Destiny's Entwined

2

The cart was moved into the cave after you had unloaded it, wandering around inside the cave you find a water source and grin making the beds up for the animals and placing the spare bedding and food inside grabbing some buckets of water and lighting the fire in the house.

Heating up the water you wash horse and yourself, wearing clean clothes you both smile, placing your sword back onto your side feeling more like you again, putting the food and bedding away you look around and clean the chimneys.

Going up the mountain you collect some more wood for the fire and collect some vegetables, herbs and placing a few traps for meat, processing the things found today and setting up the rest of the house, looking at horse "we will make some farm land tomorrow" he nuzzles in and you pat and stroke him.

Cleaning out the bath area and cleaning up the kitchen, you smile as the items are placed where they need to be, then walking around the whole area, you see that you should update the wall and gates, looking down the mountain to the village, you make a plan.

Horse was staying in the house with you, he had seen you through numerous battles and wars they were more like a friend than a animal, setting up your beds and making food in the newly cleaned stove "I never thought I would be doing this off the battlefield" receiving a snicker from horse.

Sitting down to eat you raise a toast "to our new life" you had what was needed and plenty of money left over so finding a place in the house you hide the money away only keeping the basic amount on your person, laying on your futon and cuddling down you sigh and finally relax "night Buddy" a quite reply.

Waking early, you place your sword and go to the fields sighing you start to work, pulling the weeds and cleaning them up replacing the border around them, standing and stretching, looking up you notice a good few hours had passed and decide to eat.

Going back to the house you start the stove and make a quick meal, eating you look down on the village and frown, but shrugging it off you go back to your fields it took the entire day to clean them up then glancing at the woods you sigh "we will have to get some items from in there Buddy. It's autumn now, I can grow a few things but not everything".

Not hearing a reply you look and see him playing with something, walking over you see a pup frowning you get closer and wince a wolf pup, looking up the mountain you don't see an adult looking at horse who is looking at you "won't their parent be looking for them?" his front hoof pounds the ground.

Huffing you smile crouching down you hold a hand out, they sniff and come over you give them a stroke as they cuddle in scanning the mountain for a parent, sighing you say "okay little one you can stay but if the parent comes you go home with them okay?" a yip and you chuckle.

Grabbing some sacks and a shovel, you go into the woods on the mountain walking in you collect the fallen foliage and bag it up finding a small bamboo forest you smile and mentally mark it's position, grabbing the sacks you drag them down to the cave, placing them inside and going into the house putting some meat down for the pup and feed for horse.

Heating the bath and going over the plan for tomorrow, first fertilise the fields next go down and see if you can find anything useful in the village, having your bath and relaxing back into the water and smiling, as the water cools you get out and drying off you go to bed and lay out your futon finding another body in the room you chuckle.

Laying down and drifting off to sleep, as you sleep the village comes alive the forms look up to your home and smile the chief says "we will place the useful objects out in the open of our homes for them" a happy atmosphere infects the village as they get busy moving everything of use to an area for you to find.

Horse and pup look at each other then at you, laying down they cuddle up to each other and drift off to sleep. In the city you had left there was uproar you a decorated and honored general had disappeared and been missing for two weeks now, they had sent men out to look for you after the second day when you hadn't answered the summons from the emperor.

Your family were angry the valuable items had been taken and sold, your horse was also missing your mother screamed "after everything we did for them, they treat us like this" your father looked at her and frowned saying "the fact that they made a name for themselves in the military has nothing to do with you and then for you to sell them off into a marriage. No wonder they left".

The woman screeched at him and he slapped her saying "remember they are a man not a woman. How dare you do this to them, I hope they stay hidden and live a good life" the woman looked to her husband and collapsed weeping as he sneered at her.

The emperor sat in his private rooms and sighed "why would they run? Surely this was a good thing for their family?" his second said "for his family yes, but what about them? They spent all their youth in a battlefield earning respect and rank to be sold off as a concubine, even to one as honorable as you" the emperor sighed "look for them for a bit, but don't dig to deep".

The second looked at him and smiled sending out the order with a smile "I hope you will be happy friend" you had all fought together to take the throne so they knew you and had faced death with you, the marriage was to help the family in status, which you obviously didn't want or need.