Ningyō no Ohimesama (The Doll Princess)

War Preparations

{MIHO'S POV}
There's a little town on very outskirts of Zoral, located halfway between the towering fortresses of Cypress and Sycamore. There are three fortresses along the western border of Zoral. Fort Cypress is the largest, and Fort Birch is the smallest.

They were built as command towers for the wars. Bases where the generals ordered around the troops. Impenetrable strongholds that gave Akio Fujimiya a foothold at the edge of his lands.

Fort Cypress has 800 knights total, divided amongst three squadrons and lead by two generals. The first, General Takeshi, is a fine man who became fiercely loyal to Sei after the latter saved his life in battle. He commands the spear and bow squadrons.

The other, General Nobu, is a puppet general who got promoted by Kenji. A questionable leader, in control of the bloodthirsty sword squadron, which was also assigned to the fortress by Kenji.

Our target is Nobu. Takeshi has voiced his lack of support for Kenji, but the new king can't remove his position because the knights at the fortress would riot. He has too much honor to be displaced.

Aoi-kun believes that Takeshi will stay neutral if we attack. His two squadrons are loyal and would never go against his command. Some of the sword squad probably wouldn't attack if the good general gave the order not to. That's how much clout he has.

"Why not help?" I ask frustratedly. If we have a common enemy, shouldn't we be allies?

"It's not that simple. He's probably thinking about his knights and what'll happen to them if he supports the losing side. Uncle would seek vengeance, and my reputation as a demon precedes me." Aoi-kun kicks a stone out of his path.

Is Aoi-kun saying that General Takeshi won't help us because he heard rumors of the imperial prince's nickname and assumed that he's evil? No matter which side he chose, the other would hate them. It was a lose-lose decision, so he chose neither.

"That's stupid." I mutter stubbornly, earning myself a sideways smile from Aoi-kun.

If we're going to attack, even if we aren't facing the entire might of the fortress, we still need troops to stand a chance. Which brings us back to the little town with a population of under 250.

This town is the start of our revolution. Completely loyal to Sei and suffering because of Kenji's rule and heavy taxes, they've been sheltering Aoi and me for the past week, since we arrived at the border of Zoral. The town's name is Cinder.

Roughly 63 men and women are able and willing to fight for us. Nobu outnumbers us three to one with the 200 swordsmen under his control.

In other words, our chances are slim. But who ever said war was easy?

I've been training the townsfolk as best I can, using my knowledge, having seen Dad and the knights spar frequently in Wistal. All the spare metal in the town is being melted down by the resident blacksmith and repurposed into weapons and shields.

They know that we only have one shot. If this fails, Kenji will annihilate the town of Cinder.

Because of the difference in numbers and lack of time for proper training, I've decided on a defensive approach known as the phalanx.

Every soldier will be armed with spears and shields that link together to form a wall. It should be difficult for the sword squadron to penetrate.

This is assuming that the bow squadron doesn't aid them. The phalanx has no air shield. But if General Takeshi sends the 600 troops under his command into battle as well, we stand no chance.

The phalanx is also weak from the sides, since the shield only protects one side.

But the sword squadron travels by foot, and spears have longer reach than swords, so hopefully they'll be impaled before getting too close.

The final weakness of the phalanx is that it's slow. Getting 63 people to walk in formation without tripping over themselves or their weapons, while carrying a spear and 40 pound shield, is hard under good circumstances.

Trying to accomplish it after a week of training? I know the soldiers jokingly nicknamed me "Spartan Drill Sergeant" behind my back.

They call me Commander to my face. I pluck up the nerve to ask a senior soldier why. He tells me that the right hand of the emperor is known as the Commander. They're in charge of the military, while the emperor deals with civil issues and politics.

Considering that over 85% of Zoral's citizens are involved in the military, it's a powerful position. I won't even be the first female Commander; that title was also held by Aoi-kun's mom, the empress, before her untimely death to a tuberculosis outbreak.

A man named Bal held the position after Azalea; he was executed for treason by Kenji, shortly after the latter's enthronement and Aoi-kun fled. He suspects Bal dug too deep and found out the truth.

When we first arrived, I was only able to open up by clinging to Aoi-kun's shirt and hiding behind him, like a shy toddler. He was my translator.

But preparing for war has given me something other than my bad memories to focus on, so now I'm able to ask the senior soldier my question directly. I can talk to the people of Cinder, albeit in broken sentences thanks to my speech impediment.

Before I realized it, I was unconsciously giving them orders. I thought I was thinking, but I was actually thinking out loud.

Aoi-kun laughed his head off when I asked him to ask one of the soldiers how they knew my training regimen already. The soldier responded, "Huh? You just told it to us, Commander."

Anyway, I'm the final link of the phalanx. The cornerstone. The phalanx is slow and durable, but we can't afford a battle of endurance.

Fort Cypress has more supplies stored than Cinder; they'll outlast us easily. We would starve long before they did. Not to mention, they can take take turns beating us up, attacking in waves so the frontline fighters don't get too tired.

We don't have the same leniency in numbers, nor an impenetrable fortress to safely retreat into. We need an attacking unit to whittle down their numbers, and that duty falls on me.

Essentially, I'll dive into the enemy formation, stabbing and slashing, then retreat behind the phalanx and recuperate when I feel tired. They'll act as my makeshift walking fortress.

It's a downright foolish strategy. One that's highly likely to get me killed. But if there's one thing I'm good at when it comes to swordplay, it's attacking. I even have a decent rapier from Aoi-kun.

For the next two weeks, I train my 63 men like, well, a spartan drill sergeant. We've prepared all we can. Aoi-kun sends a letter to Fort Cypress:

I'm going to avenge
my father's death and
take my rightful place on
the throne. Warn my
uncle to prepare himself.
~ Aoi Fujimiya

We know what Nobu will do. The question is, will Takeshi's loyalty to Aoi-kun's father extend to us? Has he realized that something is amiss with Sei's supposedly natural death when he was healthy?

Will Takeshi fight against Aoi-kun or stay neutral? The first battle of the revolution is approaching rapidly, and it may very well be the last too.