“Lady Consort Harata,” Inari bowed low, offering her great respect.

  “Oh my, Lady Inari look at the state of you.” Lady Harata giggled, “are you still not sleeping?”

  Nobles laughed along with her.

  “I had thought I improved, but it seems it still escapes me.”

  “Do well to take care of your health Lunar General, Ichika still has a great need of you.”

  Inari bowed again, “I am unworthy of your concern Lady Harata.”

  Lady Harata raised her hand in defense, “come now we are childhood friends. There is no need for such honorifics between us. Especially since we both have borne our great king a child each.”

  Inari nodded with slight hesitation as a small wave of embarrassment washed over her. It was not long before the two women engaged in further conversation, cordial in nature yet still pleasant in that they broached many superfluous topics. None of what they said held any real weight. It was as though they spoke like two old friends who had not seen the other in quite some time. The irony of it had not escaped Inari’s thoughts as Lady Harata had gone to extreme lengths in recent years to avoid her as much as she could. The Thirteenth Lunar General of Ichika felt as though her time here was being wasted or perhaps diverted while her capital city was undergoing a great change.

  “Lady H-, I mean Airi. I am truly gladdened to speak with you again,” Inari chose her next words very carefully. “However I must return to my duties, there is much that is required of me right now.”

  she bowed, desiring to excuse herself.

  “Ah, you mean what happened at Nonawa yesterday?” the Lady Consort’s words echoed through the room. “From what I have been told Lady Yukimura is responsible for that. Even at her advanced age it seems she still remains as brutish as ever.”

  “It is far more complicated than that… but yes I am looking into it.”

  “So when will she be executed?”

  Lady Huli Jing looked up at the hidden silhouette of her oldest friend, “excuse me?”

  “Her actions put the Crown Prince, my son, in danger. He could have gotten seriously injured. Are you telling me you see no issue with what she has done?”

  Inari stifled a quick response as she searched for a proper one. Lady Yukimura’s actions yesterday were indeed reckless, the destruction of Nonawa was something that could not be overlooked. However to all that was there or who knew the famed Lunar General, it was very clear her intention was not to harm. Instead to cause a spectacle so the other generals may flee the area. If Tsuru truly meant to cause injury of any kind, not even Lady Huli Jing herself could have escaped the wreckage unscathed. Inari had placed a gag order on the Lunar Generals that remained and on any information leaking out about the events of what happened. Currently knowledge was the most valuable resource and increasing in demand by the day. She hoped by doing this it would buy those who had escaped the necessary time to ascertain what it was Hideyoshi and his cabal were truly after. And possibly give her time to verify the authenticity of the sham order by the Imperial Court, with the First Lady Consort.

  However for Airi to suggest Lady Yukimura’s execution, at the very least without the approval of either all thirteen Lunar Generals or the king himself was a step too far. Her influence and power within the imperial palace was comparable only to the first consort, which in its own right showed the greatness of Airi Harata. However despite the reaches of the power to do as she pleased with the life of others without restraint. The life of a Lunar General was far more valuable, by a great deal. When it came to discarding the lives of her fellow generals, Lady Inari was appreciative such power could only be held by the king.

  “Although extremely uncharacteristic of her, Lady Yukimura’s actions did not endanger either Crown Prince Hiei or Princess Haruka.” Inari did well to remind Airi that Haruka was also the king’s daughter and worthy of mention.

  “How are you so sure that Princess Haruka is safe?” Lady Airi asked, as she leaned on her hand. “There has been no word from her, in fact there has been no word from several of the Lunar Generals if I am correct?”

  “Be that as it may-”

  “Be that as it may?” Airi repeated, slower, clearer for all of them to hear. “Why Lady Inari, if an outsider were to hear you speak so casually about the disappearance of several Lunar Generals including the king’s own daughter. After it was announced that very same king looked to divest Ichika from her alliance with Iliad. Would you fault them for thinking you are underestimating the danger that has suddenly arisen? Would you fault them for placing blame at your feet as all of this has happened under your watch?”

  Inari stepped forward, taking great measures not to leave the circle she had stood in. “Forgive me my lady but Lord Hideyoshi’s claim by the king and the Imperial Court were not relayed to me until the meeting of the Lunar Generals. And neither did King Satori tell me-”

  “Are you queen, Inari Huli Jing?”

  The question oozed a sickeningly powerful reality that rippled through the many ponds.

  “I am sorry,” Lady Inari looked confused. “I do not-”

  “It is a simple question: are you Queen of Ichika?” Lady Airi cut her off once again.

  The thirteenth blade of the king took a deep breath before she responded.

  “No, Lady Harata.”

  “I am curious then, why it is you think you have the right to be forewarned of what the Imperial Court decides and certainly what the king decides? It seems you are under the impression that because the king entertains himself with you, and it has produced an outcome that we all still find shocking all these years later. It gives you the right to carry yourself as our monarch?”

  Inari had no need to look around to feel the nobles nod in agreement with Lady Harata. “If I have offended-”

  “You have offended,” once again Airi caught her off. “Quite frankly to the untrained eye it seems over the last day and a half you have shown great incompetence for a warrior of your standing. While to more perceptive eyes, it looks like you are assisting a possible rebellion.”

  The room fell silent as the Lady Consort’s words reverberated for all to hear. Ordinarily such an accusation made towards the Thirteenth Lunar General would be punishable by death. It should have been punished with death. To accuse any of the Lunar Generals of treason was to throw away ones life, but the thirteenth general? They stood in a realm separate from the others. The Thirteenth Lunar General was the true sword of Ichika, the one to be wielded by the king in times of great strife and civil unrest. It was the blade that would never break, never dull. Always sharpened and ready to cleave the king’s enemies in two. The blade that even the Lords of War cautioned against. However Inari knew Lady Harata did not care for matters of violence. Of tales spoken by legendary warriors all who bent the knee to the general before her. She, who was from the famed Harata Clan had long since had great warriors bend the knee through the millennia. To her Lady Inari's accolades were meaningless, she who hailed from House Sugawara's oldest allied clan. She who believed Crown Prince Hiei Sugawara would ascend the throne over his siblings. No to Airi, in the face of her desires, everything else was inconsequential.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  It was why that among the fifty consorts of the king and among the ten that stood above them. Through the eyes of many in Ichika, only Lady Airi Harata stood alongside Princess Ryoko Sugawara on an even greater height above them. On a platform of her own so close to the king himself. The queen that never was, only such a person could be brazen enough to speak down on a Lunar General without fear of recourse of any kind. Inari would have been well within her right to strike her down for the remark, but any show of aggression she displayed now would only serve to give credence to Lady Harata’s words. Lady Huli Jing thought of the man she loved and their daughter, using their memories to calm her to great effect.

  “You are right Lady Harata,” Inari bowed. “I am not queen, nor do I even have the privilege to be made a consort. I have forgotten my place, please forgive me.”

  “Quite right,” the smugness in her words was sickening. “All will be forgiven as long as you take better care to support the future head of House Sugawara and Ichika’s next king.”

  "What...but Nanako is already the next clan head?"

  Inari returned her gaze to her, confused by the declaration. Yes it was true, that although Ichika had an heir, such was the support and belief in Crown Prince Hiei that he challenged his older brother Crown Prince Ieyasu Sugawara for the right to be the next ruler of Ichika. King Satori the Enlightened had been undecided, a rare feat scarcely recorded. This indecision had given way and chance for the children of the other consorts to stick their claim, several siblings even coming out publicly to support one or the other. It had grown into such an affair that many had been looking forward to the time for the great decision for whichever path the Enlightened King set Ichika down. It was mean to bring about a great new age, one removed from the era of stagnation that King Satori had overseen.

  However, the head of House Sugawara was an entirely different matter and had already been decided. Satori had chosen Crown Princess Nanako Sugawara, Inari Huli Jing’s daughter. The announcement had shocked all, herself included. Nanako’s birth was looked at as a great astonishment by many who had learned of it. A birth that should not have happened and yet it did. Inari felt shame for it, knowing the implications and the criticism that would be levied at King Satori for she was not one of the fifty consorts selected. Yet the continued assurances of Satori when she was with child and what came after her delivering of their daughter calmed her. She was content with Nanako not being looked at in the same realm as her other half-siblings. The mere fact that there existed a physical link between her and Satori was more than enough. Her hope was for her daughter to live the life that she wanted, not bound to the schemes of nobles in search of a mouthpiece for power.

  Nevertheless all of that had changed when Satori had told her that Nanako would be made future Clan Head of House Sugawara. A decision she did not understand at the time and even now she still wrestled with it. For in the eyes of many, being the Head of House Sugawara was as great an honor as being the monarch of Ichika. Certainly both roles inhabited the same rarefied air. Often those who were the head and monarch were one in the same, for to be made clan head was to be believed that they were worthy of ruling. However Satori had looked to separate the two for the first time in over a millennia. Many opposed this from the nobles to the Imperial Court to the consorts themselves none more vocal than Lady Airi Harata herself. But in all the uproar that this had cause through the realm, the ever reclusive members of the Sugawara clan did not object. Which only further emboldened the king to stand firm in his decision.

  Inari could still recall the beautiful smile Satori wore as he held their child who slept soundly in his arms, as she asked why on the verge of tears he would look to put such a burden on their daughter. Look at how you have blessed me my white fox, my Inari, it is only proper such a miracle be shared with our people. She had not understood what he meant by it. There was much he said to her she did not understand. Even still, she would never forget the way he looked at Nanako, with a kind of love that she had only ever seen once, from her own mother. A love that she understood all too well, for it was how she had viewed Nanako the day she was born. Yet Lady Harata’s words had begun to break that memory and fear seeped in through the cracks at what it would mean for her daughter.

  “Please,” she began.

  There were audible gasps as Inari sank to her knees and bowed her head until it touched the ruby wooden floor. For the Thirteenth Lunar General to display herself like this was unthinkable. However Inari did not care, she was not talking as the famed Lunar General.

  “Airi I am sorry for whatever offense that I have caused. I am aware I can be difficult and bashful in how I carry myself. Often overstepping in regards to the king." She knew of how she was perceived but often thought it beneath her to address. "But Nanako has done nothing wrong, she has been perfect all through these years. Her love encompasses all of us and the future she desires for Ichika.” She could not raise her head, for the first time her voice breaking underneath the strain of fear, of the harm that could befall her little girl.

  “Hm as I have heard from the king, these days it seems she is all he can talk about, that and his love of the new Stygian King. One would think they are his two only children. Pity then, don't you think?” Lady Harata’s words were cold and distant, a subdued rage behind them hiding a hint of glee. “That he would take her with him to Talterra, to tell the Stygians he no longer wishes to maintain an alliance. With so few guards as escorts too. Who knows how those barbarians in the north will react to his divine declaration.”

  Inari said nothing, still refusing to raise her head.

  “You misunderstand General Huli Jing, it is not I or anyone in Ichika you must plead with. It is Iliad, who knows how the Stygian King will react, lest we forget what was done to those who opposed him when he took the throne. What about what had happened in the Storm Islands? It seems King Satori may have miss stepped and brought his dear daughter into danger,” she chuckled.

  Inari tried to remember when first Airi’s heart had grown so cold. In trying to think, she recalled their first meeting. Her journey from the Jade Empire with her mother was long and arduous. She had no memory of it, but from the stories her mother had said it was not an easy thing to come upon the shores of Aurum and eventually Ichika. They had escaped a great persecution just as how the ancestors of the people of Ichika had done well over seventy thousand years ago. Not long after landing in Ichika, Inari and her mother found themselves in the service of House Harata. Her mother became a servant, and it was expected that she too would one day follow suit. However at the time the head of House Harata, Lord Jin Harata had seen how well his daughter Airi had gotten along with the servant woman’s own child and sought to adopt her as a ward. It was not long after that the two girls had become inseparable as they grew together through the years. While Airi furthered her lessons and preparations to one day become a consort to the king and potentially the next Queen of Ichika. Inari Huli Jing instead gave herself completely to the way of the blade, wishing to do all she could to repay the great generosity of a man she had come to look at as her father.

  From as far back as she could remember she knew all Airi had ever desired was to be queen, most importantly of all to be King Satori’s queen. Inari wished it too for her sister, for it was what brought her the most joy. So when Inari Huli Jing had first laid eyes on Satori Sugawara she swore to herself she would never allow her heart the right to open itself to him. No matter how much she was instantly smitten by his appearance or how it seemed that he could never stop smiling. Even as both women grew older, Inari’s skills forced her to leave the comforts of Castle Harata and journey to the capital city as she was selected as a candidate to become a Lunar General. And not just that, but to take the coveted title of the Thirteenth and strongest from its previous general. She steeled her heart and did everything to prepare for the eventual arrival of Airi to the capital when the time was right.

  Nineteen, she finally recalled. That was the last time she truly felt the warmth of her dearest friend's smile. It only took a year apart for Inari to fall in love with Satori and bear him a child. She had sworn to Airi countless times that it was not her intention, but from the moment Inari had stepped foot in the imperial palace and truly learned of the famed King of Ichika, she knew there was nothing she could do to stop how she felt about him. Most certainly when he so easily and readily admitted he felt the same way. Even when she voiced to him what consequences that would come from their union, from their love. Satori, once again, did not care. It was what she loved and hated about him the most. His insistence to have his way when he so desired it, like a man, like a king.

  She herself did not care that he had an obligation to father multiple children by the other consorts, for in the end she knew his heart only belonged to hers and hers belonged to his. Many nights both in his arms and alone she wrestled with regret over how things had turned out. Yet she could never come to regret the life she had lived and what had come of it, because she knew given the chance she would do it again. All to see how he looked at Nanako as he held her in his arms. For so long had Inari convinced herself that she could not feel fear, for in truth for so long she had not. No matter the countless battles she had faced or the trials to become a Lunar General, not once had it ever held her long enough to feel its presence. However, here, with her head firmly placed on the floor begging the woman that despite it all, she still called sister and cared for deeply. With her head lowered as an act of mercy not for herself but for the life of the innocent girl she had brought into this world. Lady Inari Huli Jing was slowly consumed by terror, as it poisoned her soul. At this moment, as she was mocked by one of the king’s most powerful consorts in the presence of many members of the Imperial Court and nobles alike. The Thirteenth Lunar Blossom General of Ichika, mother of Nanako Sugawara, sobbed silently.