'You know these people, my lord?' Jito asked suspiciously.
Shigeru nodded. 'They offered us their hospitality last night. I'm afraid that may have cost them dearly.' The last statement was really a question to Eiko, but even before the villager answered, Shigeru thought he knew the answer.
Eiko nodded. 'That's true, Lord Shigeru,' he said. 'But no fault of yours. Arisaka's men reached our village a few hours after you were gone.'
Shigeru heard a quick intake of breath from his cousin.
'But we saw Arisaka's army! They were two or three days behind us!' Shukin said.
'His main force, yes. This was a scouting party who had come on ahead. A dozen warriors, well mounted and travelling light.' Eiko's lip curled in contempt. 'So light that they didn't bother bringing their own supplies. They simply took whatever they wanted from our people.'
There was a murmur from the Riverside Villagers who were listening to this exchange. It was a mixture of anger and fear in equal amounts. In the past, they had all experienced the depredations of marauding Senshi parties. Eiko acknowledged their reaction with a meaningful nod.
'You're right to worry about it,' he said. 'They're checking all the villages in the region. They'll be here before too long.'
That statement evoked a storm of exclamations from the villagers. Some were of a mind to abandon the village and hide in the forest. Others wanted to stay and protect their belongings. Jito held up his hand to still the babble of excited voices.
'Be quiet!' he shouted and the voices died away to an embarrassed silence. 'We need to plan calmly, not run around like headless chickens.' He looked back to Eiko. 'Some of your men are injured. I take it these Senshi didn't simply stop at stealing supplies?'
Eiko shook his head bitterly. 'No. They searched the village for anything of value – as they usually do. And -'
'And they found the coins we gave your headman,' Shigeru finished for him, his face grim.
'Yes, lord. They saw the royal crest on those coins and wanted to know how we had come by them.'
Horace had been a silent spectator to all of this. After days of hard riding, he had indulged in the practice of all experienced warriors to catch up on sleep whenever the opportunity arose. Hearing the voices from the village square, he had emerged, rubbing his eyes and pulling on a shirt as he came. He had been in time to hear Eiko's account of events and he remembered the coins Shukin had given to the Ayagi, the headman. They were gold, which would have been enough to raise suspicions in such a poor village. But to compound the problem, they had been clearly marked with the Emperor's symbol of three cherries. They could only have come from one source.
'Ayagi-san refused to tell them where he had got the coins,' Eiko continued. 'They killed him. Then they ran amok through the village, burning cabins, killing women and the old people.' He indicated his companions. 'Some of us managed to escape into the forest in the confusion.'
Shigeru shook his head bitterly. 'He should have told them,' he said. 'They would have known anyway.'
'Perhaps, Lord Shigeru. But Ayagi was a proud man. And he was loyal to you.'
'So I'm responsible for his death,' Shigeru said in a tired, defeated voice.
Eiko and Jito exchanged quick glances. The individual Kikori villages might treat each other with suspicion. But they were true to the ancient ways and they were united in their loyalty to the Emperor – both the concept and the man himself.
Jito said firmly, 'You were not the cause, Lord Shigeru. The blame lies with the oath-breaker, Arisaka. These actions have set him against the Kikori.'
'If anyone was to blame, it was me,' Eiko said. The pain was all too evident in his voice. 'We watched like cowards from the forest as they killed our people and destroyed our village. We did nothing!'
Shukin shook his head. 'You couldn't do anything against trained Senshi,' he said. 'And losing your own lives wouldn't have helped your people.'
Horace had been edging forward through the crowd. Now, he decided, it was time for him to take part.
'Nor would it have helped your Emperor,' he said, and all eyes swung to him. 'He needs men to help him fight Arisaka, not to throw away their lives to no purpose.'
He saw Eiko's shoulders straighten and sensed the new resolve in the stocky timber worker. A murmur of assent ran through the people of both villages. Years of resentment at their high-handed treatment by the Senshi were suddenly focused into an opportunity for defiance – an opportunity centred on the person of their Emperor.
'Well said, Kurokuma!' Shukin called to him, smiling. He turned to the assembled Kikori. He too could see the new sense of purpose infusing them. The tall gaijin had an excellent sense of timing, he thought, and an excellent choice of words to fire the spirits of these people.
'We do need you. The Kikori will be the loyal heart of the Emperor's new army. We will train you. We will teach you to fight!'
A roar of enthusiasm and defiance greeted these words. Many felt that arrogant, overbearing Senshi such as Arisaka had enjoyed their own way far too long in Nihon-Ja. Even without the cold-blooded destruction of the neighbouring village, Arisaka's act of treason towards the Emperor was enough to harden their hearts against him. But there were still some who favoured caution. As the cries of defiance died down, one older woman voiced their thoughts.
'But what if Arisaka's men come here? We're not ready to fight them yet.'
Horace saw the doubt begin to spread among the Kikori. They didn't believe in their own ability to face armed Senshi warriors. But they were forgetting one important fact. He stepped forward into the clear space around the Emperor, Eiko and Jito.
'You said there were a dozen in the scouting party?' he asked.
Eiko nodded. 'A dozen. Maybe a few more.'
Horace smiled at the answer. He looked around the assembled group of Senshi loyal to the Emperor – a dozen in his immediate bodyguard and at least another twenty-five uninjured survivors from the battle at Ito.
'It seems to me,' he said, 'that for once we have Arisaka's men seriously outnumbered.'
Evanlyn and Alyss were practising their fencing skills on the foredeck, under the somewhat bemused eye of Selethen.
Evanlyn's exploits in Skandia and Arrida in recent years had been widely reported throughout Araluen – she was, after all, the crown princess and enjoyed a certain amount of celebrity. As a result, many Araluan women and girls had been influenced to take a greater interest in weapon skills. Alyss was one of these, but her motivation went beyond following what was currently seen to be fashionable. She had been more than a little frustrated by her inability to defend herself effectively when she was captured by the traitor knight Keren at Castle Macindaw. She had determined that she would never let that happen again. This new emphasis on martial skills was evidenced by the fact that her dagger, part of the Courier uniform, had changed from a narrow, needle-pointed ceremonial design to a more practical – and more lethal – heavy-bladed fighting knife.
In addition, she had taken to practising the javelin and to wearing a lightweight sabre while on assignments. It was a style of sword rapidly gaining popularity with girls her age. Evanlyn had a similar weapon and, when they discovered the fact, it was only logical that they should practise together.
Logical, perhaps. But not wise.
One of the ship's crew had carved wooden practice weapons for them and the two girls began a daily training routine. Selethen had offered his services as an instructor and referee after watching the first few sessions and both girls had accepted the offer.
'Very well,' he said now, 'fighting positions, please, ladies…'
'That's debatable,' Halt said in an undertone to Will as they stood watching. A number of the off-duty crew had gathered to watch as well. There was a certain enjoyment to be had in watching two extremely attractive girls trying to split each other's skulls open with wooden swords.
'The "fighting" part or the "ladies" part?' Will replied with a grin.
Halt looked
at him and shook his head. 'Definitely the "ladies",' he said. 'There's no debate about the "fighting".'
Will shrugged. He knew that there was an edginess to the girls' relationship and that it had something to do with him. Why that should be so was beyond him.
'Weapon a little higher, Evanlyn,' Selethen said. 'You tend to drop your guard too low.'
He waited as she adjusted the position of her sword, then glanced at Alyss to see if she was ready. The blonde girl had an edge over the princess in skill, he had noticed. Probably because she had a more focused approach to her swordsmanship. When she practised, a small furrow formed between her brows, evidence of the concentration and sense of purpose she was putting into her moves. Evanlyn, on the other hand, was a little slapdash in her approach. She had taken lessons in the sabre for some time, but never with any particular dedication to the weapon. She was faster than Alyss, but Alyss, tall and athletic, had a longer reach and stride, and Evanlyn tended to let herself get off balance too often.
'Begin,' Selethen said, with a sense of resignation in his voice. He had a fair idea what was about to happen.
Evanlyn lunged forward to attack, as he knew she would. She was too impulsive, he thought, too inclined to want to get things started, without any preliminary sparring.
Alyss knew it too. She had waited calmly for Evanlyn's rapid attack. She swayed to one side as Evanlyn lunged, deflecting the thrusting wooden blade past her body. Evanlyn staggered slightly, losing her balance, then Alyss cut back with a quick wrist movement, laying her own blade across Evanlyn's knuckles with a crack that made the spectators wince. Money changed hands among the watching Skandians.
'Ow! Ow! Damn it!' Evanlyn yelled. Her sword clattered to the deck and she nursed her bruised hand, glaring at Alyss. Then she turned angrily to Selethen. 'She did that on purpose!'
But before Selethen could reply, Alyss chimed in with equal vehemence, colour flaring into her cheeks. 'Well, of course I did it on purpose! That's why we're practising, isn't it? To do things on purpose? Or are we trying to practise accidents and flukes?'
'Please, ladies,' Selethen began. He was unmarried and so had little experience with women. He was beginning to wonder if he ever wanted any.
'But it's true, Selethen!' Alyss protested. 'She always leaves herself open to that reply.'
'Which you always manage to make,' Evanlyn said angrily, taking her sword from the grinning Skandian who had retrieved it for her. 'Thank you,' she said briefly.
The sea wolf leaned a little closer to her.
'Kick her in the shins next time, Princess,' he said in a whisper. 'I've got money on you.'
Alyss failed to notice the exchange. She was still appealing to Selethen as the referee of the bout. 'I mean, she's got to learn, hasn't she? If this was a real fight, she wouldn't get a do-over. She wouldn't have a hand.'
'On the other hand,' Selethen said, instantly regretting the words as he heard the Skandians snigger at the unintended pun, 'if you simply do that every time, we will never progress past this point, will we?'
Alyss seemed to consider the point. Then, reluctantly, she agreed. 'Very well, Selethen. If you say so.' She turned to Evanlyn. 'All right, Princess, your hand's off limits from now on.'
Will shook his head despairingly. 'Oh, Alyss, Alyss, Alyss,' he said under his breath, just loud enough for Halt to hear him.
Wisely, the bearded Ranger said nothing.
'Don't do me any favours,' Evanlyn said, through gritted teeth. She flexed her hand on the sword's hilt, trying to ease the pain in her bruised knuckles.
Selethen looked doubtfully at the two girls. Both had high colour in their cheeks now.
'Perhaps we should call it a day?' he suggested.
'You can,' Evanlyn said, her eyes fixed on Alyss. 'I don't feel like it.'
Alyss smiled at her, a smile completely devoid of good humour. 'Well, neither do I,' she replied sweetly.
There was a long pause, then Selethen accepted the inevitable with an eloquent shrug of the shoulders.
'All right then – ladies.' He glanced at Halt and rolled his eyes at the word. Halt nodded gravely. 'Positions…'
Selethen noted that Evanlyn's guard position was correct this time. Perhaps she will learn from all this and not go rushing into the fight, he thought. And perhaps the Great Blue Whale that the Skandians believe to cause the rising and falling tide will leap from the ocean, sprout wings and fly in a circle around the ship.
'Begin,' he said in a resigned tone.
And there went Evanlyn, like an arrow from a bow, springing across the deck and swinging a series of rapid overhead cuts – backhand, forehand and backhand again. The strokes were clumsy but her speed made up for the fact. Alyss, expecting another long thrust, was caught by surprise and forced to give ground, backing away and parrying the blows desperately with her own blade, so that a series of clacks and cracks rang out across the deck.
There was a low murmur of encouragement from the Skandians who had backed Evanlyn to win. It should be noted that they had only done so because their shipmates had offered generous odds of three to one – hard to resist in a two-person contest.
But then Evanlyn's impulsiveness got the better of her. At the point where she should have seen that Alyss had recovered her own rhythm and weathered the attack successfully, she persisted with one stroke too many. Unable to sustain the lightning speed of her first half-dozen blows, she had slowed noticeably and Alyss, now back in control, flicked her final stroke to the side, then threw in another wristy back-hander.
This time, however, her blade cracked painfully off Evanlyn's elbow.
'Ooooow!' Evanlyn screeched. 'You great gangly cow!'
The sword dropped to the deck once more. Her arm and hand were numb and tingling. Alyss's riposte, whether intentionally or not, had caught her on the nerve at the point of the elbow.
'Alyss!' Selethen said angrily. 'We agreed -'
'We agreed that her hand was off limits,' Alyss said, all injured innocence. 'I hit her elbow, not her hand. If we're going to…Ooooowwwwoooooooh!'
The sudden howl of agony was wrung from her as she felt a searing pain in her right leg. Evanlyn, cradling her numb right arm with her left, had stepped in and swung her boot hard into Alyss's shin, tearing her tights and scoring a long, shallow wound on the edge of the bone. Alyss, her face wrinkled in pain, hobbled sideways to the bulwark and rested against it. She glared at Evanlyn, then glanced down and realised she still had her own sword in her hand, while Evanlyn was unarmed. She started forward.
'ENOUGH!' Halt bellowed.
All eyes turned to him in surprise. Even the Skandians looked impressed at the volume he'd mustered. Halt looked angrily at the two girls, both nursing their injuries, each furious with the other.
'Will you two stop squabbling and squalling like a pair of spoilt, self-centred brats?' Halt continued. 'I am sick and tired of it. Both of you should know better.'
Alyss's eyes dropped from his and she stood, shamefaced, before him. Evanlyn, however, was still angry – and ready to assert her own dignity.
'Is that so, Halt? May I remind you that this particular "spoilt, self-centred brat" is your royal princess?'
Halt spun round on her. His eyes were glittering with fury and Evanlyn, in spite of herself, took a pace back. She had never seen Halt so angry.
'Royal princess?' he said with contempt. 'Royal princess? May I suggest, royal princess, that you tell that to someone who gives a flying fig about it? If you weren't nearly full-grown, I'd put you over my knee and tan your backside for you!'
Evanlyn was scandalised by the idea. 'If you laid hands on me, my father would have you flogged!'
Halt snorted derisively. 'If your father were here, he'd hold my cloak while I did it!'
Evanlyn opened her mouth to reply, then paused. Truth be told, knowing her father, she thought Halt was probably correct.
'Now for god's sake, will you two start behaving like a princess and a Courier?' Halt told them
. 'If you don't, I'll have to think about sending Will home.'
'Me?' Will said, his voice breaking into a high-pitched squeak of indignation. 'What's it got to do with me?'
'It's all your fault!' Halt shouted irrationally.
And as he said it, the two girls realised he was right. Jealousy over Will was making them behave like little children. Alyss was the first to respond. She thought that was only fair, as she'd been the one most at fault. She dropped the sword, took a step towards Evanlyn and held out her hand in peace.
'I'm sorry, Evanlyn. I behaved atrociously,' she said miserably. Her sincerity was obvious and Evanlyn, who was quick to anger, was equally quick to forgive and to see her own faults. She took the hand.
'My apologies too, Alyss. I shouldn't have kicked you. Is your shin all right?'
Alyss looked down to where a trickle of blood was running down her shin. 'Not really,' she said, with a lopsided grin. 'But I guess I deserved it.'
'No guessing about it,' Halt said. 'You definitely deserved it.' But he regarded the girls keenly and nodded in satisfaction. He was all too aware of the tension that existed between them and he'd known this day would come, sooner or later. Better to have it sooner and be done with it, he thought. When he spoke, his voice had lost the harsh edge of his previous statements.
'Perhaps we should forego further fencing lessons for a while,' he said and the girls nodded.
Selethen gave a deep sigh. 'I'm for that.'
There was an awkward pause. Finally, it was Gundar who broke it.
'I don't know if anyone's interested,' he said tentatively, 'but there appears to be a pirate ship heading our way.'
The party of Senshi riders emerged from the forest in a ragged formation and drew rein in the small communal area of Riverside Village.
Nothing stirred in the village. The forest birds, which had grown silent with the noisy passage of the strangers, gradually began to sing again in the trees around the little circle of cabins. The small river that ran on the far side of the village, and gave the place its name, gurgled and chuckled over the rocks in its shallows. The noise seemed abnormally loud in the silence.
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja ra-10 Page 11
