Chapter Text
When the messenger came into the throne room and bent at the feet of the Minister of Defense, Satsuki could only pray for good news. Her hopes were quickly dashed when the messenger hurried off, and Araki addressed her.
“Your Majesty, we have received word from Fukuda Sogo. My generals say that the leader of their army has proposed terms.”
Satsuki knew that whatever was coming next was not meant for the court’s ears. “I will hear it from you privately,” she said, standing and gathering her skirt. She caught Riko’s eye. “Join us, Minister. The rest of you, dismissed.”
Without watching them disperse, she left the room. Outside, she weaved through the hallways, leading the other two away from the more public areas of the palace. Finally she slipped inside her private war room and, as Riko and Araki followed, she gestured for her bodyguard. “Do not let anyone pass, not even the servants,” she muttered.
“Of course, your Majesty,” Alex bowed her head and slid the door closed after them.
Satsuki turned to her advisors. “How bad is it?”
Araki sighed. “We are holding a defensive line, but the army’s morale is getting low. Even if we have the superior weapons, Haizaki’s ambushes don’t give our troops much time to use them. And their tactics are ruthless when they catch us off-guard. The troops are tired. My generals are not sure how long they can hold out.”
“Then we send in more troops,” Satsuki said. “We’ve avoided getting the other clans involved so far, but if it’s the only way to defeat him –”
“Defeating him may no longer be necessary,” Araki said. Satsuki arched a brow in question, and she cleared her throat. “He has proposed terms. He wants an alliance.”
“After attacking for this long, now he proposes an alliance?” Riko said incredulously.
Satsuki laughed humorlessly. “Araki, are you sure this was a legitimate proposal?”
“He said he wants to put a stop to the fighting.”
“His efforts until now have shown the opposite,” Satsuki scoffed. “He doesn’t want to stop fighting. He thrives off of war.”
“And by all accounts, he has the upper hand now,” Riko pointed out. “If he thought he could destroy the empire, he would just do it. No talks of alliance.”
“He doesn’t have the power to destroy us,” Satsuki said. “He’s proposing an alliance because he knows that if I send more of our forces, he can’t actually defeat them. He is the one cornered here, not us.” A chuckle escaped her. “Most leaders would send terms of surrender. He is more arrogant than I thought.” She looked at Araki. “Send word back that we have no interest in his alliance, and he has until month’s end to retreat before we bring in the full forces of Teiko's armies. If he wants to see our might so badly, let it be the last thing he sees.”
Araki hesitated. “I urge you to reconsider this answer, your Majesty.”
“Have you some other suggestion, then?” Satsuki asked, frowning. “I have no desire to see more Teiko lives cut down, and the faster we cut off this war, the sooner our soldiers can come home.”
“That is why I believe you should consider accepting the alliance. Yes, Teiko is strong, but our neighboring kingdoms are starting to voice dissent as well. They fear the empire is growing too powerful, too fast. Fukuda Sogo is not the only one. The others might follow their lead.”
“Not if we crush them quickly,” Satsuki said. Riko glanced at her. “That should be a good enough deterrent.”
“But there is another way, your Majesty,” Araki said. “Haizaki has proposed alliance through marriage. If you agree, Fukuda Sogo will fall under Teiko’s empire as well. No more bloodshed.”
Satsuki glared at her. “I have no need for another alliance or another marriage. Especially to someone like Haizaki.”
“But your other –”
“Yes, my other marriages were alliances to clans within our borders. I united them in order to form our empire, to strengthen our trade routes and our military. But what would an alliance with Haizaki bring? He doesn’t have a strong force or anything to contribute to trade. What he has is many enemies, including us. If we ally with him, we get nothing. But he would gain resources for his dying people and our military strength. He’ll try to use Teiko’s combined armies to fight one of his other enemies. As if we’re dogs to do his fighting for him.” She stood up. “And then there will be even more bloodshed. I will not do that to my people.”
“But there could be –”
“I will not do it,” Satsuki snapped. “And I will not repeat myself again. Is that understood?”
Araki bowed her head. “Yes, your Majesty.”
She swept toward the door. “Send him my answer right away, and if no reply is given in the next week, send recruiters to the clans.”
Riko followed her out and kept pace with Alex behind her as they went deeper into the palace. “Do you truly think we can beat them?”
“Yes, I do,” Satsuki said, turning the corner into her wing of the palace. “Our empire is more powerful than one single dying kingdom.”
Riko waited until a group of servants passed by to answer. “The clan allegiances to the throne are still fragile, though. They might resist sending their own troops.”
“They won’t.” Satsuki stopped in front of an ornate door and turned to Riko. “Not if their leaders are the ones ordering it.”
Riko bowed as Satsuki closed the door behind her.