurt or betray others for a while.
``Thank you, Rio,'' Filicia was both pleased and impressed by her analysis.
They continued talking for a while.
As they began to head off to their own tasks, Rio remarked, ``I should tell Emperor Franz Leopold about this. He'd be interested to hear this success on the peace front in Helvetia.''
``Sure, here,'' said Filicia, folding the paper and handing it to her.
Rio paused holding the paper in her hand and looked at Noël. ``Wouldn't you also want to send this to Aisha? She was rather directly affected by Colonel Hopkins here.''
They all smiled at Rio's wording. If being shot didn't count as ``directly affected,'' then just about nothing did.
``That's all right, Rio. I'll get another copy to send. I don't want to take this copy from you.'' She smiled, thinking of Aisha. ``I do think Aisha would like to hear of this.''
Rio nodded, agreeing. ``I'll go out with you to look for another copy. I'm sure some of the townspeople would be happy to help. Aisha has become their friend too.''
Noël readily agreed, happy to hear how Aisha had made more friends in town. She would also be glad to have Rio along as she had found a larger spot in the hearts of the citizens of Seize than even Aisha had.
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Their hunt was quickly successful, and that evening Rio and Noël each retreated to their rooms to write their own words to go with the newspaper clippings they would each be sending to the Roman Empire.