Anthy smiled to herself contentedly, snuggling in closer to the warm body laying beside her. She really didn't want to get up, but she knew that she had to. Anthy opened her eyes to meet Utena's gently smiling gaze. "Good morning," Utena smiled, and kissed her gently. Anthy's voice was a bit husky as she answered, "Good morning to you, too." She smiled wryly, "I suppose we couldn't just stay in bed." "Tempting," Utena admitted, "but we're getting close to the capital. Personally, while I like camping I do prefer a comfortable bed." "I have fond memories of our bed back at the castle," Anthy smiled impishly. Utena blinked at her, a bit of a flush appearing on her cheeks. "Definitely time to get up," She grinned, "before we decide to spend the day here." She slid from the blankets and swiftly pulled on her clothes. A quick brush of her hair, a peck on Anthy's cheek and she was off. "Drat," Anthy pouted, her hair standing up a bit around the edges. Utena stood a moment, taking a deep breath of cool air while she looked around. The tents were already being pulled down and supplied packed under Miki's expert direction. A pot of porridge was cooking, Wakaba sitting at the fire watching it carefully. Juri gave her a beckoning wave, "Utena." Utena walked over to her second in command's side, looking her over carefully. Like always the orange haired woman looked great, dressed in gleaming chainmail and crisply prepared clothes. "What's the situation?" Utena asked her quietly. "I've sent the scouts, Tsuwabuki and Keiko out," Juri reported quietly. "Good," Utena nodded, her eyes narrowing, "tell them to keep their eyes open, please." "We're getting closer to the capital," Juri said thoughtfully. "Exactly," Utena agreed. She made a face, "If someone really wants to stop Anthy from reaching the city, they have to make a move soon." "I'll tell the troops to be on guard," Juri nodded. "Have the relief mounts ready, just in case," Utena added as she turned to go. At Juri's curious gaze, "In the end, we might just have to run." Juri strode off, and Utena looked around to try to find another person she wanted to talk to. She made her way through the group, eventually finding her at the edge of the encampment. Kneeling down, the woman collected samples of different herbs and plants, carefully putting them into pouches on her leather belt. "Utena," Shiori said, not turning from her task. "Shiori," Utena shook her head, "I know I was being silent. How did you..." "A girl's got to keep a few secrets," Shiori smiled. She rose to her feet, brushing her hands off on her leggings before asking, "What can I do for you?" "How long does it take to prepare the 'Dragon Slay' spell?" Utena asked her. Shiori's eyes widened, "Not long." She looked over at Utena thoughtfully, "Are you expecting some trouble?" Utena shrugged, "I'm hoping that this will be a quiet few days before we reach the capital, but..." she trailed off. "You're guts are telling you different," Shiori said quietly. She smiled grimly, "Considering that you're instincts are usually right..." "Let's hope that I'm wrong," Utena smiled. Back in the camp, Anthy blinked in surprise as a beaming Wakaba stuck her head in the tent flap, "The porridge is nearly ready, Anthy." "Thanks," Anthy smiled, and followed her out dressed in a simple traveling dress. "So," she asked her maid with a smile, "have you noticed anyone new, lately?" A bit of a flush appeared on Wakaba's cheeks, "Well, yes." Anthy chuckled, patiently asking, "Who is it?" Wakaba looked over to where Miki was organizing the supply wagons. "Miki Kaoru," she admitted to Anthy shyly. "He is cute," Anthy admitted. "Does he know that you're interested in him?" "I haven't told him yet, no," Wakaba said. She looked up at Anthy curiously, "How did you tell Utena that you were interested in her?" "A wasn't all that subtle," Anthy admitted as the porridge was dished up, "I let her walk in on me while I was changing." Wakaba snickered softly, "I can just imagine the look on Utena's face." "Look on my face?" Utena asked, walking up to them. She saw the smiles on both women's faces and raised an eyebrow, "I don't think I want to know." "Good idea," Anthy smiled, getting a bowl for Utena. They sat down and ate their meal quietly, watching the goings on around the camp. Wakaba brought a bowl of food over to Miki, who smiled at her gratefully. It wasn't very long before they were on the move again. Anthy's carriage was rolling along in the middle of it's usual group of guards, along with Utena, Juri and Shiori. "So what is the capital like, anyway?" Shiori asked Anthy and Juri curiously. "Shi'ohtori is an old city, one of the first founded by my ancestor," Anthy explained. "A walled city, the center of which is the great castle of the Ohtori family, the seat of our rule," she said, her eyes shadowed by memory. "The castle was built on the rubble of a dark wizard's citadel," Juri added. "After the first High King defeated him in battle the King and his family settled here, and much of the stones used in construction date back to that era," she finished. "That's not always wise," Utena frowned. "Did this wizard have a name?" Shiori asked, a slight frown on her face. "I'm not sure is the histories mentioned it," Anthy admitted. She concentrated, trying to call up the memories, "I think it was... Mikage." "Doesn't sound familiar," Shiori said quietly. Changing the subject Juri said, "The city is the largest in the kingdom, with almost everything that one could wish." "Is it defensible?" Utena asked thoughtfully, and received several odd looks. "What can I say," she shrugged, "I'm a military woman." "It's never fallen to outside forces," Anthy smiled at her love gently. "And never been betrayed by treachery," Juri finished. There was a hawk's shrill cry, and Artemis dropped from the sky to land on Utena's arm. She unrolled the note, and her eyes narrowed grimly. "There's a large, unknown force ahead of us," Utena said, then loudly cried out to the guards, "Battle positions!"
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