The Promise

Dedicated to a fellow history enthusiast.

Thanks for adding The General's Cause to your reading list! Enjoy!

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https://youtu.be/0OABTECBg3o

[Author's note: Transition song to indicate the passage of time as well as set the tone.]


Several years later...

"Brother, what do we have here?"

"Silence if you'll permit it," said the Conqueror, glancing at his younger spoiled brother with slight annoyance in his tone. Dressed in a simple outfit that stressed utility over elegance, black fabric draped him entirely from his collar to his boots. Indeed, his stature was the same, but his jaw had only elongated in the years he had spent in the sun fighting. No one could now claim he did not impose an intimidating figure as he stood in the stark sunlight atop a dark war horse, glaring down at his subordinates with quiet fury.

His soldiers on the ground trembled, hoping their own silence would be enough.

"General!", he called out, motioning for the General to ride besides him.

The General curtly nodded and positioned his horse behind him in the training grounds.

"What say you? Up for a good sparring?", the Conqueror asked, a trace of mirth in his eyes.

The General only cupped a fist, raising it to the Conqueror in obedience.

"Never mind that. I will not force an unwilling opponent," he yelled. Approaching the General, he muttered, "Besides, I know you barely fight anyone off the battlefield as per your code."

Clicking his tongue, he pointed afar towards two horses that were nearing, and added, "What do you think of the rider, Sixteenth?"

His younger brother, the Sixteenth, laughed, saying, "Which one? The tall one or the short one?"

"You'll see," muttered the Conqueror, sheathing his sword back in its place as the two riders unsaddled, guiding their horses into the stable.

The sound of beads jingling in the air was followed by the swish of untamed hair as the shorter rider stretched her arms to the sky as she jumped off the horse.

Sixteenth Prince's jaw dropped, he could only stare in shock as the shorter rider was revealed to be a female tribe lady.

"Her?", he asked, looking at the Conqueror for explanation.

"The daughter of an allied tribe's Chieftain."

As the sun traced her steps, shadows graced her dashing maroon cape as it swung in the breeze. She made out a short, imposing figure, taking brisk steps to get to the center of the camp.

"Hair as soft as...", the Sixteenth Prince started.

"Leaves," the Conqueror added, having spot some in her wild hair. Her long mane was decorated with colorful leaves while others had been seemingly blown into it by the harsh winds.

"Can I wed her?", inquired the Sixteenth Prince, gleefully eyeing the raven-haired beauty.

The Conqueror rebuked him, lifting a hand as the Sixteenth Prince cowered atop his horse.

"Brother," he cried, "When will it be my time to contribute to our national prosperity?"

"She is a visiting dignitary, a guest. And you should treat her as such," his brother replied, clearly not the answer that Sixteenth Prince had been expecting by the look of surprise on his face.

Sixteenth Prince clicked his tongue as the General looked on, used to their brotherly dynamic.

How he wished his own brother were still alive to see the sun rise.

The Chieftain's Daughter picked up a bow, and studied it, sniffing the wood as she gauged how freshly made it was.

"What? Pretty princess wants to try it out?", sarcastically asked a lowly soldier.

"I wonder how far it [the arrow] will go. Might make it past her shoulder if she's lucky," said a nobleman dressed in soldier gear, snickering at the tribal lady.

Suddenly, she raised the bow, aimed and fired, barely missing the second soldier's head as the arrow struck the bullseye set up in the middle of the field.

"Watch your step. These are training grounds after all," she taunted, gently dropping the bow on the table as she made her way to the royal tent.

"That ingrate!", yelled the highly ranked soldier, held back by his fellow countrymen.

While Sixteenth Prince sighed, awestruck at her show of military strength, the Conqueror observed, that throughout the entire altercation,  the General had shown no hint of emotion nor sign he would move to help the damsel.

Strange, he thought. Out of all the women with battle experience under their belt that he had introduced to him, several whom were currently serving in the army, he was sure that this Chieftain's Daughter would at least pique his interest a bit.

Did his vow of silence apply to chastity too? The Conqueror shivered. What a life would be without the pleasure of female company?

Not as noisy, he supposed. Too many palace ladies led to a nasty headache for the young ruler.

However, a Japanese Shogun had promised his daughter recently in exchange for an alliance against the Japanese Pirates that pillaged the coastal villages, straining the Conqueror's kingdom's resources fighting them off instead of defending the borders with other countries.

Since his younger brother was here and not at the academy studying, a brilliant idea popped into his head.

Sixteenth Prince had no wife yet to speak of, and the Conqueror had five concubines too many.

"Perfect!", he muttered out loud.

"Yes, she is shining like a dew drop in the morning sun. I could start a poem about her, and not ever be done."

The Conqueror turned his head. "Are you not ashamed?"

"Of what?", the Sixteenth Prince inquired.

"Never mind. General?"

 The General leapt off his horse quickly, and kneeled in the ground, awaiting instruction.

"Escort the Chieftain's Daughter around the grounds."

The General cupped his fist and nodded. Promptly turning around, he left as silent as the grave.

"He creeps me out. How does he do that?", exclaimed the Sixteenth Prince.

"Be nice," the Conqueror replied.

"Do you say that as a King or as a Brother?"

"Which one will make you shut up faster?", the King quipped.

"None," answered Sixteenth Prince, laughing as he went off in search of a meal.

"That fool...I need to have a word with Master Chen about his education. It is clearly lacking in some areas if he can think that arguing with a sovereign ruler is a good idea. I mean I may be his brother, but what would the King of..."

He trailed off as he eyed the odd pair, the General and the Chieftain's Daughter, strolling through the camp.

"Now that would be a sight for sore eyes," he muttered.

A plan was quickly hatched together.

I am a genius.


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Author's note: The joke is he only has five concubines. (He'd rather have none because they're a handful already.)

Author's note: (Drama that the chapter theme song is from is Ashes of Love aka ANGST-the drama.) Seriously had to drop it after episode 38/40 or so, and watch the last several episodes cuz it drags for quite a bit after that. (it's 63 episodes.) Something that I did not particularly like which happened quite a bit was no transition between heavy scenes and light ones. For example, one scene-the backstory of the second male lead was explored, and...tragedy happened, the next the male lead's having a fun time trying to romance the female lead and making jokes with no transition, it was jarring to say the least.

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