Sayuri's Cunning Plan
by zero0hero
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Standing at the front of the chamber, hands on hips, Sayuri glared imperiously at her subordinates. At last she had managed to, at least partially, reassert control from that simpleton girl, though her body remained tragically diminished.
Damn those beings and what they had done to her!
"As experience has shown us." Sayuri squeaked, struggling and failing to achieve the low calm menacing tone that she had once wielded so easily. "We cannot defeat the beings in terms of raw military power." Yes, this had been made abundantly clear during the Tarbes Campaign. "Instead, we must seek to turn the beings power against them from within."
Sayuri pointed to the note pad that she had propped against the wall. The Knights wouldn't let Shion even have so much as a toothpick, much less a needle sword. Apparently they thought the unnaturally immature Little Sister might hurt herself with such things! So Sayuri had to make due with a stiff blade of grass.
"To achieve this, we will infiltrate their society and ingratiate ourselves with their leadership." Sayuri struck the notepad with her grass blade pointer. "To this end we will issue our agents with suitable camouflage. We have learned that the beings utilize members of the non magic sub variety to perform menial cleaning and food preparation tasks. These workers frequently go unnoticed by their leaders, making them ideally placed to overhear vital intelligence and intercept communications."
Stupid beings! If they didn't even look after their Little Sisters better they deserved to be fooled by something like this!
Flipping the notepad's page, Sayuri pointed to a surprisingly well drawn illustration. Being the only sharp things that she was allowed, Sayuri had grown depressingly good with using quills to paint and draw and wasp stinger needles to sew.
"The basic camouflage consists of a uniform like so, with an extended ankle length skirt and apron. Long stockings and polished black footwear also appear to be expected. The hair piece appears to be optional, but highly desirable in the servants of the higher ranking leaders. There are of course variations on this uniform, but given our resemblance to being females, this is the most appropriate."
Sayuri had already completed the prototype in her spare time which now hung at the front of the room on display.
"Obviously, Vespid Knights are completely unsuited to this sort of menial work. The Task will therefore have to fall to our bravest Little Sisters." Naturally that did not include a Knight like Sayuri, of course not!
She let out a sigh of frustration. It was almost too much! She was a Knight, a strong and beautiful elder sister of the Garden! To be reduced to this state was almost unbearable. Ironically, it was because of her condition that she received so many special privileges, but it wasn't because the others respected her or admired her ability. It was . . . pity. They pitied their damaged Little Sister.
And who knew what they might do if they found out that on occasion, their sweet Little Sister Shion would remember who she really was and rage against them all. Of course, Shion, sweet little Shion with her disgustingly unreserved love for everyone and everything, would always end up back in control when next she fell asleep. Sayuri would . . . forget herself as she dreamed, until something reminded her and the cycle started all over again. She tried leaving reminders where Shion would be sure to find them. In that way, Sayuri had gained some partial control.
"We will introduce ourselves as has been done by the Pixies around the Fae Capital as Pixies struck with wonderlust and seeking employment in the greater world. Given the extensive use of Pixies at the Being Magic Academy and the Faerie Library, this should make an acceptable cover. Our agents will then work diligently to reach the highest ranks of the servant class where they might be permitted to work in areas containing sensitive information. From there we can pursue a policy of altering the flow of this information to achieve our own agenda. Thus turning the being's own strength against themselves!"
Hah! And that foolish Count had thought teaching her to read was such a good idea. She been given free run of his library and read all about the being arts of politics and warfare. That foolish, idealistic, handsome, strikingly brave . . . Sayuri shook her head furiously as Shion's impressions of the count took hold. It seemed Shion had already been corrupting her from the inside when the Count had pulled her from the waters around the Yggdrasil shoot. He had left a . . . strong . . . impression on the Little Sister's mind, only strengthened by their first real meeting in the burned garden.
"Are there any questions?" She turned to her audience to be confronted by completed silence. Glittering pale blue eyes swept the room.
A half dozen pairs of glossy black eyes starred back. One of Sayuri's dolls, her first sewing attempt and quite . . . crude . . . at that, fell from its chair.
"Shion!" Hinagiku called from the other room and the former Knight Leader stood stock straight. "Shion I brought some seed cakes. Do you want one? Where are you?"
"I'm in the other room! Don't come in yet." Sayuri shouted. "I . . . I need a minute!" She hurried to close up the notepad and push it back into its corner. This was the special room that Shion had all to herself since spending time with the other Little Sisters tired her so quickly
"Shion?" Hinagiku called. "Did you wet the bed again?"
Sayuri turned beat read. "No I did not!" She shouted back, the underdeveloped muscles of her wing stems causing her wings to shake in time with her arms.
How could Hinagiku say something like that?! It had just been sweat! She thought furiously, she just sweat a lot. That was all!