Authors: Leslie Ann Moore
“Yes, but how do you think they will react to me?” She couldn’t stop the note of worry that crept, unbidden, into her voice.
Ashinji turned her by the shoulders to face him. “I know you are afraid of how you will be treated, and I can’t promise that there won’t be any problems, but Sendai does have a sizable hikui community. After we get settled, I’ll take you to Jokimichi, the district where most of the hikui live. You can finally meet other people who look like you.”
With a small shock, Jelena realized that Ashinji had pointed out to her a startling fact; in all her months of residing among the elves of Kerala, she had not once seen another hikui. Aneko hardly counted; the First Sergeant of the Kerala Guard lived as okui, despite her own admission. Jelena’s heart beat a little faster with excitement. What would the hikui of Sendai be like? Her mind buzzed with questions that would have to wait until she reached the city.
“Ho there, children! Come to admire the view, eh?”
Ashinji and Jelena turned as one to the sound of Lord Sen’s greeting.
“Father, have you got your spyglass with you?” Ashinji inquired. “I’m sure Jelena would like to get a closer look at Sendai Castle.”
“I do, I do,” Sen replied. He unhooked a small rectangular leather case from his belt and removed the spyglass. “This came all the way from Great Arrisae Island. The Islanders make the finest navigational tools in the known world. Your mother-in-law gave it to me.” He extended the exquisite, brass and wood instrument and handed it to Jelena.
“I hear you, Father,” she assured him. “You are asking me, in a roundabout way, to please be careful with it!”
Sen’s whole body shook with laughter. “Clever
and
beautiful! ‘Course I knew that already. Now, hold the narrow end up to your eye, that’s it! D’you see the castle now?”
“Yes, yes, I can see it!” Jelena exclaimed.
Looking through the spyglass, it seemed as if she had traversed much of the distance to Sendai in the wink of an eye. “This is amazing,” she sighed, fascinated by the power of the spyglass to draw such a distant object closer. She could make out some of the larger details of the structure, such as its overall architecture and relative size to the hill upon which it stood, but they were still too far away to see much more than that. She lowered the glass and reluctantly gave it back to Sen, who carefully returned it to its case.
“Thank you, Father,” she said, smiling.
“We should be at the city gates by sundown,” Ashinji said, glancing into the sky to check the position of the sun, which hung just past zenith.
“We’ll ride straight in and go directly to the castle,” Sen instructed. “I’ll send someone ahead to announce us, but it won’t be you, Jelena. As of this moment, you are no longer employed as my messenger.” He looked Jelena over with narrowed eyes. “Hmmm, I’ve not said anything because we’ve been traveling, but…my dear, it’s time you put away those old clothes.”
“Oh, Father. I...I’m sorry!” Jelena felt her cheeks burn as she realized how shabby she must look compared to the rest of the family. “I’m so used to dressing this way…All my new things are packed away in the baggage. I’m not sure if I can get to them.”
Ashinji took her hand and squeezed. “Father, what Jelena’s wearing right now doesn’t really matter. We’ve been on the road for the last ten days. We can worry about it later.”
“Yes…yes of course you’re right,” Sen agreed. “Come now, you two. It’s time we were on our way.”
~~~
The remainder of the day passed easily. The party rode alongside fields of ripe grain and orchards nearing the harvest. The farmland surrounding Sendai was second in productivity only to the disputed Tono Valley. The farmhouses they passed were of varying sizes, but every one, from the smallest cottage to the grandest manor exuded an air of peace and prosperity.
A war could destroy all of this,
Jelena thought.
Late afternoon found them passing through the more heavily populated suburbs. The farmland had gradually given way to an open forest of oak and beech, within which the people had chosen to integrate their settlements, rather than clear the land. Here, the houses stood much closer together, each one set in its own garden. Small workshops, storefronts, and inns were interspersed among the dwellings. Signs now marked the lanes and byways branching off from the main road.
Along the way, many folk paused to watch as the large party clattered past. As Ashinji predicted, they reached the main gates of the city proper just as the sun came to rest on the horizon.
Jelena could only stare, speechless with astonishment.
“I told you Sendai would amaze you,” Ashinji said. “Welcome to the City of Trees.”
Never in her wildest imaginings had Jelena considered that an entire city could be built within the confines of a forest. A wide swath had been cleared outside the city’s walls, but not within; from the base of the inner wall, trees marched in unbroken ranks into the city proper.
The walls themselves, though built of massive stone blocks, looked like a natural feature of the land; a dense overgrowth of flowering vines crept up to just below the parapets. A formidable, double-towered stone gatehouse guarded the main entrance, and the shadow cast by the artificial cliff face spread premature nightfall over a large section of the town below. As they drew closer, Jelena got a better look at the walls’ luxuriant drapery of vegetation.
Each vine sported fragrant clusters of white flowers amid rows of brutal thorns, easily as long as her index finger. She shuddered at the thought of what that punishing curtain would do to anyone who tried to scale it.
They passed beneath the gatehouse and rode into the city itself, entering via a broad, gravel-bedded avenue lined with a bewildering assortment of shops, inns, and taverns. Many of the buildings were constructed around the boles of the trees, incorporating them into the design of the structure. Ladder-like staircases snaked up the trunks of many of the larger trees, leading to structures set on platforms among the spreading branches.
The street teemed with people, all intent on the business of life. In shop windows, above doorways, and along the streets, lanterns flared to life, banishing the dusk. Other lights, twinkling like stars overhead, hung from boughs, balconies, and the upcurved ends of roof gutters.
As in the rural district and suburbs, the city exuded an aura of prosperity, but despite the appearance of normalcy, Jelena could sense a subtle undercurrent of tension floating in the air, like the smell of far-off corruption. She studied individual faces among the throng and found on every one the unmistakable marks of worry.
The elves of Sendai were afraid.
She pointed out her observation to Ashinji.
“The people know that war with the Soldarans is coming,” he replied, tight-lipped. “The population of the Empire is easily ten times that of Alasiri, with an Imperial Army at least triple in number to our fighting forces. The odds are very much against us. The people know it, the king and his council know it, yet we have no choice but to try to defend ourselves. If we don’t stop the invasion, the humans will overrun all of Alasiri and take our land for their own in order to relieve the great pressure of their growing population. It would surely mean death or slavery for most of us.”
Jelena shivered with dread. She knew from firsthand experience how humans, or more specifically, how Soldarans felt about elves, and she had no doubt of the truth of Ashinji’s words. A conquered Alasiri would be dealt with harshly, its lands depopulated with brutal efficiency and quickly resettled by landless Soldarans eager for homesteads of their own.
Jelena tried to imagine such a catastrophe and couldn’t. Her mind would not,
could
not form those images of horror and despair, simply because she had never experienced death and destruction on such a massive scale. She prayed that she never would.
Ashinji had fallen silent, and the set of his jaw told Jelena that he no longer felt like talking, so she turned her attention to the castle ahead.
The great fortress of Sendai Castle sat atop a hill rising from the heart of the city, dominating the view from all quarters. The broad road upon which they approached led to the edge of a vast, gravel-covered parade ground laid out beneath the castle walls.
The architecture of the castle closely resembled that of Kerala, except on a much grander scale, and rendered almost entirely of whitewashed stone instead of wood. The red light of the dying sun painted the walls a bloody crimson.
A mounted figure emerged from the shadows beneath the main gate and approached at a trot. Jelena grinned as the figure resolved itself into Aneko. As second in command of Kerala’s guard, she had gone ahead to announce the arrival of the king’s Commanding General.
Aneko pulled up and saluted briskly. “My lord, the Steward of Sendai Castle is pleased to send you his greetings and requests that you proceed to the outer ward where he awaits your arrival.”
“Thank you, Sergeant. You may return to the line,” Sen replied. “Sadaiyo! Ashinji! By me.”
Ashinji flashed a quick smile toward Jelena as he moved his horse forward to position himself at his father’s left hand. Sadaiyo took his place at the right. He looked every bit the nobleman in his brightly colored silks and conspicuous jewelry while Ashinji could have easily passed as his father’s Captain of the Guard, were it not for the fact that he rode at Sen’s left hand.
Jelena now found herself riding beside Misune, who studiously ignored her. She did not mind; she wouldn’t have known what to say even if her sister-in-law had deigned to speak.
Lord Sen and his entourage passed through the castle gates into the outer ward. There, they were met by the most diminutive man, human or elf, that Jelena had ever seen. He stood no more than the height of a well-grown human child of six or seven years. The air of importance with which he carried himself, and the large gold chain of office that hung about his neck told her that this must be the Steward of Sendai Castle.
“Ah, ah, so good to see you again, Lord Sen!” the little man exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.
“And you, Karogi. It has been awhile,” Sen replied warmly.
“The king sends his greetings and has charged me personally with seeing to the comfort of you and your family. Your guards will be shown to the barracks and the servants that you don’t require right away can go directly to the staff hall.
“Lu! Attend!” A young boy, dressed in the livery of a page, sprang forward. “Take Lord Sen’s civilian staff to the hall. Get moving, boy! Ajisai, show Lord Sen’s guards to the barracks and see that the horses are taken care of.” A lanky youth stepped forward and gestured to Gendan, indicating that he and the rest of the guards should follow him.
Jelena ferociously suppressed an urge to laugh. The sight of this tiny man snapping orders in his squeaky voice struck her as comical, but she had no doubts as to the enormous power he wielded within the hierarchy of Sendai’s vast staff.
He deserves my respect,
she chided herself,
not my derision.
Sen dismounted, Sadaiyo and Ashinji following suit. Ashinji then came to steady Willow’s head while Jelena slid from the saddle. Misune flung herself down from her cranky stallion and strode boldly up beside her husband to pose, hand resting on her sword hilt, like the haughty warrior princess she fancied herself to be. Jelena would have preferred to remain in the background, but Ashinji led her forward with gentle insistence. Sen walked back to the carriage and escorted Amara and the Sakehera daughters forward.
“Lady Amara, this is a wonderful surprise! So good to see you! My, my, your daughters have all blossomed into such lovely young ladies. My lord, I remember your eldest son, Lord Sadaiyo,” the Steward bobbed as he spoke, “and of course Lord Ashinji, welcome back, my lord! Peregrine Company will be overjoyed to have its captain returned to it, but I do not know this beautiful and formidable lady.” Karogi proffered a courtly bow to Misune.
“This is my Heir’s new wife, the Lady Misune Sakehera,” Sen replied with a touch of pride in his voice.
Karogi bowed again. “My congratulations to you both,” he piped. He then turned to Ashinji after flicking the barest glance at Jelena. “My lord, will your servant be sharing your quarters, or will she need a cot in the staff hall?”
Misune snickered. Jelena’s cheeks ignited.
“Jelena is not my servant,” Ashinji said. His eyes had gone hard and cold.
Jelena laid a hand on his arm and squeezed. “Ashi, it is an honest mistake,” she spoke very softly, so that only he could hear. She felt no anger, only resignation and understanding. A hikui girl dressed in simple cotton and leather—of course this little man had mistaken her for Ashinji’s servant.
“Hmmm, uh, my youngest son has also married recently. This is my other daughter-in-law, Jelena,” Sen explained hastily. Jelena glanced over at Sadaiyo and cringed at the smirk on his face. The sight of his enjoyment of her humiliation made her burn with renewed hatred.
Karogi cast a dubious eye over Jelena, but he was a consummate courtier, and swiftly adjusted his attitude. “A thousand apologies to you, my lady, and to you, Lord Ashinji. Please forgive my stupid blunder. It seems, then, that congratulations are in order for you as well, my lord. Am I to assume that you and your new bride will be needing accommodations within the keep itself, rather than the barracks?”