[The Princes I] [Drums and Toy Swords] Lunge… perry… step… step… Lunge… Lunge… Si flicked his wrist and scored a point. “Point, Sionnach,” declared the judge. Si pulled at the cords attached to his saber and the back of the electric scoring vest he wore. The cords always got in his way. The cord that attached from his saber to the sleeve of his vest was too long and the retracting cable attached to his vest never worked right. The competition lane Si was assigned was furthest away from the stands full of fathers watching their sons demonstrate their prowess with the saber. Si ran back to the starting line and flexed his knees and watched for the floor judge to begin the next round, three points of five were needed to win and Si had two already. Si was six years old, darkly tanned and toned from hours on the practice sand. He had a neatly groomed head of sandy hair pulled back and tied into a tail that fell to his waist; warrior knots held the tail at precisely three inch intervals. Si was very proud of the length of his tail, it showed that he had never been punished for disobedience, there were few boys of his age that had a full warriors tail. Si looked for his father in the stands to give him guidance, twelve other lanes blocked his vision of the stands. He couldn’t see his father. The next point was critical and if he scored he would win this match and move ahead to the next tier. He had already won three matches in a row and the next would put him against a boy much older than the one he faced now. Si would have to make this decision alone. The floor judge dropped his hand and Si leaped forward. Lunge… Step… Lunge… The boy he faced dropped his guard. Si saw it. The boy was going to feint and lunge if Si raised his saber for a neck or head point. The move was so transparent, Si knew an over-head attack was incorrect, he should Perry left and slash downward. The point would be across the wrist and only count as a half-point and require another attack to gain the needed win. Si decided. He lifted his sword over his head for the head shot and felt the boys saber press against his chest. “One point for three to Sephin,” declared the judge. Si lost. Sephin, also six years old, stepped forward and bowed to Si. “Well fought, Sionnach,” said the boy. “Well fought, Sephin,” said Si bowing two inches lower to the boy and gave him the respect due his win. The boys cleared the lane for the next two competitors and ran to the side benches to join the other boys. Si sat up straight, his head and eyes forward carefully watching the remainder of the match. The match lasted another half hour and Si never moved a muscle, as did every other boy. Discipline was very important and their fathers were watching. The match ended and the boy’s fathers came to congratulate their sons before leaving for their own duties in the Palace. Si held his perfect posture and waited for his own father. Si kept his eyes straight ahead and sat up a little straighter as his father approached and stood in front of him. “Why did you choose to lose the match?” his father asked. “I was not last or first,” said Si. “And why is that?” Si’s father motioned for him to stand and Si stood and looked up at his father. “I must never humiliate my opponents but instead remain humble,” explained Si. “That is noble and true, but is that the whole reason for throwing the match?” his father pressed him for the answer he already knew. “The next match would have put me against an opponent I could not beat,” explained Si, “it was better to give the match to Sephin and wait until when I can beat the next boy.” “And what do you gain from this tactic?” his father asked. “I gain Seph’s loyalty by giving him a win so he will not be teased and tell my enemies I am not reckless,” replied Si. “Very good, Son,” replied father. “Thank you, father,” said Si. “You may go,” said father. Si collected his gear and headed for the showers. The other boys were already there, Si loved the showers, it was the one place where rank and station didn’t matter. The boys could play and splash, or snap towels at each other, the atmosphere was one of a brother comrades. Every boy here was Si’s cousin. “Hey Si,” shouted Seph. “I saved you a shower.” Si stripped off his fencing uniform and ran for the shower Seph was holding for him, not that he really needed to hold it, his cousins knew the shower next to Seph always belonged to Si. Seph’s brother, Alden, was under the water of the shower on the other side of Seph. “Thanks for the win,” said Seph. “He’s just scared to fight me,” said Tannon in the next shower next to Si. “Shut up, you’re six years older than Si,” said Seph. “The fight wouldn’t be fair, and he might beat you anyway, he’s the best.” Si became instantly angry, Tannon was always picking on Seph. Si casually dropped his soap on the ground and put his foot on top of it. “You couldn’t win for real if you tried,” Tannon taunted Seph. “How are you supposed to protect him?” Si moved around, dragging the soap under his foot. “You think you can do better?” said Seph. “A baby could do better,” retorted Tannon. “I don’t need protection,” said Si. “Especially not from you cousin, there is not rank here, come at me now if you are brave enough.” Tannon pretended to lunge at Si but when his foot came down on the floor where Si had soaped the floor, Tannon’s foot came out from under him and he landed hard on the wet floor. Tannon immediately curled up and grabbed his leg, tears formed in his eyes and he looked up at his cousin. Si looked down at the older boy angrily. “Don’t call Seph a baby,” said Si. Tannon shook his head and tried hard to keep from crying, his leg hurt bad and his tail bone didn’t feel much better. “Nothing smart to say now?” said Si. Carnen, Tannon’s older brother by two years left his own shower and came over and knelt down next to Tannon. “Is it broken?” asked Carnen. Tannon bit his lip and said nothing. “Si, he could have really been hurt,” said Carnen. “Did you have to be so mean about punishing him? You tell us no rank in here but the moment one of us tease you or Seph, you punish us.” Si dropped his head, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt him.” Akio, the oldest cousin at seventeen, approached the boys holding a scanner and knelt next to Tannon. Aiko ran the scanner along Tannon’s leg and ordered him to stand and repeated the procedure on his backside. “Nothings broken,” declared Akio picking up the soap Si had used to slick the floor with and handing it back to Si. “Ten thousand years of breeding for cunning and intelligence and you use it to win a petty argument in a cruel way against your cousin?” “I… I’ll…” Si started to say. “Stop,” ordered Aiko. “You are trying to think of a way out, but this is not how you treat your cousins.” “I’m really sorry,” said Si. “What do you want me to do?” “Learn and do not do this again,” said Aiko standing. “Everyone finish your shower, playtime is over, we are expected in the throne room, move it.” Si and his cousins hurried through their showers and started dressing in their formal uniforms. Their tunics displayed the emblem of the flaming sword on a background of white and black trimmed in gold; the colors of the Imperial House Kitsune. Seph helped Si with his ceremonial sword and wrapped the gold trimmed cape around Si’s neck. Aiko carefully inspected each boy and insured they were lined up in the correct order. Aiko went to the front of the line, Seph was second, and Si followed third with his other twenty-two cousins behind him. Aiko led the way out of the locker room and into the competition hall. They rarely used this hall for anything other than formal competitions when their fathers would attend. Most of the time they would be outside on the sand of the practice ground. Palace servants were cleaning up the hall and bowed as the procession of boys marched silently through the arena and out of the building towards the palace. The boys marched through the meticulously manicured gardens and across the ornate ancient foot bridges that were scatter across the winding stream filled with fat gold fish swimming lazily in the sun. The trouble in the shower room faded as the boys marched, they were once again the cousins of House Kitsune and held their heads up with pride. Aiko led the boys to the main gate and stopped, the boys conducted a perfect left facing movement and stepped up to the gates of the palace. The boys then handed five coins each through the gates to the waiting mass of people outside the gate. Each day the cousins were required to give out five coins each. Some in the crowd was true poor beggars hoping for one of the treasured coins to sell, and others were just there to collect the coins. Each cousin had his own coin with his name and image engraved on the coin. The coins were not official currency, but depending on the popularity of that cousin with the people, could be far more valuable. Aiko’s coins were actually more sought after than even Si’s coins. Sephin’s coins were popular with the younger girls and the other cousins had their own followings as well. The boys finished their task, spent a few moments chatting pleasantly with the crowd through the gate. One very foolish man grabbed Carnen’s arm and tried to pull him towards the bars of the gate. The man’s eyes went blank and he fell back into the crowd. Si didn’t even hear the shot, he never did, and he didn’t bother looking for the Black Guard Sniper. Si had tried searching the gardens before to figure out where the snipers hid but had never found a clue. Si suspected there was one sniper for each of his cousins. Several months ago a group of radicals had grabbed five of the boys at once, all five of the would be attackers fell over at the same time. The boys didn’t let it bother them, and anyway, it was good for their popularity and drove up the value of their coin each time someone tried to grab for that boy. Aiko shouted out a command and the boys lined back up for the march into the palace. The Black Guard appeared outside the gate and broke up the crowd while the boys marched away. Si liked the routine of the marching around, there was a certain sense of security being with his cousins. The procession entered through the main doors of the palace, courtesans parting to allow the pride of House Kitsune to march through. The boys were bright faced and smartly dressed. This was always a pleasant diversion to the endless politics that flitted and danced in the corridors of the palace. The boys stopped at a long table covered in a white table cloth and piled with fruits, meats, breads, and juice. Aiko brought the procession to a halt and the boys turned to face the table. At a command from their senior cousin the boys attacked the table and devoured the mounds of food; they would need it for the long day ahead. Si really liked this part of the routine and grabbed food just as greedily as his cousins in an attempt to get the best. The courtesans watched the boys and commented among themselves about the growth and development of each boy. If the boys were to bother listening they would have heard comments like; I do believe Tornith has grown an inch over-night; That Garneal is turning into quite a striking boy - he will be the target of many a hopeful heart; Did you read Salenth’s essay about horses - he is so articulate and only seven years old. But, of course, the boys never listened to the comments of the courtesans, they were more interested in getting to the plate of strawberries before they were gone. Si dipped his strawberry into the bowl of whipped cream and shoved it into his mouth whole. Seph grabbed for a handful of sliced roasted beef and crackers, Tannen fought his brother for the pitcher of sweet fruit juice. Akio gave the one-minute warning and Si shoved some cookies under his tunic and downed the last of his milk and stepped back, the others stepped back as they finished up. Aiko went down the row of boys and tapped the top of nearly each ones head; with each tap a palace servant jumped forward and began washing the boys hands and face. Aiko found Si’s cookies and tossed them back on the table. Si was accosted and washed, his cape and tunic was pulled off and fresh ones pulled back down over his head. Aiko walked the line again and tapped on heads again as he passed. Personal groomers came forward this time adjusted or retied hair tails or adjusted clothing. Three of the boys suffered the indignity of necessitating the entire untying of their tail, brushing, and retying. Aiko was stopped as he was about to give the boys the command to march when the Senior Butler held a hand up and stopped him. The Butler gave Aiko a stern look; Aiko understood and turned red, he had missed something. The Butler snapped his fingers and five Groomers descended on Si, lifted him off the ground and removed his shoes; Si didn’t have socks on. The Groomers quickly socked the giggling boy, replaced his shoes, and set him back down. Courtesans gathered in groups and remarked in very serious tones that boys would be boys despite their stations in life and must be carefully monitored. The conversation quickly spread about Si’s absence of socks and the matter was discussed throughout the Palace as if it were the most important of concerns and of dire consequence to the entire Empire. The News Vid Networks would pick the story up within the hour and twenty-seven worlds, countless mining colonies, and space stations would watch a two hour special on the importance of keeping socks on boys. Talk Show hosts would also discuss the issue for several days and demand to know how Si nearly made it into the throne room without socks on. Aiko gave the command and the boys marched towards the massive carved doors of the throne room. Two ranks of Black Guard fell in line beside the boys and marched with them through the doors, courtesans scrambling to get out of the way. Aiko led the boys to the center of the room where the great emblem of House Kitsune was carved into the floor. The Captain of the Guard lifted his Trident and pounded it three times on the stone floor. Si watched the Captain in fascination, the amphibian Black Guard was fearsome and considered the finest of the marshal orders. “The Imperial Heir, First Prince, Ruler of the Moons of Kitsune, Light of a thousand stars, and descendent of the Immortal Emperors, Prince Sionnach Tarin Aguienth of House Kitsune,” announced the Captain of the Black Guard. Aiko and Sephin stepped to the side and Si walked to the Imperial Throne where is father, Emperor Laeten Senaeth Tarin, was already seated. Prince Aiko, Prince Sephin, and the other twenty-two boy Princes followed. Si climbed the steps and sat on the smaller throne next to his father. Si’s cousins ringed around the front of the throne on Si’s side, his fathers cousins, all grown and powerful men already ringed in front of the throne on his father’s side. Si noticed several gaps were in the line of the grown cousins on his fathers side; probably off-world somewhere. And to the sides of the two lines of cousins were more of Si’s more distant cousins. The Princes of House Kitsune, ruling House of the Glorious Kitsune Empire, rulers of the twenty-seven known worlds of the galaxy were assembled for the business of the day.