Dynasty: The Glorious Strategist (Dynasty Saga Book 3) (3 page)

Lymee narrowed her eyes as she turned to look at Yoni. “And what was your excuse before that?”

“Surely you are referring to someone else.” Yoni dropped her hand from Lymee’s shoulder and went back to watching Voss and Shan with a bit of stiffness to her movements. “After all, we first met the day you left Su City to start your wandering. And the first time I ever used my spirit on you was a few days after I heroically rescued you from those slavers.”

“Right,” Lymee nodded with a bit of smirk. “Must have been that other person we were talking about. Which is good. Because I cried myself to sleep after that incident.” Lymee shot Yoni a look that told her that she was no longer joking. “At the time I had no idea what was happening and I thought I was losing my mind.”

Yoni paused unable to say anything that would make it right. “Well you are the lord,” Yoni smiled turning to Lymee. “You have the right to mix people up. It’s your retainers’ responsibility to keep them all straight.”

“Sucks to be you then,” Lymee grinned. Kitsune seemingly tired of Yoni constantly shifting her around got up from Yoni’s arm and pawed at the air towards Lymee. Lymee held out her elbow letting Kitsune jump onto it, crawling up her arm and resting on her shoulder. “Do you miss it?” Lymee asked running her hand down Kitsune’s tail that hung down the front of her chest.

“She just left,” Yoni laughed pointing at the fox. “I’m not that needy.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Lymee looked up at Yoni shaking her head. Lymee knew she could never say the words out loud. To even say that Yoni and Voss were once Lords would in a way make it all meaningless. They would often play around the subject even omit words from their sentences but they would never actually say what had taken place, not even to each other.

“Sometimes.” Yoni nodded crossing her now empty arms. “But I like the lack of responsibility I have now. Though the responsibility of looking after you takes up most of my time.”

“Sorry, I know I’m high maintenance.” Lymee looked up and grinned. 

“Do you miss it?” Yoni asked looking at Lymee.

“Miss what?” Lymee reached behind her so she could scratch the side of Kitsune’s neck. Kitsune in turn cocked her head to the side to give Lymee more area to scratch.

“The wandering?” Yoni said. “I have noticed you seem a bit restless as of late.”

“We called it wanderlust back in my world,” Lymee said letting her hand drop to her side. “The desire to always be on the move, always experiencing new things.” Lymee sighed shaking her head. “It wasn’t perfect, but I was happy most of the time traveling with you guys. And I will, for the most part, always look back at those memories fondly. But that chapter in my life is closed now. Sun Tzu the Wandering, yes I know this title is redundant, Traveler has officially been put to bed and like it or not I am back to being Lord Sun Su the Heavenly, why did my younger yet somehow older sister have to give me this title, Fox. What about you?” Lymee asked looking over at Yoni. “Do you miss it?”

“What’s to miss?” Yoni scoffed. “Here there is enough food for us every day, we just simply have to cook it ourselves. Every night we have a warm bed with clean sheets, so long as we washed them. And there is no shortage of beautiful women inside or outside the Palace that I can share my bed with. There is really nothing to complain about.” Yoni took a deep breath placing her hands on her hips as she stared off into the distance.

“You hate it here, don’t you?”

“So much,” Yoni exhaled slouching her shoulders. “It’s just so boring.” She raised her hands like she was trying to strangle the boredom that she was feeling. “Nothing ever happens here. Back when we were wandering, there was always something exciting happening. Even days that we would say were uneventful had more going on than here.”

Lymee could not help but laugh as her friend vented her frustration. Not to say that she hand not felt the same way when she first got back, and given half the chance she would probably set out again. But she thought it was different for Yoni. While Lymee was a commoner who was learning to become a noble, Yoni was a noble learning to become a commoner. And the freedom and liberation that she experienced on the road was something new to her. Just like the pampering and such was all new to Lymee. Lymee would make a comment about the grass being greener but then she would gladly be a wanderer over noble any day.

“But that being said,” Yoni let her hands fall to her side as she calmed herself down. “Our place is by your side. And I am honestly content so long as that is where I am.”

“There is no place I would rather have you be,” Lymee said putting a hand on Yoni’s shoulder.

“Really?” Yoni looked over at Lymee. “I would have thought there were a few other positions you might prefer me in.”

“I have a beautiful woman who eagerly awaits me every night.” Lymee puffed out her chest confidently. “I have no time for commoners such as yourself.” she playfully waved Yoni off.

“So then there is no way you would be wandering the halls at night then, correct?” Yoni asked. She tried to play it off as just friendly banter but Lymee could tell there was a deeper meaning to the question.

“Ah? What part of a ‘beautiful woman waiting in bed for me every night’ did you not understand?” Lymee asked giving Yoni a sideways glance. “When would I have time to wander the halls at night?”

“That’s what I thought,” Yoni said almost looking relieved.

“Why do you ask?” Lymee was curious now.

“It’s nothing,” Yoni assured her but Lymee was not buying it.

“Yoni,” she pressed.

Yoni sighed sagging her shoulders. “Several servants have mentioned that they have seen a woman with fox ears and several fox tails wandering the halls late at night, and they all seem to think that it’s you in your heavenly form.”

“Is that right?” Lymee glared at Kitsune who resting her head on Lymee’s shoulder. Kitsune just looked up at Lymee as if saying ‘what’. “You do remember that I don’t actually have a heavenly form, right?” she turned back to Yoni.

“I was simply making sure that you were not up to something. That is all,” Yoni assured.

“Oh trust me, it’s not me who is up to anything,” Lymee glanced back down at the fox again. “Let me know if any of those rumors state that the fox woman is doing anything that she shouldn’t be doing.”

“Aright,” Yoni laughed. Probably thinking her statement more of a joke than a serious request.

“Well I had best be on my way,” Lymee stated, starting to turn away from the scene in the training grounds. “It’s time for me to begin my own training with a beautiful woman.”

“You never train with me anymore,” Yoni said with a bit of a whine to her voice.

“That’s because I want to train with people who are actually better than me,” Lymee shot back as she started to move away.

“Yes but when you train with me you never know what it might lead to,” Yoni said holding her hands out to her sides. “Us grabbing each other, breathing heavily, all covered in sweat as our bodies press against each other.”

“Goodbye Yoni,” Lymee waved over her shoulder as she walked on pretending to ignore the woman. Yoni just turned and went back to watching her brother train.

In truth the reason Lymee did not train much with Yoni anymore is because they had trained so much together already. Lymee wanted someone new that would force her to fight differently. She did not want to get to comfortable and start leaving holes in her stance.

“You gonna tell me what you are up to so late at night?” Lymee asked as soon as she was sure that no one was around.

Lymee felt the fur pressed against the back of her neck change into the soft sensation of silk and the warmth of skin as two long arms wrapped around Lymee’s neck, one hand grabbing the wrist of the other locking them in place.

“Do you have any idea how cramped it is being stuck in such a small form all the time?” Kitsune whispered resting her chin on Lymee’s shoulder her furry fox ears brushing against Lymee’s cheek. “I just need to stretch my legs sometime.”

“It was your choice not to reveal yourself to everyone,” Lymee said as she continued to walk as if the woman wrapped around her shoulders was not even there, her gaze focused only straight ahead. “I don’t want to be hearing complaints from people that they are being visited by a fox woman in their sleep.”

“I don’t recall any of them complaining. Especially the men,” Kitsune let out a soft mischievous heckle.

“Kitsune,” Lymee scolded. “You don’t have free reign to just do whatever you want.”

“Oh but that is where you are wrong,” Kitsune whispered using Lymee’s neck as a pivot to swing herself around so her face was only a few inches from Lymee’s. She was using her tails as a couch as she laid on her side hovering off the ground. “I do have free reign to do whatever I want. You chose not to bind me to you and instead let me have the ever precious freedom that you covet so much. I stay only because I choose to. Because you are something worth watching.” Kitsune leaned her hot breath blowing into Lymee’s ear. “But don’t worry,” she whispered letting go of her wrist and cupping the side of Lymee’s face. “I want to see you succeed and will never do anything to jeopardize that from happening. But in the meantime.” Kitsune gently bit the lob of Lymee’s ear. “Don’t spoil my fun.”

“Lord Lymee,” a voice called out.

Lymee turned around to see who it was. As she did so Kitsune dug her paws into Lymee’s shoulder to maintain her balance her long tail falling in front of Lymee’s chest.

“General Gea,” Lymee greeted with a smile as she reached up and put a hand on the fox’s back to hold her in place as she bowed her head slightly. “Good morning.”

“And a good morning to you, my lord,” the woman bowed deeply her bangs falling just above her eyes covering up the upper half of the scar that ran across one of her eyes. An old battle wound she was told. And not even that particularly memorable one at that.

Lymee had met the General when Lymee first arrived in this world. Gea was on of Alia’s five generals but Lymee had really only seen her in passing. While she had been an integral part in the conquest of Hu Province and there Lymee had seen her skills in action first hand. Alia had left Gea in Hu when they had to depart making Gea Rin’s top military adviser and watchdog. Gea was to make sure that Rin and her soldiers were actually as loyal as they pledged to be. But despite all of that Rin and Gea had apparently become good friends. And by extension Lymee had come to know her better as well.

Gea stopped in front of Lymee and tentatively reached out her hand towards the fox, her fingers gently scratching under her fur. She was dressed in her usual field uniform lacking the standard red tunic and armor. “I was on my way to the training hall to meet with you.” Gea smiled as the fox tilted her head to the side inviting Gea to continue showing her attention.

“Shall we walk together then?” Lymee smiled.

“It would be my honor,” she said letting her arm drop and giving Lymee a nod of affirmation.

***     

The loud thwacking sound of wood against wood filled the training hall as Lymee did her best to overpower Gea’s guard with her training staff. Gea however was not so easily bested. She gracefully danced around Lymee deflecting and countering her every move.

Gea blocked another of Lymee’s attacks and flashed her a smile as she dropped her stance egging Lymee on with a wink of her scarred eye. Frustration built inside of Lymee and she spun the blade around her body building up momentum as she readied herself for a power attack to demolish Gea’s smug defenses.

Before she realized what had happened Lymee was flat on her back, both her knees and her hands numb with pain. She blinked a few times trying to clear away the light ants that ran across her vision. Lymee could hear Kitsune cackling on the other end of the room where she sat watching the match.

“Shut up you,” Lymee scoffed looking over at the fox, her vision still spinning slightly. The fox just ignored her. Yawning she laid her head down using her own tail as a pillow.

“I do think my lord,” Gea leaned over Lymee, her ponytail falling across her face. “That you could have bested me if you hadn’t been using those silly twirling moves.” Gea reached out a hand offering it to Lymee.

“I have to use those,” Lymee stated, taking the offered hand. “Otherwise I can’t build up the necessary force to break through your defense.”

“That line of thinking is General Chee’s influence I take it,” Gea sighed lifting Lymee to her feet.

“You saying Haru’s, I mean Chee’s fighting style is wrong?” Lymee asked as she slipped her foot under the staff laying on the ground launching it up into her hand. Haru was considered the best fighter in Su Dynasty and had been primarily responsible for Lymee’s early training.

“No, my lord,” Gea said if not a bit hesitantly. “But Chee is a brute of a woman who is stronger than most of the men she fights. She can afford to use nothing but overwhelming force in combat. The rest of us have to compensate for our shortcomings using different methods.”

“Shortcomings?” Lymee smiled flexing her fingers waiting for full feeling to return to them.

“Yes, my lord. Shortcomings,” Gea repeated leaning her body weight on her staff. “Men are naturally stronger, taller, and heavier than women. The Heavens only know how much I envy them sometimes. I often wonder how fearsome they would be if they only thought with the head between their ears instead of the head between their legs. They may even be better rules than women if that were the case. I wonder what that world would look like.”