The Daughter Of Hideyoshi

Chapter 10

We started the ride home in silence, except for the sound of hooves on the gravel as we rode on. I was sitting on my dad's horse, as I looked ahead of us to see where we were going next. The air went silent due to the fact that no one knew what to talk about. The air was a tad bit warmer for first thing in the morning. The sky was a light blue, with the sun shining above to brighten up the world. There weren't any animals from what I could see, but I was still enjoying being outside. I lied back against my dad, as I still kept watch. I kept having a strange feeling that the bear might attack out of nowhere, even though it was early morning. The horse was slowing down, due to not having a destination to go. I didn't even know what else we were doing, except going back home, where I still had laundry to do. I closed my eyes as a cool breeze brushed across us, feeling a tad bit cooler now than ever. The outside world was starting to get a little more comfortable the longer that I was out. It was still strange to be outside the army, but I felt safe knowing that I was back with my family like before. Dad slowed his horse down as he spoke. "What should we do before we go home? Wanna take another small adventure before we go back?" dad asked as I looked back at him. "Will I get lost this time?" I asked, my mind on the question. Were we going to see the lake again? Dad chuckled to himself as he partially shook his head. "I don't think you'll get lost, only if you wander off. But it's a very cool place. It's kinda like the lake" he said, as Misunari walked his horse closer. "Are you talking about the cave that's by the army?" he asked as dad nodded. "Yeah. Unless Harper wants to save it for another day" he said as he turned to me. I shrugged as I looked forward. "I don't care. You're controlling the horse" I said, as I heard a burst of laughter from the back. "Harper's just go with the flow today, isn't she?" Toshiie asked as I sighed. "What? I'm still new to outside the army. I don't know what's out there" I said, looking ahead of us. Hambee chuckled as he spoke. "Harper seemed to just enjoy being out with us," he said, as I sighed. Dad sighed as he clicked his legs against the horse, as we continued to go. "Why not? Let's check this out, then we'll go home. Sounds good Harp?" he asked as I nodded. "This time I'll stay with you and not get lost," I said, as I looked ahead of me.

Dad sighed as he spoke. "I don't think you'll get lost here. There's only one way in and one way out" he said, as he started to turn on a dirt trail that turned left and kept going into the woods. The pathway was a little more gravely than our original road, but the horses seemed to have no problem with it. We continued to go slow, which still allowed me to look around at the trees, seeing little squirrels and chipmunks, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. Little flowers were poking through the grass in different shapes and colors. The sun was making shadows from everything, which made some of the roads a little colder than before. The horse started to go a little faster, picking up speed as we rode deep in the woods. I still continued to look around, making sure that nothing attacked us, or looked suspicious as we rode on. This time I was expecting it, even though the army wouldn't let me get hurt. I rubbed my side as I felt the knife that I kept with me, clipped to my side. I looked down at it as I made sure that it was still there and not going to fall off. "Everything alright Harper?" dad asked as I looked up at him. "Yeah, just making sure the knife didn't fall. I'm not used to having it on me. It kinda makes me feel dangerous" I said, as I looked down at the ground. Dad looked down at me in confusion as Mitsunari spoke. "It doesn't feel safe to keep the knife on you?" he asked as I sighed. "It does, but at the same time, it doesn't. I feel safe to know that I can officially defend myself now, but what if I end up hurting someone I'm not supposed to? Like what I did with the Sanada army" I asked, feeling the regret for using it against them. Dad sighed as he spoke. "Harp. You didn't know the Sanada army then. They were just stranger's to you at first. You were only defending yourself, which makes me proud. They also thought you were deeply trained with using knives. It impressed them" he said, as I thought back to when I first woke up with the Sanada army's base. "I attacked out of fear. I just kinda just figured out how to use it" I said as I looked up in front of us.