Theodore sat upright. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up to face him. She was unresisting in his grip.
"On the night Indrahar tested you," she continued. "I was there. I was the one who cut you."
"What?" He could not believe what he was hearing. How could she have been there?
"I am a jukurensha of the O5P. Trained in ninjutsu as well as battle technology."
Theodore blinked in surprise. A Pillarine? An adept? He would never have considered the possibility.
"That night was my own test. I was to intercept you and retrieve some item from you. I took your pouch, but cut you in the attempt. Your own mastery of the Yagyu forms was too great for me to strike cleanly. I thought that I had failed but the Jokan Florimel said that I had passed. I did not understand, but I bowed to her wisdom. She gave me a new assignment; I was to get close to you, to protect you.
"I have failed in this assignment worse than in the last, because I became so close that I fell in love with you. I no longer have the detachment to maintain clarity of mind and fulfill my assignment."
Theodore was stunned. He had known Tomoe for four years at the Wisdom school. He had battled with and against her in the mock combats. She had been cold and distant, but he had seen nothing of the training of a Pillarine monk. She was a warrior, even if the gossips said otherwise.
Then he remembered her sudden thaw on graduation day and where it had led.
"Besides," she continued, oblivious to his thoughts, "I have no lineage. What is in my military record is a lie. I am not the daughter of a lesser house on the edge of the Pesht District. My father was a trade agent on the planet Volders in the Rasalhague District. He worked for Isesaki Shipping. When I was three, my parents were killed in a Steiner raid. The Pillarines took me in and raised me. They had me trained as a Mech Warrior, among other things. They falsified my history to place me in the DCMS. When I showed promise, they arranged for me to advance, ultimately to the Wisdom of the Dragon school. I am insufficiently exalted to be the wife of the future Coordinator."
Theodore released his grip on her arms. She slumped a little but otherwise seemed not to notice. She was a wonder. He thought he had known all about her, yet he was not angry at her revelation, only surprised. He hated intriguers and deceivers, but could not find it in himself to hate Tomoe. Her essence was pure and honest, fiercely loyal. Gently, he caressed her hair.
"I am not a slave to appearances like my father. I don't care if your parents were leatherworkers or gamblers. The O5P may have gotten you into Wisdom, but you were good enough to make your way through. We both know that old Leather Face Zangi would never accept a bribe to alter a student's scores.
"You are strong and capable, beautiful and loving," he said. "I want you as my wife."
Tomoe turned her dark eyes on his. He could feel her searching him, testing the strength of his emotions. Seeming finally satisfied with what she found, she bowed her head. Though she tried to mask her smile with the fall of her hair, Theodore caught it.
"I would be honored to be your wife, Theodore-sama," she said demurely.
He tossed her over onto her back, revealing her radiant smile, and saw his own wide grin reflected in her eyes. They made love to seal their pact, not once but twice, before stealing out of the barracks to rouse a sleepy Buddhist monk from his cell and cajole him into legalizing their vows.
15
Unity Palace, Imperial City, Luthien
Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine
22 December 3024
Constance Kurita tugged at her formal obi, straightening it until the proper smooth line of her kimono was achieved. She looked over her shoulder into one of the full-length mirrors scattered around the hall to see if the large and elaborate knot had been disturbed by her fussing. In so doing, she saw that an ornament had become caught on one of the pearl strands looping her formally coiffured wig. Reaching back to untangle it, she pulled her obi out of line again. Sighing, Constance straightened it once more.
Surely Great-Aunt Florimel never has so much trouble with traditional dress, Constance thought. She is always in control of herself and her environment. May the blessed Buddhas someday grant me such aplomb. I do not want to disappoint her.
Two months had passed since Florimel had stepped down as Keeper of the House Honor, naming Constance in her stead. Two long and hectic months in which Constance had learned how many duties Florimel had handled as Keeper. Even her six years as Florimel's aide had not fully prepared Constance for the demands and pressure. Thank the Buddhas that Florimel was still there when Constance needed counseling. The grand old lady was a rock, a shield. Sometimes Constance suspected that she was a sword as well, secretly helping from behind the scenes.
In the dark of earliest morning, Constance fretted at that help, worried about her own ability. Yet Florimel had turned over the office to her, pronouncing Constance a fit and able successor. Despite Constance's great faith in Florimel's judgment and despite her great-aunt's encouragement, she felt inadequate for the job.
Even her recent successes in negotiations with the Coordinator had not raised her confidence. The Coordinator had granted the charter for the new academies and approved the ivory trade plan, while she had made no concessions. Both items meant substantial gains in power and prestige for the Order of the Five Pillars, especially on certain key prefecture capital worlds and trade-route planets. It seemed too easy a victory. She suspected that Takashi was humoring her, allowing the little girl her harmless toys.
Her success had, at least, quieted Shoducho Oda for the moment, making it harder for him to keep up the pressure to remove her as an ineffectual leader. Over the years, he had grown less guarded in Constance's presence. She knew now that he was an ambitious man, one who felt uncomfortable in the shadow of a woman. He wanted full and complete control of the O5P, and did nothing to conceal that ambition from her. Oda did not seem to consider her a factor in the Order's future at all.
She wondered if Takashi knew of Oda's opinion, if he was making her look good to divide the Order's leadership, setting one against another as he did the Warlords who were the de facto rulers of the Combine's five main districts. The day would no doubt come when he would ask for something. On that day, he would remind Constance that he had helped to consolidate her position, of the debt she owed him.
Had that day come?
The invitation to take tea with the Coordinator had arrived this morning, polite but peremptory. Like those she had received from her masters in the order, the message specified no time. Unlike those summons, she knew there was some small time allowed to prepare herself. Her maids were quick and thorough, their expert attentions readying her in an hour, in spite of elaborate formal robes and hair style.
Now Constance stood and waited, unwilling to sit or kneel lest she wrinkle her kimono. She wandered to the window and rested her hands on the weather-stained teak railing as she stared out at the snow clouds gathering in the northern mountains. The winter comes early this year, she thought. Lowering her gaze, she looked over the palace walls and into the confined court two levels below. By the shadows of the rocks among the raked gravel, she estimated that she had been waiting for two hours. Takashi was demonstrating his estimation of her importance.
Finally, a servant arrived to lead her to a small, wood-paneled room where the Coordinator waited. The rich aroma of the tea herbs almost masked the sweet scent of the blossoms in the room's traditional alcove, a properly subtle enhancement to the serenity of the chamber. Takashi's reception was cordial, but he reserved his words for the conventional dialogue of the tea ceremony. Constance replied in turn, trying to slip into the almost trancelike state of peace fostered by the soothing ritual. But she was too nervous for more than a superficial show of tranquility.
After Constance pronounced the tea well-made and Takashi humbly thanked her, there was silence. Knowing Takashi's eyes were on her, Constance kept her own lowered. At last, Takashi's resonant voice broke the still
ness.
"Something disturbs you, Constance. Your mind was not on the ceremony. What is it?"
"Nothing, Tono," she lied, hoping that he would believe her.
Takashi breathed a gentle sigh. "You may be honest. We are cousins as well as leaders of our clan. I had thought you would be more open with me."
Constance's mind raced. He knew she was upset. What could she tell him? She could not bare her concerns about the Order. She needed a safe subject, something that he would believe concerned her, yet not something that touched on her office.
"The ..." she started to say.
"Theodore," he finished for her. "You and he were quite close when young, were you not?"
"Yes," she answered in sudden relief. His son and heir was clearly on his mind; otherwise he would not have picked up the name from her hesitation. Discussion of his son would certainly steer him away from the O5P. Shimatta! What if he knows how we are helping Theodore, she thought with rising fear. This is not a safe topic, after all.
"I have seen little of him since Rasalhague," she continued.
"Yes," Takashi said thoughtfully, "He has been moving about quite a bit since the Wedding Plot."
From Takashi's inflection on the word "wedding," she knew she had started in the wrong direction. Constance decided to shift the focus of the conversation. "Theodore now serves on the staff of Warlord Cherenkoff, does he not?"
"That is his assignment, but he is here on Luthien."
That was not news to Constance, but she felt it best not to reveal her knowledge. "How wonderful! You have kept him away for so long."
"I have not summoned him here," Takashi said ominously.
So much for that being an innocuous angle, Constance thought. There seemed to be no safe area of discussion concerning Theodore.
"Has there been another problem with the Warlord?" she ventured.
"Probably, but that is not the issue.”
“Perhaps it is just time for a new assignment," Constance suggested.
Takashi said nothing, and Constance let her mind race over the last several years.
Theodore's marriage to Tomoe had surprised her and Florimel when a fearful but uncontrite Tomoe had reported it to them before their departure from Rasalhague after the abortive conspiracy. Florimel had been less enraged than Constance expected, and had finally decided to support Theodore's plan to keep the marriage a secret. Maintaining secrecy was easy enough; steering Takashi's plans away from other arranged marriages was somewhat harder. But the O5P had managed. She knew that the ISF also had a hand in scuttling more than one arrangement. What lever could Theodore have with Director Indrahar that the spymaster would support the son rather than the father, his childhood friend?
Constance had not seen much of Theodore these last few years, but she knew his service record quite well. After the Wedding Plot was unraveled, his assignment to the Rasalhague Regulars had been canceled, and he had been shipped out to the Benjamin District. In the year that followed, he had been shuttled through three regiments of the Benjamin Regulars, including the Third, Warlord Yoriyoshi's own command. He had ended the year with a stint in the Second Sword of Light Regiment, one of the Combine's elite military units. Through all those travels, Tomoe and the rest of his command lance had accompanied him.
She remembered a note from him received at the end of 3020. In it, Theodore reported that his father had raged at Theodore's latest refusal to consent to another marriage. The heir's attitude had insulted the woman's father, who had withdrawn from the arrangement. In reaction, Takashi had ordered Theodore's lance out of the Sword of Light. Theodore had been philosophical. While pleased at the chance to work with that elite unit, his assignments had all been similar since Rasalhague. None were near the front, where he might earn glory.
His next assignment was with the Arkab Legion, apparently a punishment that would make him long for the Japanese customs that permeated most of the Combine. The Arkab Legionnaires were primarily soldiers native to the strongholds of Islamic culture in the Combine. They lived by folkways alien to the Kurita norm. Yet Theodore's letters had revealed him to be more intrigued than repelled by the differences of those Islamic warriors. His only complaint was their attitude toward Tomoe.
The whirlwind rotation had continued. Theodore had served with seven regiments of the Dieron Regulars, none for more than four months. His letters still mourned the lack of opportunities to prove himself as a warrior, and Takashi had finally responded to his continual requests for a frontline post by transferring his son to the staff of Warlord Yoriyoshi. Much as Theodore hoped to see action on the Davion border, it was relatively quiet. And when things did heat up, Theodore's assignments always seemed to lead him elsewhere.
The easy duty came at a fortunate time. The Order, by virtue of a request from the non-existent Lord Sakade, was able to arrange for Tomoe's absence without arousing suspicion. She passed her time in the safety and security of Benjamin, eventually presenting Theodore with a son.
After Theodore had been on Yoriyoshi's staff for nine months, Takashi advanced another likely candidate for marriage to Theodore. Constance knew far better than the Coordinator how the girl in question became involved in compromising circumstances that forced Takashi to repudiate the deal. Perhaps in frustration, Takashi transferred Theodore yet again. This time he sent his heir to serve on the staff of the fat and obnoxious Warlord Vasily Cherenkoff, General of the Armies. With the transfer, Theodore had received a promotion to Chu-sa. "For appearances," Theodore had claimed in a letter. "He really has done this to punish me. The Warlord is overbearing and utterly stupid. The only initiative he shows is in claiming credit for any good ideas his staff hands him." Theodore and the Warlord argued constantly and Cherenkoff reported nothing good to Takashi.
Still, Theodore had now served in the staff position longer than anywhere else since the Wisdom of the Dragon school. Maybe he is growing up, Constance thought. Perhaps the son Tomoe gave him has made him a man.
Constance looked up at Takashi. His face was sour, his eyes downcast. Perhaps he, too, was reflecting on his son's career, for he seemed not to have noticed her silence. She wondered what he thought of her suggestion about a new assignment for Theodore.
"Theodore was always restless as a youth. A change of scenery might make him more amenable to your wishes."
"It has not so far," Takashi began. He clearly had more to say, but stopped suddenly, head cocked in listening. In a moment, Constance, too, heard the approaching footsteps.
16
Unity Palace, Imperial City, Luthien
Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine
22 December 3024
The shoji door shrilled as it was forced violently through its tracks.
Theodore Kurita stepped into the room, the white of his dress uniform jacket strangely bright in the shadowy room. As he slid the door shut behind him, Constance noted the changes almost unconsciously. His shoulders had broadened with the strong muscles of a grown man. He was still lean, a karateka rather than a sumotori, and as handsome as ever. She swiftly suppressed a flash of envy for Tomoe.
Theodore's blue eyes were icy as he advanced to where he towered over the Coordinator. "I have heard that you have done the unthinkable."
Takashi simply stared through his son's belt buckle and calmly moved his tea cup to one side.
"I cannot believe it," Theodore exclaimed. "Tell me that it is only a rumor."
Takashi settled back on his heels, a look of long-suffering forbearance on his face. "Be seated, my son, and we will talk."
Constance started to stand, but Takashi shook his head, "Please stay, Constance. Your presence may keep this more civilized."
Theodore spared Constance a glance as she resettled herself. She read no distress at her presence, but she detected a definite look of apology in his expression. He settled to his knees, back stiff.
"Do you think her presence will keep me from saying what is on my mind?"
"Hardly,"
Takashi answered. "But my hope of keeping this discussion calm is not unreasonable."
Theodore bristled at Takashi's choice of words, and Constance knew why he reacted with such anger. Takashi had long complained that his son's stubbornness was unreasonable; Theodore's strong will had been a point of argument many times. She saw from Theodore's reaction that he, too, had heard the rumor that his father believed him ambitious, too eager for the throne.
Theodore turned to her. "Do you know what he has done? He has named your father as head of the Otomo. Marcus Kurita, the man who wants his throne, as his bodyguard."
Constance had heard that Takashi might make the appointment, but this was the first confirmation. She did not doubt that the Coordinator's intent was to increase the scrutiny on his cousin. She knew that her father coveted the Coordinator's office. Filial loyalty prevented her from revealing that, just as clan loyalty kept her from aiding him in any way.
"You have come here to speak to me, boy. Do so," Takashi said harshly. "Do not distress Constance with your ravings."
"It's true, then."
"I have named Marcus Kurita as head of the Otomo."
Theodore slammed his black officer's cap onto the tatami. "How can you be such a fool?"
Constance lowered her head, unwilling to watch as Theodore insulted his father. She could do nothing to divert him. If she acted now, she would not be in a position to help him later. Openly coming to his defense would be too revealing an act. She hoped he would not enrage Takashi too much.
"Marcus was the best choice for the post at this time," Takashi stated calmly.
"What about me?"
"What about you? You warn me of ambitious men, then ask for an important post. You still have much to learn."
"You were head of the Otomo at twenty-seven. I'm twenty-eight."
"You are not settled. When I headed the Otomo, I was married. I had an heir."
"So we come to that again. Haven't you had enough failures? Let me alone. I'll give you an heir when I'm good and ready."
Heir to the Dragon Page 9