The Darkness of Dawn

by Braden Michael

  “You won’t harm a single hair on his head if you want a quick death,” Black Eyes said in a terrifyingly calm tone.

  “There aren’t any hairs on his throat!”

  The Emperor swung his head back and broke the Sapphire Prince’s nose, but the dagger slid deeply across his neck at the same time. The Emperor clutched desperately at his throat as thick rivers of blood came gushing out, overflowing through his hands while the Sapphire Prince recoiled with a pained grunt, clutching his face as blood spurted from his broken nose.

  “NO!” Black Eyes desperately dived towards the Emperor, who had already fallen to his knees.

  Black Eyes lurched forward at the Sapphire Prince and slammed his fist into the Headlander’s jaw, instantly knocking him out. He turned back to the Emperor and fell to his knees, holding him in his arms.

  “Father…” Tears began to run down Black Eyes’ cheeks. No other words came to him. He looked into the Emperor’s fearful eyes as tears continued to flow from his own.

  With his final moment, the Emperor pointed behind Black Eyes to the unconscious Sapphire Prince, then his body turned limp and his eyes went lifeless.

  Black Eyes wanted to scream, but he was completely frozen. After a moment had passed, he began to sob. He held his father’s body in his arms and hugged fiercely while burying his crying face into the bloodied tunic. As he sobbed, memories rushed into his mind: he thought back to the day the Emperor took him in as a ward, how he promised to protect him, and how he offered him a new life. As Black Eyes continued to sob, he became the same twelve-year-old boy the Emperor had found on that day.

  Black Eyes knew he had to keep moving, but he could not force himself to leave his father just yet. “I—I’m sorry.” His breathing began to shudder, and more tears flowed down his face. “I’m sorry I failed you.” With his right hand, he closed his father’s eyelids, then crossed both his arms over his chest.

  Black Eyes wiped the tears from his face and slowly stood himself up. He turned then walked over to the unconscious Sapphire Prince: blood gathered near his nose while soft mumbles and groans escaped his lips. Black Eyes loomed over him with a fixed stare filled with homicidal fury. He wanted to flay the man to the bone, but he stopped himself, taking a moment to think back of his escape. Father wasn’t the only person I promised that I’d live.

  Black Eyes looked down at the Sapphire Prince, lost in his thoughts. He turned back to his father’s body, remembering the conversation they had at the Subarashi Inn. I’d have a better chance of telling the Headlanders that I’m Prince Hideki, he remembered saying. He carefully studied the Sapphire Prince’s armor and underclothes, which seemed to be a perfect fit for Black Eyes. The only thing different about our voices is the accent, he reflected. He started to think he was crazy for even considering it, but he could think of no other plan.

  Black Eyes grabbed the Sapphire Prince’s dagger then knelt right in front of him. “Under any other circumstance I would take my sweet time to kill you, a week at best. I would only open your throat so that I wouldn’t have to hear another grovel or bout of pathetic whining.” He violently seized the Prince by his chin. The Sapphire Prince now darted his wide-open and conscious eyes between Black Eyes’ face and hand. He slowly inched the blade towards the Sapphire Prince’s open mouth. “But, if I am going to pass myself off as you, I can’t allow you to speak at any point throughout our trip back home together.”

  Black Eyes scowled as the dagger’s blade entered the mouth of the Sapphire Prince, who squirmed, squealed, and cried incoherently with abject terror as the blade punctured his tongue.

  CH 22 – Vaishalla IV

  Vai’s personal tent was excessively lavish. The floor was covered by a light-brown velvet rug, a gilded bar table with wine as valuable as gold was placed to the right side of the tent, and a large featherbed with silk sheets sat in the center. Vai had not requested such accommodations, but they were provided, nonetheless. Peter routinely made such demands. I wonder what’s become of him. She continued to spend a great deal of her time imagining how Peter may have died. Did the poison make him ill for days before his death, did it work instantly, or did it even work at all? Would the Rockmen deem him dead by the Yamamotos’ deceit, and if so, would they be grateful for it?

  Elizabeth was tending to Vai at roughly high noon. She had finished emptying the chamber pot, changed the bed linens, and brought water, so she started preparing her hair and outfit. Vai sat on a brown velvet stool, wearing nothing but her undergarments.

  “We left in such a hurry I forgot to offer my condolences,” Elizabeth said as she braided Vai’s hair for functionality, as opposed to the usual lady-like style.

  I don’t want to talk about Peter right now! Vai wanted to shout. “You are very kind, sweet girl,” she said instead.

  “The hair is done!” Elizabeth said excitedly. “Next is the battledress. I hope you’ll forgive me, but I had to try putting it on myself, so I could get a feel for it. I don’t want it to be uncomfortable on you or anything,” she said worriedly.

  “I appreciate your diligence,” Vai told her.

  Vai stood up and Elizabeth helped her put her legs into the battledress. It was light-brown leather with an interior lining made of chain mail. The leg portions seemed to grip her legs fiercely as she forced them into the snug fit. Slipping the rear of the dress over Vai’s buttocks seemed a laborious task for Elizabeth, as she squirmed while pulling it out and over her to make it fit properly. She then lifted the torso up to fit Vai’s arms in the sleeves and began tying it together, until it finally covered up to her neck.

  “Does it feel all right?” Elizabeth asked.

  “You’ve made it as comfortable as it possibly can be, Elizabeth, thank you,” said Vai.

  “I must say how impressive it is for you to have made such an outfit look so beautiful.” Elizabeth let out a giggle and she finished tightening the final lace.

  “That doesn’t concern me, sweet girl. I’ll need my dress to protect me from harm more than I need it to make me look pretty,” said Vai.

  “No reason it can’t do both,” said Elizabeth.

  Vai let out a gentle laugh as she looked at herself in the mirror. “Tt does look better than I’d have thought it would. But that will mean nothing if it can’t protect me from a sword or an arrow.”

  “You’re planning to take part in the fighting?” Elizabeth asked worriedly.

  “Not necessarily.” Vai turned around to look at her handmaid. “But I can’t observe from far away either.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Elizabeth began to fidget nervously. “I don’t mean to question you, but—”

  “It’s quite all right, sweet girl.” Vai gently touched Elizabeth on the cheek to comfort her. “The Empress will be protected by dozens of elite guards.” Vai walked over to the bar table and poured herself a glass of wine. She took a ponderous look at Elizabeth as she drank from the glass. “You know, you could pass for me if you wore this dress and covered your face.”

  “I… Um, huh?”

  Vai walked over to the back corner of her tent, where a steel helm rested on an armor rack. “When the war council is over, I’ll summon you, so be prepared for that.”

  “Um, of course…” Elizabeth affirmed, despite her mild confusion.

  Vai finished her glass and set it down on the bar table. “The council should be starting soon.” She looked back at Elizabeth as she began to walk towards the tent’s exit.

  Vai opened the curtain and the noon sun invaded her eyes as she held her hand out to block the sun. Adrian stood just outside the tent and attempted to cover her from the sun as he saw her.

  “There’s no need, Adrian,” Vai told him.

  Adrian moved his hand. “The senior officers are gathering in the command tent, just as you requested.”

  “Good to hear,” she replied. A dirt hill sloped downwards towards the command tent, which was almost as large as her own. A few dozen Rockland soldiers were scurrying abou
t the ground below her, and many stopped to look at her as she descended the hill. Adrian held out his arm, which Vai held to keep her balance down the hill.

  “Shall I wait outside during the meeting?” Adrian asked.

  “Yes.”

  They both reached the flat ground that surrounded the command tent. A circular patch of dirt and rock surrounded it. The area lacked the lavishness of Vai’s own tent, remaining quite simple. The senior officers don’t want the same luxury that Peter demanded, she reflected. Adrian stood by the entrance while she quickly walked inside.

  As soon as Vai passed into the tent, each of the officers immediately stood up to acknowledge her. “Your Majesty,” Lord Archard announced with a hint of surprise. The other officers quickly followed suit.

  “Please be seated. We have a lot to discuss,” said Vai.

  “Of course,” Lord Archard said while sitting down. The other officers complied just as Vai joined them.

  “Please continue,” said Vai.

  “Our scouts have reported that sixty thousand men have laid siege to Robinsport, and we have just under twenty thousand men to hit back with,” said Lord Archard.

  The other officers leaned onto the table to study the map scrolled on top of it. The map was exclusively of the westernmost part of the Rocklands and covered a two-hundred-mile radius around the Robinsfort. Descriptive images of terrain were drawn throughout which offered a vivid picture of the land.

  Including Lord Archard, there were a half-dozen senior officers in the tent and seated at the table: Generals Wicker, Merlot, and Bergdahl, along with Colonels Johnston and Auckland. The senior officers were all hardened men with decades of wartime experience, which was easy to notice from a quick glance at their iron scowls and cold eyes. These are just the men I need to help defend our lands.

  “We may have a new use for firedust,” said Colonel Auckland.

  “Explain,” Archard said firmly.

  “One of my archers, my son specifically, has been experimenting with and developing an attachment for arrows that houses a sizable amount of the substance on the arrowhead, so when the projectile hits a target there is a detonation that can clear out enemies in an impressive radius,” Auckland explained.

  “Any drawbacks?” Vai asked. The officers looked at her mildly surprised, except Archard. He already knows I’m more than a simple lady. The other officers will come to see that if they’re wise.

  “Uh… Well, there is a, range issue, I’m afraid. It halves the effective range of any bow, and accuracy is also quite poor.”

  “So long as the archers are close enough, they don’t need total precision with exploding arrows, I’d imagine.” Vai pointed out.

  “Her Imperial Majesty makes a good point,” said Auckland. “With your leave I’ll order the smiths to produce thousands of these contraptions.”

  “How long should that take, Colonel?” asked Vai.

  “We have dozens of smiths on standby, so it’ll be finished by dawn,” Auckland informed.

  “Do we have enough firedust substance to supply these exploding arrows? Last I heard, Peter had sent most of the imports to the Midland front,” Lord Archard said.

  “We have plenty of firedust carriages thanks to Emperor Asher,” said Auckland.

  “You have my leave, Colonel. Go now and see to it,” said Vai. Auckland rushed out of the tent and shouted some commands before the sound of his voice faded. “I don’t have the same amount of valued experience at war as you gentlemen, but having an asset such as the one Auckland proposed would be invaluable against a numerically superior force, would it not?”

  “Indeed, it would, your Majesty,” General Wicker agreed. “We can place our ranged men closely behind a strong infantry formation, and they can bombard the enemy from relative safety.”

  “Rockmen are known for holding the line better than any other army in the world,” General Bergdahl proudly claimed. “They’ll protect the ranged men as long as needed.”

  “That may not hold true if Yamamoto tries to overwhelm our line with tens of thousands of cavalrymen,” said Colonel Johnston.

  “Cavalry are almost useless in Rockland terrain,” General Bergdahl scoffed.

  “The land around Robinsport is fairly flat and advantageous to horses,” General Merlot countered. “If King Hiroshi lands a formidable cavalry force, he won’t take the fight to us here in the hills. He’ll want us to bring the fight to him on ground that’s favorable to him.”

  “We don’t want to give him any favorable ground to fight on,” said Vai.

  “That may be impossible to avoid, your Majesty. King Hiroshi wouldn’t have invaded Robinsport unless he was confident that he could maintain control over the circumstances in his battles,” General Wicker contended.

  “Then we need to figure out what circumstances Yamamoto can’t control,” Vai countered. “If there’s some element of the battle we have a say in, we must figure that out right now.”

  Lord Archard placed his finger near the terrain by Robinsport and tapped his finger on it. “The map doesn’t show it, but there’s a modest hill a few miles southwest of Robinsport. It’s defensible and could fit our entire army, if we don’t mind being a little crammed. King Hiroshi would never charge that hill, even with his numbers.” He took his finger off the map and crossed his arms while looking at Vai. “We’ll have a say on when the battle begins.”

  “So, King Hiroshi would have our army constantly overlooking his own. He’d be under constant threat of attack while we can sit comfortably…” Vai said, beginning to realize the strength of Archard’s plan.

  “Precisely, your Majesty,” he replied.

  “Once Auckland’s arrows are ready, would you have us begin the march to Robinsport?” asked General Merlot.

  “If they’re ready by sunrise as he promised, it’ll be so. I have another idea to share with you gentlemen, but you must promise that it never leaves this tent, should we proceed with it. Can you all be amenable to that?”

  The officers nodded compliantly, so Vai walked towards the exit and pulled a curtain aside. “Adrian, get Elizabeth and bring her and the helm back here.” He nodded and went off.

  “Speaking of controlling elements of the battle…” Vai returned inside the tent. “If King Hiroshi spots me in our formation, he’d be more likely to send the bulk of his forces to try and kill me, wouldn’t he?”

  “If he were to spot you,” said Colonel Johnston.

  “You don’t mean to join the battle?” General Bergdahl protested.

  “I do, but not as you think,” Vai replied. Peter would never join a battle.

  Before Bergdahl was able to speak, Adrian whipped the tent curtain open, and Elizabeth came walking into the tent with a helm in her hands. Adrian went back to his post just outside the tent, and Vai offered a charming smile to calm her nervous handmaid.

  “Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to my handmaid, Elizabeth.”

  The girl offered a nervous wave, but the officers simply looked at her confusedly.

  “Now, about the idea you all agreed to keep in this tent…” Vai grabbed the helm from Elizabeth’s hands and held it under her right arm. “This may sound strange, but take a moment to study our bodies,” said Vai. She began to turn slowly in a circle with not a hint of shyness.

  Elizabeth remained motionless, hesitating. Vai lightly nudged her on the small of her back to encourage her to turn in unison. The officers continued to look confused while shifting in their seats uncomfortably.

  Vai came back full circle. “As I hope you observed, Elizabeth and I are almost identical in height, shape, form, and build.” She held the helm and began to put in on. “The only difference is the tone of our skin and the looks of our faces.” The helm was now over Vai’s head, fitting snugly and only revealing her eyes.

  Archard cleared his throat. “Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting, your Majesty?”

  Vai pulled the helm off her head, which messed up her hair. Nor
mally, Elizabeth would be quick to fix it, but she simply looked hesitant and uncertain.

  “Sweet Elizabeth here can pose as me in what King Hiroshi will perceive as the royal formation, and we can use that to lure his forces into a position that favors us, don’t you agree?”

  “You want to send me into battle?” Elizabeth said, almost desperately.

  “The Empress will be protected by dozens of elite guards,” Vai reminded. “You’ll be at the safest part of the formation, I would wager.” Vai noticed Elizabeth’s uncertainty as the girl looked down at her feet and said nothing. “I know this is a daunting thing I ask of you, but if you do this, I shall ensure you are rewarded extravagantly.”

  Elizabeth looked up at Vai and seemed less bashful and afraid. She did not appear too eager to be in the battle, but she nodded. “I’ll do it.”

  “Your Majesty,” Archard said with an almost pleading tone. “You said you planned to take part in the battle. If you plan to have her pose as you, how do you plan to take part in the fight?”

  “I’d like to join the archer regiment,” Vai admitted.

  Elizabeth looked at Vai with further disbelief and distress, while the officers traded uneasy glances with one another.

  Bergdahl thrust himself up to his feet. “That’ll be far more dangerous than the royal line!”

  “The Rockmen can hold the line better than anyone, General,” Vai contended with a subtle irritation about her voice.

  “May I ask of your experience in archery?” Merlot politely inquired.

  “May I show you?”

  “Show?” Merlot asked, confused.

  “If you would be so kind as to guide me to the archers,” Vai persisted.

  “Do as her Imperial Majesty commands,” Archard said as he stood up, gave the rest of the officers a glare, and began towards the tent. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you right there.”

  The officers slowly stood up as Archard led both Vai and Elizabeth outside the tent. Once she was outside, she handed her helm to Adrian, who quickly followed Archard and Vai as they walked away from the tent. Vai could hear the footsteps as the senior officers followed closely. All the nearby Rockmen stood at attention as they all passed by in a single-file line. Most of the soldiers addressed them properly.