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When Isabella signed up for the army, this was not what she had in mind. She’d envisioned the glory of battle, the honors of winning in combat. She’d expected the hard work of training and learning to use the sword and the gun she was issued, and to hone her body as a weapon in itself. She looked forward to the challenge.
It was the boredom she’d never imagined. Her unit was assigned to wait for the enemy and be ready to ambush them when they showed up. This road was the only way to reach Naru, which their spies said the enemy was marching on, so it was just a matter of waiting.
The waiting was tedious, and the news was discouraging. They’d been here a week, and the scouts hadn’t reported any activity yet. The officers weren’t training them too hard, not wanting their troops to be exhausted when the battle finally came, just hard enough to keep them from having enough energy to start serious trouble. Isabella pushed herself a bit on her own, but again, not enough to exhaust herself.
So, when one of the lieutenants approached her, it should have been a relief. It wasn’t. “You want me to what?”
Nishigori hadn’t flinched. “They’re sending a messenger through. I want you to stop him and convince him to give you the message.”
“By seducing him,” Isabella said.
Nishigori shrugged. “I said that was probably the easiest way, not that it was the only way. If you’d rather use force, you can, but seduction means you can send him on to his destination without a mark so they’ll never know the message was intercepted. As long as you get that message, I don’t care how you do it; for all I care, you can steal it from his dead body. Captain would prefer the messenger alive and able to complete his mission, but Katsuki’s practical enough to know that you can’t always get what you want. Do whatever you have to. Just get the message.”
“But…”
“Don’t argue, just do it.” Nishigori stalked off, returning to a drill he was running for the archers.
This was dangerous. What if the messenger was trigger happy? Isabella wasn’t unarmed, she had several weapons hidden despite her revealing dress, but if he was the stab first type, she wouldn’t have a chance. Nevertheless… she had her orders, and her captain’s preferences, and she was a soldier. She would obey.
As soon as she spotted the messenger, she fell to the ground, holding her ankle. When he got close enough, she called out, “Good sir, can you help me?”
He reined his horse to a stop and dismounted. “What seems to be the problem?”
“I’m traveling with my brother, and I stumbled on a rock. I can’t walk very far. My brother took the pony and the supplies ahead to make a camp at the first spot he could find, but that was hours ago and he hasn’t returned. Can you help me get closer, at least? If he doesn’t return soon, that will mean I’m stuck spending the night out here, and I’ve heard rumors that there’s an army coming this way. Even if we don’t find my brother or the camp, at least help me find a place where I can hide?”
“Of course, my lady!” He scooped her up, helping her settle on his horse. “Which way were you going?”
“South, toward Naru. Our cousin’s getting married there next week. You won’t lose time going back. Are you going to Naru, too?”
“For now. I only plan to stay a day or two, though, and then move on further south. My job doesn’t allow me the chance to stay still long, unless the weather turns foul.” He swept off his hat and bowed to her. “Forgive me my bad manners to not have introduced myself already! Jean-Jacques Leroy, a messenger in the service of King Yakov.”
“Isabella Yang, a merchant’s daughter from Rato.” It was true. It also didn’t identify her as necessarily his enemy, as Rato was a border town caught between the two warring states.
Jean-Jacques, or JJ as he asked her to call him, was charming, and a total sweetheart. She found the message he carried while she was on his horse and he was telling her a story of a horse race he’d won. Now she just needed a way to read it without being noticed and slip it back, which JJ helpfully provided. When the light started dimming, he insisted on not only getting her to a hidden place, but taking her water bottle to fill up for her. It would taken him fifteen minutes, Isabella figured, which would give her plenty of time to read the message.
Once JJ was safely on his way, Isabella headed back to camp. She found Nishigori. “The message really isn’t that big a deal. We know they want Naru to defect and join them, the message was a response to an offer of the lord’s daughter for the king’s nephew Viktor.”
“And?” Nishigori scowled. “Did they say yes?”
“Not exactly. They requested a meeting – Lord Viktor is apparently rather fussy, and Lady Yuuko would have to impress him a great deal to make the marriage work.” Too late, Isabella remembered that Nishigori had the intention of courting Lady Yuuko when he was promoted to captain. “It won’t matter if the army gets here in time. Or if Lord Viktor’s well-known impulsivity means he comes here himself, you know Captain Katsuki would love the excuse to take him captive.”
Nishigori’s scowl broke as he laughed hard. “You’re right there! And the messenger?”
“Has no idea that I read the message, or even know he had it. It’s a shame he’s a messenger for King Yakov’s side, I rather liked him.” Isabella sighed wistfully. “Maybe, someday, this war will be over and my father wouldn’t kill him on principle if he decides to come around?”
“Maybe. I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Good work, Isabella. Go enjoy yourself. Tomorrow it’s back to the tedium of waiting for this damned army to get off their asses and march.”