CHAPTER SEVEN
"Usagi, this is getting ridiculous. Where the heck did this army come from?" Raphael asked, tossing a rock from the village's belltower.
"Your Highness, did you not listen to the Village Chief earlier?" Usagi asked, while sending hand signals to some of the villagers on a rooftop opposite them. "This village is in a strategic location, and the-"
"Yeah yeah, I heard him." Raph said, tossing down some more rocks. He smirked when none of them missed. "Can't believe there's an actual army out there, tryin' ta take over the countryside."
The villagers on the rooftops yanked their nets upward at Usagi's command, separating an entire troop of invaders from the rest of their platoon. Raph and Usagi, along with the other villagers in the bell tower, kept up their volley of rocks.
"But if we're in such a strategic location and all, how come no one is coming ta the rescue?" Raph asked.
"Patience, Highness." Usagi replied, "We were only able to send one messenger. It may take him a while to get through enemy lines. In the worst case scenario, perhaps he is unable to break through."
Raphael groaned, and picked up some more ammo. A villager immediately replenished his stock. "I hope help comes soon," Raph said, "I don't know how much longer we can hold them off."
"If this village falls..." Usagi began.
"We won't let it fall." Raph said with determination.
He threw two stones down at once, one in each hand. And judging by the shouts below, both of them successfully hit their targets.
"Ok, so what do we know?" Mikey asked Donatello.
The two of them were alone in the bathroom that held the sink clue. It was a sink not on the same plumbing line as the rest of the castle. They had looked all through the bathroom for clues to the sneezing sword-every cabinet had been opened, every piece of marble examined-but they had not discovered anything that was a clue.
Donnie pulled out a piece of paper and began writing on the tiled floor as he answered. "Alright, so the sink is in the bathroom that used to belong to the bodyguards. It's on the fourth floor and doesn't have any windows. When it was built there wasn't a bathtub in it, that was added to the room later and is not on the same plumbing line."
"Fourth floor bathroom, for bodyguards." Mikey mused. "Donnie, I've got it!"
"Already?"
"The bathroom on the fourth floor, and the clue is B! B Four! B4, Before! The clue is the word before!"
"That sounds a little far-fetched," Donatello said.
"Think about it! Remember how the clue to the gate was the word gate? This is the same thing!"
"Well, it could be possible..."
"Yeah!" Mikey said, "So, let's search for things that are in front of other things!"
"Mikey, lots of things are in front of other things."
"Donnie, think about it." Mikey said seriously, "So far all the clues have to do with the Palace, right? So it's something about the Palace that's really old, and it's gotta be in front of something important."
"You mean, like how that statue in the main hall has always been there, and how it is in front of-I mean, before the paintings?"
"Yeah! Let's go look at it!"
And so, without their brothers to knock some sense into them, the two immediately ran out of the bathroom. At least one of them was certain this was definitely the next clue.
"Karai, you seem familiar with this forest. Do you head this way often?" Leo asked, keeping pace behind her as he spoke.
"Kind of? I take this way sometimes with my mother." Karai explained, weaving through some trees.
There was no path; the two of them were alone in the middle of the woods. There were only trees and more trees, so Leo was impressed that Karai could make her way without any clear landmarks.
"Wait, so you never use the main roads? You come through the woods each time?"
"Yeah," Karai sighed. "Look, my mother is kind of...high profile."
"So, is this a secret Foot path." Leo said.
"Not exactly, not all the Foot know this road." Karai carefully took a left turn, "Just my immediate family."
Leo suddenly grabbed her arm, bringing them both to a stop. "Karai!" He whispered before she could get angry, "I think there's someone ahead of us."
Someone else was in these woods, on the secret path?
Karai frowned, stood up straight and continued walking forward. Leo kept pace behind her.
After they walked around the next few trees, they could both see that there were indeed people ahead of them.
As soon as they could see the faces of the people ahead of them, Karai relaxed. Giving Leo a "Follow me" look, she silently walked forward until the two of them were in the middle of a hidden camp.
There was a flag over the tallest tent, a flag with the Foot symbol on it. Someone in the camp was singing a song about the palace flowing with wine.
"What are you doing here?" Karai asked, crossing her arms.
The guards at this camp must have been absolutely terrible at their job, because everyone in this camp was completely taken by surprise.
"Karai!" Shouted a Foot soldier with the fanciest armor, "What brings you here?"
"What brings me here? What brings you here!" Karai said, "How did you even know about the secret path?"
"Secret path?" The leader Foot replied, "This is just a convenient place to camp. You're on the way to the Succession Stone too, right?"
"Ugh," Karai said, facepalming. "Let me guess. You're a candidate?"
"Come on Karai, that hurts." The Foot soldier said, "We all know that I'm the one you're gonna choose."
Standing behind Karai, Leo couldn't help but frown.
Choose?
What did he mean, choose?
Karai clenched her fists until her knuckles were white, and then slowly spoke. "I'm heading to the Stone because it involves me. Now if you don't mind, I'm heading on ahead."
The fancy Foot soldier shrugged. "Alright, do you and your servant need any supplies?"
"We're good on our own." Karai said. She didn't even bother to correct the soldier about Leo, and just started marching across the makeshift camp. No one tried to stop them.
Leo waited until the camp was out of earshot before speaking up.
"Um, Karai?" He asked, "What was that about?"
Karai huffed, and deflated a little.
"Look, you can't tell anyone." She said, "Seriously, it could get me killed."
"I won't." Leo promised, "What's going on?"
"Well, you see," Karai said, picking her way over a fallen log, "The Succession Ceremony is only held when the Foot don't have a male leader. The position is passed down to the strongest of the clan, right? And his son has to fight for the right to succeed him. Sometimes he loses. You follow me?"
Leo nodded, even though Karai was still in front of him and couldn't see.
"So, when the leader doesn't have a son, it goes to the guy his daughter marries. The daughter gets to choose, but it's tradition for her to choose the winner of the succession ceremony."
"Oh." Leo said.
Oh.
Oh.
"Karai," he said tentatively, "Are you..."
"My father was." Karai said, "He died a long time ago, and because my mother was working under the Shredder he was the de facto leader, you know? But now..."
She stopped and turned around, facing Leo directly.
"Listen, you can't tell anyone about this." She said.