The Three Maidens of the Southern Gold Pagoda (book 2) Part Two

Story by fiddlesticks

THE THREE MAIDENS OF THE SOUTHERN GOLD PAGODA

BOOK TWO

By some asshole named "Fiddlesticks"

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: this is a work of fiction. Any similarity between anyone or anything alive or dead, destroyed or standing is a total coincidence.

This is Part Two of Three of Book Two, otherwise known as "the one with futa in it." Part Three will be along very shortly, although I won't set myself up for failure by naming a date. But I will say this: it'll be very soon, as way of apology for the lack of nookie in this episode. Really, it's done, but I wanna put the last few touches on it before I put you people through it.

Part One can be found HERE, in case it disappears...

Please enjoy...

***** PART TWO: THE VIOLENT INVASION *****

The courtyard of the Imperial Palace in Osaka, capital city of the Yamato province was gigantic. At the head of the courtyard, on an elevated dais, the Emperor of Japan, Tenno Yoshika, sat in his ceremonial dress robes, surrounded by his closest advisors. The buildings on every side of the courtyard were filled with a total of exactly one thousand troops, each representing a year the people of Japan hoped Yoshika-sama would reign over them. Or so he'd been told.

Yoshika-sama had recently begun referring to himself as Sumeramikoto, which meant "Heavenly Ruler Above the Clouds," a term he'd invented after hearing stories about the first emperor of China who claimed to rule "tian xia," or "all under heaven." He'd liked the sound of that.

Nowadays he mostly made people call him that because it reminded them that, well, that he could make them call him that.

It also helped his self-image, though he was reluctant to admit it. Tenno Yoshika was the runt of the litter and it had always soured him that he wasn't as brutishly strong as his brothers. He had his mother's good looks and his father's ambition, though, which helped him along when he'd murdered his two older brothers, ensuring he would be next in line for the throne. He was a military and political genius and he knew it, and the gallons of blood that had been spilled as he worked his way up to the throne never actually touched his lilly-white skin. He'd left his younger brother and sister alive, even though he had little doubt that they sometimes dreamed of how they'd look on his throne. Nevertheless, he kept handy a few vials of poison with their names on it. He couldn't feel bad about that, though: it was pretty much expected of royalty those days. Plus he was pretty sure most of it had been his mother's idea. Poor mother... How sad he'd been to see her shut up in that asylum... But, hey. Tradition.

Sure, he broke a few of the usual customs when it came to the way an Emperor should behave, but he did it just to show that he could. For example, he wore his hair long, not tied up in a knot like the rest of his citizens. He'd been teased at a young age for his girlish looks. Nobody teased him anymore.

Holding court here in the Imperial Palace was a matter of his duty to his nation that he took very seriously. Unlike some emperors of past civilizations, Sumeramikoto believed that he had a certain amount of responsibility in his position. His most famous predecessor, Kamuyamato Iwarebiko, was believed to be the direct descendent of the sun goddess Amaterasu, and he had certainly acted that way; he'd spent millions erecting shrines in his honor, had long operas written about his mystical heritage. Divine lineage was a myth that Sumeramikoto felt was preposterous. But it was useful to be associated with a mythical diety, if for no other reason than it was good to fall back on your past relatives whenever people wondered why you were the emperor and they were not.

Yoshika-sama was somewhat concerned to learn that his diplomat from China was making an unscheduled return. But after several grueling hours of an inane debate between the representatives of two land owners, Yoshika-sama finally rendered a verdict and waved his hand for the next engagement. Murahoshi and his chief advisor were finally allowed to enter and transverse the long courtyard towards their emperor.

Murahoshi and his aide, Ito, took a full minute to walk slowly and formally towards their emperor. When they finally arrived at the designated distance from the throne they performed the customary obediences and stood, waiting patiently for their emperor to say something.

"<I believe you weren't due to return home for another eight months, Kenta,>" Yoshika-sama muttered, his soft, feminine voice always sounded odd coming from someone who held so much power.

"<Uh, I apologize, Sumeramikoto, but we... I felt that certain events...>" Murahoshi trailed off. He'd been having problems remembering what had happened that last night in the Southern

... more on the forums ...