Linna pulled her face once more out of the small basin of water within the wagon and looked at herself in the compact mirror Sylia had loaned her. The blood was washed away, but she now had dark black and blue marks around the insides of her eyes, and her nose was still aching from the injury inflicted upon it by Galatia. She reached for a silken scarf out of one of the trunks in the wagon, and tied it around her head like a bandana. Making sure her kimono was on straight, she picked up the basin of water and walked to the end of the wagon. Placing it down on the wagon's wooden floor near the edge, she hopped down off the horse drawn vehicle, picked it back up, and emptied the blood stained water out into some nearby bushes. They were following the same trail back to Tokyo they had used in coming up. On the small hill where they now had a camp set up, Sylia had said she felt more at ease. The hill gave them the high ground, making it a bit easier to both see anyone approaching and easier to defend. It was twilight, and Nene, who had somehow managed to get out of the fight with the hunting party unscathed, was given the job of setting up the campfire. Linna waved away the flies as she put the basin back in the wagon and went to rejoin her companions. As she came around to the campfire, the others were watching the sun slowly set. Nene looked over as she heard Linna's footsteps, and smiled with a bit of amusement as she noted that the scarf looked a bit like the type she remembered the gypsies wearing when she was a child growing up in Imperial Russia. Priss saw Nene's glance and turned to see what was making the blond girl smile. She motioned for Linna to come over and sit with her. As Linna was starting to sit next to her, Priss reached up and gently guided her over so she was sitting in her lap instead. As she rested her chin on Linna's shoulder from behind and wrapped her arms around her waist, Linna looked nervously over to Sylia and the Emperor in front of her who were both still watching the sun descend. "Priss-chan," Linna whispered, trying not to be overheard by the others, "What are you doing?" Priss didn't answer. She simply held Linna closer as she breathed in the scent of her lover. "Priss-chan, what about the Emperor?" Linna asked nervously. "Let him get his own girl." Priss replied. Linna snickered a bit in spite of herself, cursing herself for it when Meiji and Sylia turned back toward her and Priss to see what was so funny. Linna turned beet red as her eyes met those of the Imperial Ruler of Japan. "Yamazaki-san, you've come to join us. Good. How's your nose doing?" "It still hurts a bit, Your Highness, but not as much as before." she answered, wishing he would turn away, and doing her best to avoid Sylia's eyes. "Good, good." he said, as he looked a bit closer now. Linna began to feel even more unease under his stare than before. Finally, after what seemed like forever but was really little more than a minute, "You know, Priss-san did an excellent job on resetting your nose. You're lucky to have a friend like her." Linna breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, Your Highness, I am. Thank you." Meiji turned back to the sunset as he began to continue his conversation with Sylia. Linna looked over to Nene, who glanced from her to the Emperor and back again, finally just shrugging her shoulders and turning her attention back to the rapidly disappearing orange orb on the horizon. Linna then felt a light pull against her abdomen, and was reminded of Priss' presence. She leaned back again against the younger woman, smiling contentedly as she felt the reassuring firmness of Priss' muscular arms around her, and her chin back oh her shoulder. Priss turned her head, and kissed her love's cheek before turning back to the campfire and the scene in front of her. In front of them, Emperor Meiji and the injured leader of the Knight Sabers were finishing up a discussion on military tactics. More specifically, they were discussing who was the greater general, Sun Tzu or Napoleon Bonaparte. As the sun descended over the horizon, Meiji decided to broach a delicate subject. "The two young ladies behind us, Yamazaki-san and Asagiri-san; they are more than friends, correct?" Sylia closed her eyes and made a mental note to talk with Priss and Linna about inappropriate times to display their affection. She nodded her head in answer to the Emperor. Meiji thought about what to say next. He'd chosen the name Meiji (enlightened rule) upon his ascension to the throne for both himself and his government. And he'd always tried to live up to the name he'd chosen for himself, bringing in western ideas and even going so far as to meet personally with foreigners, to the shock of his advisors and court. He could still remember the consternation on his poor advisor Masazaku's face when it was announced that the Son of Heaven was holding a conference with the gaijin. Enlightenment was one thing. Openness to new ideas, the ideal of wakon yosai (Japanese spirit, western learning), these were all well and good. But this? This was not exactly the type of openness he had in mind when he began the restoration thirteen years earlier. And yet, he owed his life to these women, and to Yamazaki in particular. He did find it a bit odd though that the woman warrior of earlier today was now acting much more feminine around Priss, sitting in her lap and all. Still, she had saved him from a very dangerous situation. He owed her a debt of honor. "Priss-san." The Emperor called back, surprising everyone since he had yet to address her. Priss suddenly looked a little intimidated, which caused Linna to smile a bit. "Yes, Your Highness?" she answered. "Yamazaki-san saved my life earlier. I owe her a great deal." Priss' brow furrowed as she tried to figure out where the Emperor was going with this. Meiji took a breath and continued. "Her welfare and happiness are therefore rather important to me. Be good to her." He said. Priss and Linna both looked at the back of the Imperial Ruler of Japan in utter amazement. Linna recovered first, and gently poked Priss in the ribs with her elbow. "Huh... Oh, yes, Your Majesty. I'll treat her very good." Meiji nodded his approval of her answer, and then turned back to Sylia and their previous topic as he continued to argue for Napoleon's superiority over Sun Tzu. Nene, who was watching the proceedings, was just as surprised as Linna and Priss were. She envied them. Over the past few weeks during the trip, they'd had each other to keep company. The young man she was slowly falling in love with however was in a cabin about two and-a-half weeks journey away, and the last time she'd seen him, he had a fever from the wound he'd received at the hands of the Iga Clan. She lightly touched her lips, remembering their parting kiss before she'd had to leave him there with Nigel. Meanwhile, looking at the group on the hill from a treetop she had climbed, Galatia closed up her telescope. The o-niwaban hunting pack was gone, as far as she could determine. The one who'd ran off earlier during the battle was nowhere to be found, and she now realized that the chances of her getting paid for this little escapade were now zilch. Still, as she thought of her battle earlier with Sylia, she realized that sometimes revenge was its own reward. She thought again of what she had overheard from the other side of the clearing. They were traveling with the Emperor. That meant she and her friends would be heading for Tokyo, which gave her ample opportunity to strike. She wanted to wait, though, until their guard was down. That, and she wanted to make an attempt to approach one of their number. She hadn't been able to see what the young one looked like before, not with her helmet on. But here, from her perch looking through the telescope, she saw her remove her helmet, and felt something deep within herself she hadn't felt in a very long time. She was a betsushikime and an assassin first, a woman second. She'd always been able to keep her focus; she'd never once considered letting an intended target live before now. Maybe it was the feminine jaw line on the young girl she'd seen. Maybe it was the way she looked outside her armor, the way her clothes showed off her curves. Or maybe it was just the fact that Galatia had never seen a woman with blond hair before. She was down there now, sitting alone by the fire she'd started, while the Emperor talked with Sylia and the other two cuddled. She was wearing European-styled clothing, and had appeared to be shivering a bit as night crept in. Galatia had watched her pull her sleeping bag closer to the fire, and thought with a bit of amusement that she knew of better ways to keep the girl warm. The others, she didn't give a damn about. Hell, even the emperor could go hang as far as she was concerned. But the golden-haired one... Galatia carefully climbed out of the tree in the darkness as she began to think of what to say when she approached her. ------ "What in the bloody hell were you two doing over there?" Colonel Roland screamed just inches away from Captain Mc Nichol's face. Both he and Daley watched as the garrison commander paced in front of them, his body shaking with rage. He reached up and brushed his hair back as he turned away in disgust from the two men in front of him. "Do you have any bleeding idea of what you've done?" the Colonel asked. "It's now out on the streets, the fact that Emperor Meiji has been kidnapped by a European power." "Begging the Colonel's pardon, sir..." Daley said, "...but how? Who leaked the news of the kidnapping?" Colonel Roland turned to Daley, "Our informant on the inside tells us Genom International did." "Shit." Captain McNichol muttered. Colonel Roland looked over at him, his rage returning once again. "Oh, you don't like that McNichol? Well it gets better; we're being cut off." "Cut off?" Daley asked in disbelief. "Did I stutter? Genom has cut off all our supplies, including gunpowder, bullets and firearms." "I see..." Leon said. "What is the British government's response?" "Are you kidding? With as much influence as Genom International has with parliament, what do you think their response is? And you can forget that bloody nonsense about the sun never setting on the British Empire. Once those damned Orientals take into their heads to retaliate against us 'gaijin,' it's..." the Colonel caught himself as he remembered Wong was still in the room. "I'm sorry, Wong. I lost myself there. I meant no offense." Wong studied the garrison commander in front of him. "Colonel, everyone's on edge right now. If violence does break out, an unfortunate slip of the tongue will be the least of any of our worries." Colonel Roland met Daley's gaze. He then turned away. "Dismissed." he ordered. Once outside the office and alone, Daley looked over to Leon. "Do you have any idea how lucky you were not to be demoted or drummed out of the service?" Wong asked. Leon didn't answer. He simply began walking down the hall. Daley followed after him, matching his stride. "And what do you think the good Colonel will do should he find out what we discovered in the underground cavern of the Silky Doll?" Daley now queried in a low voice. Leon flashed Daley an angry look. "We agreed never to talk about that!" "Tell me why again." "Because, as much as I bleeding hate to admit it, they're our best chance right now. They were able to take out o-niwaban, and from the descriptions we've had of them in battle..." "And what happens when someone comes upon the wall writing?" "They won't. I saw to that." Daley was shocked. "You what? Damn it McNichol, that's tampering with evidence. If this got out..." "It won't if you keep your bloody voice down." Daley narrowed his eyes at McNichol. "And this would have nothing to do with the fact that you suspect a certain tavern singer of being hooked up in all this, right?" Leon didn't answer. Daley just shook his head in despair. "Fine Leon, fine. We'll continue to sit on this. Although personally I think you're a fool." He said as he and Leon left the hallway and entered the officer's mess. ---Early the Next Morning--- Mason looked out from his window at the mob scene slowly gathering. He had planned to delay this stage until later. Much later, in fact. Time was against him, though. He would be unable to wait for the gun ships to arrive before making news of the Emperor's kidnapping known. He would have to hope the supplies of bullets, guns and gunpowder originally tagged for the British would be able to tide over the natives until the weapons did arrive en masse and the main arms profits would be made. So far, not much had happened yet. A desecration of a Mass at a French Jesuit missionary chapel, a few random acts of violence against European merchants and sailors, and of course the few cases of reported rape that he'd heard about. But it was early yet, and Mason was a patient man. He smiled from his vantage point. Here from his window he would be able to watch as the city tore itself apart. He would watch the streets run red with blood, and he would toast it all with the port wine he had brought with him; vintage '32. Or was it '40? The one thing that worried him was that the Emperor was now at large, and was apparently with the Knight Sabers. He frowned as he thought of the trouble they'd caused him in his relations with the Iga Clan. Not only did they have an annoying habit of staying alive, but exterminating them was costing him a fortune. If those filthy tarts somehow managed to get Meiji back alive, everything would be ruined. He reluctantly turned away from his window, and left his office. Something had to be done, and something had to be done quickly. As he shut his office door, he began to work out his next move. ------ Nene, having woken up early, began to shiver in the early morning as she noticed the dying embers of the fire. She grumpily got up, and decided to get some more twigs to try to rekindle it and warm herself. Picking up her naginata, she told Sylia (who'd spent the last five hours on lookout) where she was going, trying to reassure the leader of the Knight Sabers that she'd be fine. Whether too tired from the lack of sleep or from yesterday's battles, she went against her own better judgment and gave the attractive blond permission to go. Nene then quietly crept out into the woods, trying not to wake anyone Once outside the camp, Nene found a maple with some dead limbs underneath it. She put her weapon down as she began to pick up the twigs. Finally having a nice-sized bundle in her hands, she transferred them to her left arm as she reached down for her weapon with her right. Before she could reach it, though, a high-heeled boot was suddenly placed between her hand and the naginata. Nene looked up to see who it was, and gasped in terror at the woman in black in front of her. She dropped the bundles to the ground as she turned to run away, but her arm was grabbed roughly and she was swung around so that her back was against the tree. She opened her mouth to call out for help, when she felt the edge of Galatia's katana against her throat. The assassin leaned forward. "Make a sound, and I'll kill you." She whispered into the frightened blonde's ear. "What is your name, pretty one?" "N... Nene. Nene Romanova." the alarmed young woman stammered out. "Mmmm... Nene..." Galatia purred, causing the young Russian's hair to stand on end, "Nene, do you know who I am?" "Y... Yes, you're Galatia. Sylia told me and the others all about you." Images of what Galatia was planning to do now filled her imagination, and she realized with horror that the only one who knew she was out here was Sylia, who'd been cut to ribbons by this assassin in front of her and who now could barely stand. Priss and Linna would be of help, but both were asleep and both would take a while to reach her. She was alone, defenseless, scared, and still had a katana blade pressed against her jugular. "Heh, right. I'm sure my darling sister from the dojo told you all about your 'wicked aunt Galatia.' Do you know what I could do to you right now, Nene?" Nene started shaking and her heart beat faster as tears began running down her face. "I can think of at least eight different ways I could kill you right now, and five different ways in which I could cripple you for life." Nene started whimpering as Galatia came closer, her blade still pressed against the girl's neck, "Or I could do... other things. Things that would be pleasurable for both of us. I'm not a monster, at least I don't have to be. The others will all die, and Emperor Meiji will never reach Tokyo. But you, you don't have to die, little one. " Nene's eyes widened at the sudden comprehension of what her captor was saying. Sweat started beading on her forehead as she tasted the tears now wetting her upper lip. "You mean..." she began, "You want me to... to..." Galatia didn't answer. Instead, she reached over with her free hand and lightly stroked the blonde's face, causing the other's skin to crawl at her cold touch and sharp nails. Up close, Galatia could see Nene's blue eyes, and could feel the delicateness of her skin. She then ran her fingers through the golden locks, and her features softened. "So soft." she sighed, "So beautiful. I could make you so happy, little one. I could do things that would cause you to scream out your wicked auntie Galatia's name. I could..." "Nene!" Nene looked back to the camp where the voice was coming from. "Nene, where are you?" It was Sylia. Nene looked forward again to where Galatia was, but she was gone. Still shaking, she picked up her naginata and ran as fast as she could back to camp. ---To Be Continued---
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