- WARS OF THE ROSES -

Hi there! Thanks for visiting my story and for any feedback. :) How quickly do the weeks go by these days (I wasn't aware almost a month has passed)! Anyhow, I hope this fourth chapter is fun, and for those participating in NaNoWriMo (some of you may know that this month of November is National Novel Writing Month), godspeed with your original fiction writing. I'm joining in too. ^.^

In the last chapter, Rei and Eriko were expelled from their own castle by Yoshino in an unexpected coup. The fiery girl's victory was made possible by a terrifying new arsenal of arms imported from the United States of Hanadera, which is intent on conquering the Kingdom of Lillian. With the House of Foetida in chaos, the Hanaderians turn their attention to defeating the three clans once and for all. In this buckling Kingdom torn between power and corruption, there seems only one route to survival against this new threat: reunification.

But before the three clans come together and charge beside each others' steeds once more, their leaders must put their centuries-old animosity behind them. Will the Red Baroness and the Yellow Duchess cross their raised swords as comrades? Will the mighty White Rose deign to join the houses of yellow and red? What does the war between two mysterious siblings, Yumi and Yuki, really mean for Lillian?

- Act IV -

- This Love We Share -

Chinensis Palace. Guest bedchamber

Dry and comfortable, sheltered from the storm outside the castle, Rosa Chinensis en bouton clenched her jaw and closed her eyes as her Yellow counterpart's shrieks of agony drowned out even the booming thunder and pattering rainstorm. The Red Baroness stood frozen outside the guestchamber, unable to bring herself to join the royal surgeons as they applied leeches desperately to the nine wounds that dotted the Duchess's broken form. Sachiko bit her lip as she heard Rei wailing Yoshino's name, only to be roughly, forcibly gagged by a wet cloth by the surgeons to stop her from biting off her own tongue. From there on, there was only muffled crying and the occasional bump of the table on which Rei had been tied to, to stop her naked, bleeding body from thrashing and distracting the royal doctors from their grim work.

It had been dragging on for two whole nights now.

Sachiko bit her lip, not sure how long she could stand here. She was not so heartless as to simply leave, having carried the exhausted Rei here herself, but this was all too much to bear. She wasn't used to seeing someone she admired in so much agony.

"My Lady," came Yumi's unexpected voice. The Red bouton glanced up from the stone ground, meeting brown eyes illuminated by the torches affixed to the castle walls. "Are you alright?" asked the younger woman softly, who looked resplendent in her white fur and dark green felt.

"Of course," said Sachiko, swallowing and trying in vain to dislodge the lump in her dry throat. "Hasekura Rei is an enemy of the Chinensis House. My lifelong nemesis. I am simply doing what any honourable opponent would have done."

Yumi nodded. "Of course, onee-sama." She didn't know Hasekura Rei, but quite clearly, she was a noblewoman whom Sachiko respected deeply. "No one would abandon two women in such physical agony and emotional distress. You absolutely did the right thing."

Silence passed between them for several prolonged moments.

"She was far from my lifelong enemy," admitted Sachiko suddenly, her throat dry. "We only ever raised our swords against one another because we became soeurs under the Chinensis and Foetida banners."

"I know," whispered Yumi, eyes shining.

"Stay," blurted Sachiko. This was unbearable. She stared at her petite soeur, who did not look surprised at all. "Stay," she begged, her voice wilting to a helpless rasp. "Someone has crippled Rei like this, and I thought I would relish the day I did something of the sort to her body. Now look at me. I'm crying," she said bitterly, bleak eyes welling with tears. Those brimming droplets began to run down her lashes and down her cheeks. "Now do I realize I don't want Rei to die. By my hand, or anyone else's. Who have I been fooling?"

She felt Yumi wrap her arms around her, and she returned the embrace with a vicious hug, closing her eyes and letting her tears dash against Yumi's coat. The Baroness felt repulsively selfish, but she couldn't help herself. Surely her petite soeur would understand, just this once. "Yumi. Yumi," she gritted, her strangled throat repeating the name of her rescuer, nails digging into Yumi's body in self-reproach. "Only you can see me like this. Only you. No one else."

"I understand, onee-sama." Yumi stared up at the ceiling of the ancient corridor. "We must resist this invasion, these repulsive monsters who have done this to Rei-sama. You understand this too, surely? Onee-sama?"

"Of course," growled Sachiko, her face still buried in Yumi's shoulder. "My life for their destruction. I promise you this, Yumi. Their heads will not escape the swing of my blade."

Yumi smiled, patting Sachiko's back tenderly. "Marvellous. You've regained yourself, onee-sama. Let's talk with the others soon," she whispered into Sachiko's ear encouragingly, before nibbling it affectionately.

Sachiko sighed, turning her head, and they kissed. "You give me much-needed strength, Yumi."

The Red Baroness was noticeably calmer after that. Yumi felt so proud that she could bring comfort to her grande soeur so effortlessly.

Wonderful.

They would be meeting with Yuki very soon.

At last, the screaming had stopped.

But the rain was still falling, audibly pattering against the stone of Chinensis Palace. The thunder was still rumbling. Taking a deep breath, steadying herself, the Red Baroness gingerly pushed open the door, peeking inside. The room was illuminated by candles on the wooden table and the bedside stools. The bedsheets had been pushed aside. "Rei," called the Red Baroness softly. As she thought, Rei had left her bed, standing beside the table on which the surgeons had pulled out the foreign metal pellets. It had been cleaned of the blood and grime, but there were still some stains on the wood and on the carpeted floor. Her short hair damp with water, Rei was still shaking, although it was her emotional wounds that scarred deeper than her external injuries. Sachiko could still smell the scent of blood on the Duchess. But she had by and large rallied and recovered. What an extraordinary woman she was, marvelled Sachiko to herself, to have not only survived so many of these incredible wounds yet push back, and push back hard.

"Manners, Rei," rebuked the Red Baroness, staring sharply at the Yellow Duchess's form. "Look at me when I'm talking to you."

The leader of the Foetida knights slowly turned around, her expression one of dazed bemusement. She slowly gestured at her bandaged body, the linen wrapped around her breasts, her ribs, her slender waist. Only her arms hadn't been touched by the white cloth. "Maybe you should look at me. I'm ruined. A knight can't walk around like this, let alone carry a weapon," she said, her voice stunted, dulled. "I nearly failed my grande soeur. I failed Yoshino. Now she's turned her back on me. I need to go back and take her with us."

"Yoshino-chan will understand her mistake. I'm sure of it," said Sachiko quietly, weaving her concern into her words. "For now, you need to regain your strength. Lie back down. It's shameful, watching you waste away your energy like this."

Rei's lightless eyes flickered. "Yoshino. Did I commit some great crime against you? Why did you do this to me? How can I face our new enemies when you're among them? When you were the one who let them into our home?" Her knees felt weak as she uttered that incoherent monologue. She slowly began to sink to the ground, unaware that Sachiko was striding over to her, fire in her eyes.

"I want to die..."

She suddenly felt her shoulder grabbed roughly from behind. Wrenched around and glimpsing a pair of furious irises, the sharp slap from Sachiko's open palm rang through the bedchamber, its hot sting rushing through her cheek and blood vessels.

"Wake up, Hasekura Rei of Foetida," snarled Sachiko, flawless teeth bared like a queenly she-wolf's. "Who do you think you're uttering these words to? Enemy or not, all will learn to hold their heads high before my presence!"

Staggering briefly, her hand clutching her face, Rei stared, gobsmacked, at the Baroness.

"Why are you telling me about your sorrow now, my old enemy?" said Sachiko softly, but firmly. "Where is the invincible knight who wields her great sword without any effort? There is no worthier opponent than you. I know no better foe. Your tears are wasted on me. Bequeath them to Yoshino. She will see sense, I swear my head on it. And in the meantime, bequeath your sword on the enemies that played to her weaknesses." Sachiko pursed her lips. "Who were they, Rei? You must tell me."

Rei's lip trembled. before Sachiko could embrace her she was already swept up in Rei's tight hug. Yellow beauty clutched red temptress to her, trembling, sinking slowly down Sachiko's torso, tears soaking into her crimson cloth and skin of her bosom. They slowly sank to their knees, scrabbling and clutching at each other, furious at being denied each other for so long, bittersweet that they could only reunite under such unhappy circumstances. "Sachiko. Sachiko. I'm so sorry. How you must hate me for this."

"No. No, no, no," whispered Sachiko desperately. The ice had cracked. She closed her eyes. "Rei." She squeezed the weeping Duchess tighter, no longer able to lie to herself or the Yellow bouton. "This is not hate I feel in my heart." At long last, the walls between them were tumbling down. It had taken a foreign invader to shake them out of their complacency, but it was at least done. "No. No more lies, no more false hate," whispered Sachiko fondly. "You are the Yellow Duchess. Who dares to challenge you?"

"You," sniffled Rei honestly, managing a choked chuckle. She looked up, her eyes kissing the other's. "You always have."

"Yes. Only me," declared Sachiko, her thumb stroking Rei's lip, "anyone else is but chaff."

The mortal enemies stared at each other. Tentative smiles turned into broad beams. They cuddled, giggling shrilly, before bursting out in laughter. They no longer needed to point swords at each other's necks. Their relief was palpable. Rei gently pushed the Red Baroness down, pinning her on the floor of the bedchamber, her hand running reverently through the lush black hair. Her fur cape spilled out on the ground, Sachiko stared up at her, lips flushing at Rei's finger.

"We must form an alliance," whispered Rei urgently. "This is not the time for Foetida and Chinensis to be fighting each other. Our ancient banners must rise together, amongst one army. If we continue our petty bickering, this new enemy will divide and destroy us."

Sachiko's eyes were still, her tongue unable to answer.

"You know this," insisted Rei, bending down so that she was much, much closer. Her deeper voice strolled along Sachiko's neck, making the latter's nerves tingle and shiver in reluctant excitement. "You know. I can see it in your hesitant eyes. Just imagine it - you and I, riding our steeds side-by-side, wind battering our faces, our lances pointed at the same nemesis!"

"I can see it," admitted Sachiko, closing her eyes in relish, "and it is a glorious sight."

"We have no excuse anymore. We must be the architects of Lillian's reunification. You saw my wounds, the power of the weapons held against onee-sama and me. How can we stand on our own? There has been no greater opportunity than this. Think with the heart and mind of a warrior, Sachiko! We could be inaugurators of a new era of Lillian. A reunified Lillian, brought together in the name of fending off an army of men!"

"Yes," said Sachiko desperately, "I know, and I can't help but agree. But will our grande soeurs permit it?"

"We shall see. Thanks to your... reprimand... I've rallied my confidence once more. Have you?" whispered Rei, her lips dangerously close to Sachiko's unsteady mouth. "Or shall I have to resort to desperate measures to convince you?"

Sachiko looked away, resisting the urge to wrap her legs around Rei and clasp her warm hips to her waist. How she wanted to stroke those bandages clinging to Rei's firm, supple skin. How she wanted to pull the Duchess's powerful form down onto her. But, as seductive and nostalgic as their past seemed...

"I've taken a lover."

Rei said nothing, staring down at the Red Baroness fondly.

"I've knighted her. She is more special than anyone else. She is my soeur, my future bouton. I want to start again, Rei. And I feel... I feel Yumi may be the lady who I can trust with my soul." She looked back up at the Yellow Duchess, a hundred thousand sensations and memories passing between them with a single glance. "I'm sorry we could never have our way with each other."

"Please don't push me away in guilt just because of that. Do you feel comfortable with telling me who this Yumi is?"

"Yes. But we cannot return to our past." Sachiko's dark eyes were vulnerable. "However, if you will forgive me enough to let me stand by your side, I might not be so cowardly to flee back into onee-sama's arms again."

Rei's lips were pressing on Sachiko's nose. Not quite her lips, but it was a sumptuous, forgiving kiss all the same. "Say no more. What came to pass before our knighting, has passed. Rise with this Yumi-chan that you adore so deeply. Just promise me you'll stay and stand with me, Rosa Chinensis en bouton. We must speak with our grande soeurs."

Another guest bedchamber

Youko tenderly wiped away the sweat on Eriko's forehead. For now, the danger to the Yellow Rose's life had passed. The peculiar metal ball buried inside her ribs had been removed by the grand doctors, and her wound leeched before being stitched up. Eriko was now strong enough to prop herself up against the felt cushion, sitting and watching the Red Rose pour a draught of red wine into a gilded goblet. She set it on the bedside stool beside Eriko's golden diadem, the symbol of her great office.

"Are you alright, Eriko?" murmured Youko quietly, and there could be no mistaking the fondness in her voice. In this one twist of events, the two women were no longer cutthroat political rivals, but just two individuals who had pined for each other for too long. All they wanted was a chance, and excuse, to speak to each other again. It was unfortunate that their chance had to come in this way, but at least they were together, free for the moment from the trappings of their imperial obligations. This was how Youko felt. What did the recuperating ruler of Foetida think of their disastrous circumstances?

"Thank you, Rosa Chinensis," groaned Eriko, gazing at Youko. She glanced down at the goblet, and reached for it. She took a swig of the hot draught, allowing herself a grateful sigh. "It is not easy to give sanctuary to an enemy of state. My life for concessions of my territory – I owe this to you."

"Enough," said Youko, pressing a tender finger on Eriko's lips. "Speak not about politics now. The circumstances don't warrant the usual protocol. Someone not of either Chinensis or Gigantea has attacked you, apparently with Yoshino-chan's help. For now, we have a good excuse to put aside our ancient conflict." Her eyes shone. "We may even have to send an envoy to Sei, and tell her about everything that's happened. Perhaps Her Majesty should be notified too."

"I'm certain the High Queen has taken precautionary measures with her courtiers," replied Eriko. "I do not know if these invaders from across the seas have surrounded the continent with their ships. But even if they did, they would have to strike through your shires and hamlets, as well as Sei's, to reach Lillian Tower." She smiled weakly. "I don't think Sei will let the enemy reach Her Majesty."

Youko grimaced. "You speak of the White Rose. Perhaps we agree that Foetida and Chinensis should be reunited for the meantime. But for us to even stand a chance, one more woman must rejoin the fold. One more house must be brought into our renewed sisterhood. That most formidable and fickle tsarina."

"Surely the soldiers that defeated us must be pouring into Gigantea territory now," proposed Eriko. "Should we send an ambassador there, even if we can't guarantee her reaching Sei safely?"

"Hm. On second thought, perhaps not. Sei can take care of herself. And she chooses when she wishes to come." Youko smiled. "I don't think she'll be as easy to topple as the men assume."

The door creaked open, and their petite soeurs stepped in. Rei's bandages had been concealed by a new set of clothes and a lean suit of armour that hugged her physique. Sachiko had chosen it personally for her. The boutons bowed, and Eriko nodded. "You have my gratitude, Red Baroness. I am in the Chinensis House's debt."

"This isn't the time for petty squabbling, and I'm confident onee-sama would say the same. Now, these… metal pellets," said Sachiko, moving forward. She opened her right hand, and nestled in her palm was one of the silver balls that the surgeons had extracted from Rei's body. "It looks harmless. But what are these wounds? I have never seen them before. No clan has weapons that would inflict such small but deep injuries."

"I cannot describe it," said Rei, shaking her head. "It simply exploded from the barrel of that weapon, hurtling at me like an arrow animated by black magic. But I know that this is far from supernatural. Its science is brutal and lethal. It broke through my plate armour. We must find a way to resist it, and..." She grimaced. "It pains a knight's integrity to utter this, but if we cannot resist these weapons, we must acquire them for ourselves."

"Where did these men come from?" asked Youko grimly. "What do they want with our great houses? Do they want to force concessions from Her Majesty? For centuries, we've been shut away from all else, focused inwardly on our civil wars. We never invaded anyone. Who would bear a grudge against any of us Roses, or the High Queen herself?"

"You forget, Your Highness, that the Rose saints also came to this continent from across the snowy seas. Many hundreds of years may have passed, but the world is bigger than Lillian," came Yumi's voice. The women turned around to see the brown-haired girl bowing before them. "Forgive me, onee-sama. May I speak?"

"I didn't approve of you interrupting onee-sama so unexpectedly," said Sachiko tentatively, "but go on..."

"Who are you, little girl?" said Eriko, her eyes narrowing, her patience not so inexhaustible. "Explain yourself."

"This my new petite soeur, Fukuzawa Yumi. Be not suspicious, Rosa Foetida," said Rosa Chinensis en bouton, hiding her pride in a modest gesture towards Yumi. "My apprentice in the noble way of sister love, and my great warrior squire. My apologies for the short introductions, but the urgent circumstances allow little more."

Yumi's eyes met Rei's, and Rei also gave a short bow, recognizing at once Yumi's sincerity. Then Yumi looked back at Youko, bowing too. "These boys and men are from the Republic of Hanadera - "

"Republic?" asked Rei, brow rising. "What does that mean?"

Yumi smiled grimly. "A republic is a kingdom... no, that is precisely what it is not. A republic is a state where royalty and nobility have been purged, replaced by leaders chosen by popularity alone. In other words, a realm where we - onee-sama, Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Foetida, and all others - would be nothing more than common serfs."

Sachiko, Rei, Eriko, and Youko stared at each other in bewildered silence. It was almost impossible to believe. What could such a realm look like?

"No... High Queen? No clans?" Rei scratched her head. "How would the subjects of Hanadera... exist?"

"These Hanaderians have used Rosa Foetida's inter-clan conflict to gain a foothold in this realm. They lured Yoshino-san with promises of revolution. They allowed Yoshino-san to be the nominal leader of her knights." Yumi's kind eyes flashed. "And now they've taken Foetida Palace for their main stronghold of attack. We must expect our future conflicts with them to emanate from there."

"How do you know so much, Fukuzawa Yumi?" said Eriko. "We don't even know who those men were, but you call them Hanaderians?"

"I assure you, great Roses, that their intentions are not peaceful. Having said that, their invasion and domination of these isles is not simply the consequence of the male thirst for violence. No, there is a very systematic logic to their colonization. They have come for one objective alone."

"You haven't answered me," said Eriko sharply. "How do you know so much about this new foe? Forgive my suspicion, but I find it... difficult to believe you were simply catapulted into Sachiko-chan's arms as her squire, and now we are under a devastating onslaught from warriors with far superior weapons to ours!"

"Of course, Rosa Foetida. And onee-sama. You wanted me to tell you everything, to be honest when the time called for it. And so I indeed will tell you everything."

Yumi's eyes glimmered unflinchingly, as brave and calm as when she first stood naked before Sachiko, then only a slave at her mercy.

"The leader, the President of this Hanadera Republic, is my brother. His name is Fukuzawa Yuki."

Youko glanced worriedly at Eriko, their flickering expressions betraying their incredulity. Rei stared at the Red Baroness, shaken and unnerved. "Sachiko! What's going on?"

"Yumi!" gasped the Red Baroness. Her cool expression had twisted into one of panicked delirium at Yumi's words. "How can this be? How could you not have told me earlier? You have relations with our enemy? How can I... " She wanted to lean against something, to steady herself, but there was nothing to hold on to, and she didn't want to collapse in plain sight of her grande soeur. Her throat dry, she could only mutter out, "I want to trust you because I love you. I withheld my questions about you for so long. I gave myself to you, lifted you from serfdom, made you my squire! Knighted you!" Her voice rose into a choked scream, no longer caring about Eriko's pained expression, nor of Youko's sorrowful grimace. "Do you understand? I could have given nothing more precious to you than my rosary! And now you turn around and tell me I've made a noblewoman out of the sibling of our foe?"

"My brother has only made his move now," said Yumi, her eyes fearful for the first time. A chill ran down Sachiko's spine, even though the composed Yumi was still speaking calmly. "I knew he would attack Lillian, but only when he knew where I was. It was foretold Lillian would be our battleground. It always was."

"Why? Why would he send an entire army against you? Against us? What do you mean, foretold?" sputtered Sachiko, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. She grabbed Yumi's shoulders, shaking her in despair as the others stared at the couple. "What have you brought upon us? Upon me?"

Yumi smiled sadly, looking away, unable to meet Sachiko's helpless, pleading gaze.

"My brother wishes to kill me, onee-sama," she replied plainly.

The northern wastelands

The armies of Gigantea had already fallen, their horses and fur-armoured boyars scattered across a barren snowscape of death.

The family's elite nobles were no match for the matchlocks and cannons of the shock troops that stormed the countryside and penetrated deep into the proud fort of Gigantea Palace. All around the proud spires of the fortress were the dotted infernos of burning villages. Grey-uniformed men and their horses and cannons cut their way across the cold landscape, leaving behind an endless trail of slave corpses. The Gigantea serfs' chaotic charges were completely useless against the well-disciplined formations of the uniformed, matchlock-wielding army.

Ebony-haired Kobayashi Masamune, second-in-command only to Yuki himself, led the charge with Arisugawa Kintarou, a tender-faced boy who looked more like an eunuch than a Hanadera Council member. The Yakushiji twins were more than a match for the impoverished, starving women, their physical brawn easily sufficient for brutalizing the crying girls that folded before their towering might. Their bayonets impaled row after row, line after line of human shields that the White Rose ordered to block the enemy. Tomomitsu and Akimitsu were only matched by the overpowering Takada Magane, his musket's bayonet burying itself in the stomachs of the bawling, thin girl-soldiers who could barely push back, let alone resist the pellets that punctured their bones and organs. Like flies, the poorly armed, poorly fed female serfs fell before the relentless march of the Hanaderian war machine.

In a matter of less than a week, the impoverished villages around Gigantea Palace were razed to the ground, though there wasn't much to be razed in the first place. The looming portcullis of the Gigantea family stood before them, leading to a vast courtyard surrounded by towering stone walls and a gigantic basilica behind the fort. After wiping out several dozen fiefdoms that Satou Sei lorded over, the endgame was surely near. There were barely any peasants left to defend their owner. The snow and ice of the Gigantea heartland reeked of its rotting subjects, and the smoky fragrance of foreign gunpowder.

"Storm the castle! Storm the castle!" came the triumphant roar from the formations of musketeers. "Pull the White Rose from her high seat! Pull her by the hair! Slit her throat!"

"First it was Foetida Palace. Now Gigantea's fortress belongs to President Yuki!" crowed Magane, firing his own arquebus at one of the remaining cloaked boyars. The latter crumpled to the snowy ground, a metal ball lodged in her chest. She had joined one of the dozens of corpse piles the Hanaderians were heaping together. These fly-infested hills of dead women outside the castle would be burned for fuel and lamplight. And they would serve as an example to the remaining nobles of the Lillian Kingdom. Magane turned to his triumphant soldiers. "We of the Hanadera Council will find the White Rose ourselves. She's certainly cowering in her fortress somewhere. In the meantime, prepare the cannons and siege. Pitch camp around here and flush out any remaining boyars or peasant-women. We should be finished with Satou Sei in good time!"

The affirmative roar indicated that it was only a matter of time before the White Rose, and all who stood with her, were toppled from their lofty thrones.

There were no defenders inside the dark, dank hallways of the castle. The Hanadera Council's members simply marched with impunity in the direction of the throneroom. They stood before the door that blocked their way, admiring its ornate art of a mysterious snake that seemed to wound itself around a giant tree. "Yuki-kun should be pleased! At this rate, we'll be going home early!" exclaimed Magane.

"When Yuki can find his sister," said the bookish Masamune grimly. Not much of a soldier, he adjusted his large, round spectacles. "When he can finally reunite with Yumi-san, we can all go home."

"Indeed! That's pretty much all he wants. He'll stop at nothing to root her out. After all, he was the one who was worried sick over her body, eh?" said Magane, his baritone voice now more subdued. "Insisting that it's possessed by three malevolent spirits."

"Not so much possessed, but becoming an actual receptacle. And if the President and Chancellor Kashiwagi are right, we're not simply hunting demons. They told us our enemies are goddesses. Prime celestials of fabled legend." Kintarou's face was unsmiling. "According to the runic inscriptions, recorded prophecies, and bard songs that Yuki-san studied, the Rose saints dwelled in the Hall of Heroines after their deaths, but would return. However, they need an innocent soul to vacate its body for their residence." A bead of cold sweat suddenly ran down his face. "Goddesses from Valhalla, having fallen from their heavenly afterlife, reborn in a girl's shell. One pure and kind enough to hold all their bloodlust and violence. No one - neither Hanadera, nor the Houses of Lillian - know what will happen when these celestials manifest."

"But we certainly know that wherever the goddesses fell, they would surely wish to return to their homeland," said Masamune, nodding gravely. "That's why Yuki and Kashiwagi-san decided on a joint attack on these accursed isles."

"Yes, indeed. Understandably, Yuki-san despairs of recovering his sister, but will be damned if he lets the Rose saints' spirits eat up her rotting body. If Yumi-san was my sister, I'd send an army after her as well," said Kintarou.

"Rose saints? The heroines of old? I read about them when we were children," said Magane, scratching his head. "I thought Lillian's creation myth and its characters were all fairytales."

"Yes, they are," said Kintarou grimly. "But you forget. We're already in the land of fairytales."

The Yakushiji twins positioned themselves before the grand old doors to the throneroom. "Are we ready?" they asked in unison.

"Do it," said Kintarou.

With a great shoulder charge, the hefty twins hurled themselves at the wood and forced the locks to buckle. Gathering themselves, they crashed against the door again, and again, until it began to splinter, its hinges creaking in surrender. With two mighty kicks, the Yakushiji brothers' boots bashed open the door at last, and it gave way, swinging limply to reveal a yawning room submerged in darkness. The Hanadera Council members raised their muskets and pistols, pointing into the darkness.

A relaxed voice echoed around the throneroom, catching them off-guard. Kintarou jumped at it. "Welcome to my home, intruders."

Slowly, slowly, a funnel of light from the sky shone on the caped woman sitting on the stone throne. Her white diadem shone in the sunbeam. Her hands crossed, she observed the council members as they stared in silent disbelief at the oversized, black cat that slept beside her throne. This immense cat was at least ten feet high and even longer, its massive, furry head tucked cosily close to its gargantuan body as it purred quietly to itself.

"What - what is that?" squeaked Kintarou, stepping back as the beast's impressive ears twitched.

"A cat. A ship-sized cat," muttered Masamune, hardly daring to believe the impossible sight. "We've truly come ashore the land of fairytales."

"We have questions, Tsarina, and you will answer them if you understand your situation," barked Magane, raising his arquebus. "Your armies were nothing. Even your so-called elite boyars couldn't delay us. Now you might have this beast with you, but it's not going to change your sorry fate."

Masamune stepped forward, notably. "What do you know about the runic prophecies of the Rose saints, Rosa Gigantea? You are the spiritual heir of Saint Gigantea herself. Surely you, and the other incumbent Roses, would have something in your castle archives and dark libraries."

"Tell me, uninvited guests..." Sei did not rise from her throne, but peered at the men, sitting back. "Have you ever heard of the old story? The legend of the god that tried to lift the great cat?"

"What... what are you talking about?" cried Magane. "You're talking rubbish. We won't let you buy time! Where is the woman called Fukuzawa Yumi?"

Sei shook her head. "No, no, no. I'm doing anything but buying time. You see, they say the god of thunder tried to lift up a giant cat in order to win a bet against his enemy, the king of the giants. That giant's name was Utgarda-Loki. Yet to the divine hero's shock, even his full strength could barely lift a single paw of the cat's. But that was already an impressive feat. Because unbeknownst to him..."

Sei's grey eyes sparkled and twinkled almost childishly, as if she enjoyed recounting this fable. "This cat was the World Serpent, disguised by Utgarda-Loki to deceive the thunder god."

"World Serpent?" whispered Kintarou.

Magane let out an incredulous, rattled bark of laughter. "An old legend to scare the little ones. Do you think we of Hanadera believe in such superstition? Our black ships sail the world, colonizing unknown lands year by year. Your kind haven't even left these isles in past few centuries. Do you think we'll be cowed by old wives' tales?"

But Masamune was not laughing. His big eyes widened further behind his ornate spectacles. "I don't think she's joking," he blurted, staring up at the humongous, sinister feline. It was stirring, and Kintarou jumped again when it began to yawn quietly. The Council members could see the bottomless abyss of its throat behind a pair of fangs taller than Magane himself. He and his friends stared at the slumbering, gargantuan puss in newly discovered trepidation. Was it possible - ?

"Shoot that monster! Shoot the White Rose!" shrieked Kintarou suddenly, his stuttering, high voice infected with a primal terror. "I don't think she's bluffing. Slay that demonic cat! Stop her before she - "

Sei slowly opened her mouth again, rolling back her tongue in relish, growling out that dread name.

"GORONTA!" she boomed.

At her voice, the giant cat's eye slowly, but menacingly, opened. It took several petrifying moments, but the moment Goronta's eyelid began to slowly slide upwards, revealing a fickle, black pupil that looked more reptilian than mammalian, the council members knew they were doomed. The swirling iris and slitted pupil glinted hungrily, and Sei slowly got up as the young men's screams began to fill the hall. "I'm so glorious, I've tamed the spawn of a god and kept her to myself," crowed Rosa Gigantea, standing to her full height as Goronta's purrs mingled with the futile explosions of muskets and pistols, and the subsequent crunching of bones, flesh and weapons. The screams, weeping, and bawling disappeared past Goronta's ravenous jowls and slid down her throat. "Why do you think my miserable serfs never rose in rebellion against me? Why do you think the Foetida and Chinensis clans fear and respect me so?"

The White Rose grinned arrogantly, watching with vicious pride as her pet licked her bloodstained jowls. With a single command, the mythic World Serpent of Lillian's midgard had been unleashed on the invaders of Hanadera. Goronta purred contentedly as Shimako stepped out from behind Sei's throne. She held her two axes tighter. "They've overrun and surrounded this hill fort with siege weapons. Our villages are occupied by these men," said the White Princess. "We cannot hold this castle. Onee-sama, we may have to flee and rally anyone who remains."

"Never mind that!" declared Sei, dusting her opulent sleeve and watching Goronta hack out the wet bones and skulls of the Yakushiji twins. The World Serpent spat out the skeletal remains onto the ground. Clack, clack. The horrific scuffle was over as quickly as it had started. "Fighting a forest fire with droplets of dew is futile. But the armies of these assailants will certainly be plunged into chaos for a few days, since Goronta has just eaten most of their leadership. That should give our three houses some time to regroup and think of a counterattack. But everything else has been lost to these men. I will join with Chinensis and Foetida. We will lend our strength of three to their strength of thousands. Only then can we repulse these new enemies and find where the Rose saints are incarnating." She smiled sadly. "I don't want things between our three houses to end like this, either."

"You knew this day would come," said Shimako in realization. "You know about the prime Roses' prophesied fall from Valhalla."

"Of course. The tales even record that they foretold their own return. I don't know where in Lillian our ancestors have fallen. Nor do I know their intentions. Spirits should stay in the afterlife, if you ask me," replied Sei, as Goronta let out an obedient meow. The great cat let out a quiet hack, and the castle's walls audibly shook. "But these Hanaderians have no business interfering with our ancient myths. None. They can bluster and wave their arms before the goddesses of Valhalla all they want. But only we can face up to our prophesied destiny. These men, whatever their intentions, will die as certainly as we'll meet our judgement before our ancestral Roses." Sei pursed her lips. "Will you walk with me, Shimako? Will you follow me into the depths of Jotunheim and Muspelheim, into ice and fire, into ecstatic self-destruction amidst a sea of thorns and dead men's nails?"

Shimako bowed her head, her expressionless face masking the undivided devotion she felt for her grande soeur. "Without question, onee-sama."

"Let's mop up the enemies barricading us in. I think they're in for a nice surprise. Send all our remaining boyars to keep Shiori safe. All I need is you, Shimako. You and Goronta. We'll be the ones to sound the horn of twilight."

Smiling, Rosa Gigantea drew her sword - a shimmering, frosty, double-edged blade housed in a hilt of gold and pearls, as bright as snow in daylight.

"Let's go."

NEXT ACT: THE GIGANTEA FAMILY UNLEASHED.

THREE HOUSES AS ONE.

YUMI'S TRAGIC DESTINY.