[The Princes VI] [Antiques] The sun beat down on Si and he felt good. The pure physical exertion was exhilarating and the routine was pleasant, it felt almost like everything was normal again - if not for the extra eighty boys on the sand with them. The practice sand was a large square area surrounded by a wall high enough not to allow the boys to become distracted by anything that might be occurring outside the practice area. To one end of the practice sand was a brick building that held all the practice weapons, and to the other end was a simple set of bleachers that allowed visiting fathers to watch their sons. Si always liked it when his father was sitting in the bleachers watching, but for the last several weeks father had only been able to attend the occasional competitions inside the old palace arena where the showers were located the boys would use after practice. Si noticed there was a new smell to the sand now, and it wasn’t all that pleasant, but the breeze came over the wall often enough to carry it away. The practice sand had, until a few weeks ago, only been used by Si and his twenty-five cousins, but now, the number of boys on the sand grew to over one-hundred with the addition of the eighty new boys. Additional instructors were brought in as well and now every five man battle team had their own instructor drilling them. The boys drilled with the Kitsune battle Pike and Katana, the Carinian Trident, the Demonian curved Garma short sword, the Daraian Talon Dagger, and even the deadly Cormon Flayer, a chain whip with twenty-one serrated razor sharp metal links. During the first few months the orphan boys turned warriors looked like they were ready to drop by mid-day, but now they were becoming toned and tanned in the sun and their skills with hand weapons were growing. The boys would drill until mid-morning when they would shower and eat breakfast, then march to the Throne Room for Court, followed by classes later in the day. In this manner the orphan-warriors remained at the Princes side and received the same education and training as their Princes. Si heard the command from the senior instructor to halt the current drills and ran to line up in formation. The senior instructor waited for the boys using weapons to finish putting their practice weapons away in the brick building - and for the other instructors to find a safe place against the walls. The boys tensed, muscles quivered - Si’s every sinew was poised - they were ready, each team carefully eyed the next, this would be the moment of truth when cunning, physical stamina, and pure combat skills would lead them to victory or defeat. The Senior Instructor blew his whistle and over one-hundred boys turned in mass with a speed that defied their young age and leaped forward for the dash to the showers. Fists, elbows, knees, legs - all weapons at their disposal were brought into play. Rank and station made no difference; all were equal as they charged for the coveted twelve shower heads of the locker room and screaming a battle charge that would have made seasoned warriors flee. The days of the pleasant and comfortable shower room that was the respite of the princes was over. The showers were always cleaned and neat when the first boy arrived, but now, Si was amazed that such damage could be done in only the twenty minutes allotted one-hundred boys to shower and change out of their practice clothing. Si didn’t bother trying to make it all the way to the showers immediately. The real trick, he discovered, was that one-hundred boys could not possibly fit into the locker room. The arena outside the shower was now the new locker room. Servants lined the walls waiting to assist the boys once they were showered. Si ran for his spot along the wall next to his favorite servant. Si had learned this servant always stood in the exact same spot, so in the morning before practice he would drop his equipment bag with his change of clothes right here. Si stripped and dropped his sweaty practice clothing on top of his equipment bag and ran for the shower. Many of the boys adopted this new tactic. Now all they needed to do was fight through the crowd towards the water. He only needed a few moments under the water, he would never have gotten more, another boy would have pushed him out if he took any longer than absolutely necessary. By the time a wet and dripping Si returned to his equipment bag, the servant had already picked up his dirty practice clothes and… well, Si had no idea where the volume of clothing collected from the boys went to, or how they kept track of whose clothing was whose. Fresh clothing would magically materialize on the chair in his room by morning along with his equipment bag containing the correct fresh clothing inside for the day. The servant held an armful of white towels in his arms and Si grabbed one, as were other wet and dripping boys. Si dried himself and dressed quickly; stopping only for those things he could not do for himself. Si would have to wait sometimes as the servant finished helping other boys; tying the tunic lacing, or the shoes of the younger boys, or any other numerous tasks. Si grabbed his equipment bag and ran it over to the bleachers where he lined it up in a row on the first bleacher with the other boy’s equipment bags. Again, Si had no idea how they sorted all this out, but the bag would appear again in the morning next to the chair his clothes would be on. The boys started lining up with the oldest boys going down the line checking everyone. The boys then marched to breakfast, and this was Si’s most favorite part of the day now. The pressure from the Courtesans on Si’s father had been intense, they wanted to see the boys each day and with them eating inside the Children’s Dining Hall, and with the old Palace closed to all but the occasional visiting father, servants, or House Tolnor, it was now impossible. Lord Tolnor solved the problem by moving long tables out into the gardens and serving breakfast there. Lord Tolnor set up barricades that kept the Courtesans at a healthy distance but still allowed them to observe. The boys marched in a line that snaked through the gardens and over the footbridges until they reached the breakfast tables. The line split in fourths and marched until each boy stood behind a chair. Prince Akio gave the command and the boys sat and dug into the piles of pancakes, fruits, cereals, and juices. Courtesans were able to watch from three hedge paths away. The Courtesans learned quickly when one of their number violated the barrier and tried to come closer. One of Lord Tolnor’s Chefs’s chased the Courtesan completely around the Palace and out the east gate with a butcher knife. Si and his army stood at the command from Marshal with Akio at his side coaching him and waited as an army of servants descended on the boys and washed hands and faces. Marshal and Akio marched the boys to the front gate next and stopped to face the throngs of waiting crowds that had grown to epic proportions over the last two months. Si wondered which boy would be grabbed today, it never failed, every day some fool would reach through the gates and grab at one of the boys. The difference now was the snipers were being forced to hold their shots. The orphan-warriors didn’t yet have the discipline to hold their positions when someone would grab one of group. A sniper round had grazed the cheek of one of the boys because the moment some fool grabbed a boy, the orphan boys leaped at the attacker and would pull the attacker tight against the bars and beat the would be attacker; usually to death. Si noticed the orphan-warriors eyes would be cold and dead when that occurred. The orphan-warriors had suffered the worst injustice in the slave pods and now would serve justice swift and without mercy. Every boy in Sionnach’s Eighty had their own coins now and the popularity of collecting the coins, which had always been moderately popular, had grown to an amazing industry throughout the twenty-seven worlds. Marshal’s coin was now the second most coveted behind Staren, another orphan-warrior of striking features. Staren’s deep dark eyes and easy personality among the crowds propelled his coin to be valued at twenty-thousand gold Imperials; five times what any coin had ever been valued before. The boys continued their march to the Throne Room and the orphan warriors took up a position along the walls while the cousins ringed the Throne in front of Si as usual. The Emperor motioned for the Courtesans to come forward and hand their petitions to his Princes. The entire Court was surprised when Prince Akio stepped out of the line of the younger Princes and walked around to hand a petition to the Emperor’s Senior Prince. Akio stood, facing the Emperor as the elder Prince read the petition silently then turned around and faced the Emperor. The Emperor watched with some curiosity wondering what this was all about. The Emperor’s Senior Prince then turned and faced the Throne. “My Emperor,” the Senior Prince said formally, “The Princedom of Aguienth, Ruler of the Moons of Kitsune, requests to be permitted to open purchase negotiations with House Sparrow of the Sovereign World of Darai.” Now the Emperor was not only curious, but amused. “And what is the nature of the purchase the Princedom of Aguienth wishes to pursue?” asked the Emperor. Akio took a deep breath and began. “Emperor, The Princedom of Aguienth is responsible for the near orbit defense fleet located on the moons of Kitsune,” said Akio. “The Needle ship is an aging fighter ship that has been kept in service for too long. Prince Sionnach wishes to begin negotiations to update the fleet with a new fighter.” Despite Kitsune and Darai being in a nearly constant state of war, business was business and House Sparrow had always dealt honestly with it’s customers. House Sparrow would sell the base version of a ship, but never the weapons platform necessary to convert it to a war ship, though the Kitsune were very capable of doing those themselves. “I am unaware of any new ship available from House Sparrow,” said the Emperor. “They have a prototype ship called the Dart,” replied Akio. “I have heard they are having some difficultly getting that design to work properly,” stated the Emperor. “At this stage of the negotiations The Princedom only wishes to determine the feasibility of upgrading the fleet,” said Akio. “Prince Sionnach wishes to begin assuming a more active role as the Ruler of the Moons of Kitsune and defense of our planet.” “Father?” interrupted Si. “This is dumb, I’m sitting right here, can’t I just ask you?” “We are speaking as Emperor to the Princedom,” said the Emperor keeping his head forward and not looking at his beloved son sitting next to him. “This is how it’s done, now allow your Princes to do their jobs.” Si sighed and sat back. “We agree that the Prince is ready to assume a greater role in the Princedom,” said the Emperor. “Do you have a cost analysis for the upgrade?” Akio passed a folder to the Senior Prince who in turn passed it to the Emperor. Emperor Tarin looked at the figures and forced himself not to react - the sum was the entire Imperial and Princedom Treasury as well as all of Si’s personal funds. The Emperor understood what Si was doing; this had nothing to do with buying ships that weren’t even off the drawing board yet. Si intended to hide his treasury off planet in the one place the Empire had no control over, and it wasn’t a bad plan. Lord Sparrow, though the Emperor hated Daraians, was known to be painfully honest. The Emperor wondered if this wasn’t Lord Tolnor’s idea; for a Chef the man had a very good sense for politics. “We will have our personal secretary adjust these figures,” said the Emperor, “but you make it very clear to the Prince I do not want Daraians on my planet, if he must meet with those vile disgusting creatures, he can do it in his own Princedom.” Si jumped up on his throne and faced his father. “Really! Honest!,” yelled Si. “I can go up to my moons!” “Yes, son,” said the Emperor. “It is time for you to visit your Princedom, now sit down and act your age.” Si tipped his head sideways and closed one eye. Father and son laughed and the Courtesans joined in. The day finally ended and none to soon, the orphan-warriors looked liked they wanted to bolt and Marshal asked Si how they could stand so many people staring at them all day long. Si finished his studies and the boys headed to the Children’s Dining Hall for dinner. The silver serving tables had long since disappeared and they were now served from the windows that led through to the kitchen. The boys were treated to grilled cheese sandwiches and fries; another favorite treasure. Lord Tolnor seemed to have no end of treasures hiding in his kitchen. Si waved at Lord Tolnor. “Anything today?” asked Si. “Nothing of note,” replied Lord Tolnor. Lord Tolnor had been a constant source of surprises over the last two months and Si always checked every day if he had found more supplies. Lord Tolnor had produced a wide range of supplies for Si’s army. The first was boxes of tents, lanterns, field packs, and these were followed with a few boring items like shovels, hammers, nails, and other things Si really didn’t see any purpose to. The most interesting so far that Lord Tolnor produced was crates of a very strange looking hat. The hat had a wide brim all the way around with a high crown in the center and some of them were decorated with leather strings wrapped around the crown. Lord Tolnor said they were left over from hundreds of years ago and had been in fashion for a short time. Si devoured his grilled cheese and decided he wanted to play with his samurai figures a little before he had to go practice with his army in the ballroom until bedtime. The boys were still eating with many returning to the serving windows for seconds as Si slipped out of the dinning hall. Si was stopped just outside the doors by a tug on his sleeve. “Mister Prince,” said a small voice. Si looked down at the small boy, the youngest of the orphan warriors at barely five-years old. The boy was on Prince Veneith’s team. His team stood waiting a short distance away. “You’re Maz, aren’t you?” said Si. “I found something for you,” said the boy. “What?” asked Si. “Come on, I show you,” said Maz. Si looked at his cousin Veneith who just shrugged. “We were playing hide and seek in the basement and he just keeps saying he has to show you something,” said Veneith. The boy led his team and Si towards the basement. The stairs to the basement was in a back hall used by servants, but also made an excellent place to hide during war games, and hide and seek. The stairs led down to the basement. Old tables, chairs, and other bits of furniture no longer used and stored away when everyone had moved to the new Palace were stored along the walls. The basement was a wealth of treasures and Si suspected Lord Tolnor found many of the supplies he was collecting for their army down here in old boxes. Maz guided the boys through some rarely used side halls and down another two flights of stairs. These were the oldest sections of the old Palace and had dim bulbs hanging from the ceiling to light the way. Maz stopped at an old iron door that looked like it could withstand a nuclear blast. The boy pulled out a key and inserted it into the lock and turned; the door swung open. “Where did you get that key?” asked Si knowing exactly what the key was. He had searched for years to find the lost master key. Maz shrugged. “May I have it?” asked Si. Maz surrendered the key and Si dropped it into his own pocket. Si peered into the darkness; it was a little too dark, even for him. “We need flashlights,” said Si. Maz reached up and turned a switch on the wall. The bulbs lit and revealed another tunnel with a stairwell going even further down. Si hit himself on the side of the head for missing the obvious; turn on the light. Maz ran passed Si and down the stairs. Si and the others followed. The stairs went down further than Si would have thought, they were very far underground now, it was possible that nobody had been in here for a thousand years. The stairs ended and opened into a large cavernous tunnel; Si couldn’t see the end of the tunnel through the darkness. Maz led the way; perhaps two-hundred yards into the darkness and then the boy turned into a side passage and again turned another light on. Si didn’t know what he was looking at. The room was very large with a vaulted ceiling, a dirt floor and dirt mounds at different distances scattered across the room all the way to furthest end of the room. Several rooms led off to the sides and crates were stacked against the back wall. “Not this,” said Maz. “This.” Maz pointed at the crates and ran over to one and lifted the lid of the first crate. Si looked down into the crates. “Oh ancient ancestors,” breathed Si and his cousin at the same time. “I think those are guns,” said Veneith. “Really, Really old guns.” “What are they doing here?” asked Si. “No idea,” replied Veneith. Si turned to Maz and the other boys. “Quickly, you four run as fast as you can and find Lord Tolnor,” ordered Si. “Veneith and I will wait here, go!” The boys dashed off at a run while Si and his cousin looked at the ancient guns. Si picked one up and looked at it. The gun was a priceless antique, Si was sure of that. The barrel was about seven inches long and had a cylinder in the middle. The handle was made of wood and the gun felt heavy and lethal in Si’s hand. This wasn’t the feather light compressed-air-missile-rifles Si got to practice with sometimes. Si and Veneith started searching through the crates and found more of the hand guns, along with smaller crates of something they couldn’t figure out what they were. The boxes in these crates contained something that looked like ancient rocket ships made out of shiny brass, each one about the length of Si’s smallest finger. “Hey, Si,” shouted Veneith. “Look at these.” Si ran over to another set of crates Veneith was looking in. The crate held rows and rows of antique rifles. “What are they?” asked Veneith. “Those are antique long rifles,” said Lord Tolnor walking in with Si’s army on his heals. Si turned to Lord Tolnor. The other boys were spreading out looking down at the antique weapons. “What are all these and how did they get here?” asked Si. Lord Tolnor picked one of the hand guns up and inspected it; he had a grin on his face. “These smaller ones are called revolvers,” said Lord Tolnor. “They were the weapons of the Old Guard before the Black Guard took over, nearly a thousand years ago. The Black Guard took over the same day everyone moved to the new Palace. I would imagine the Old Guard stored their weapons away here before they left and this place just got forgotten over the centuries.” “Do they still work?” asked Akio picking up one of the antique revolvers. “If I remember my history right,” said Lord Tolnor. “They were forged on Demonia, so yes; I would think they will still work.” Si was so excited he was nearly jumping up and down. “We can use them to defend?” asked Si. Lord Tolnor picked up one of the bullets from the ammunition crates Si had explored and inspected the round. “If these bullets are still good, perhaps,” said Lord Tolnor. “What’s a bullet?” asked Akio. “These revolvers only hold six bullets at a time,” explained Lord Tolnor. “They are very difficult to use and require precision firing; they are not like our current weapons that can fire compressed-air-missiles forever as long as you have an air supply.” “Then they are no good?” asked Si disappointed. “Oh, they are very good,” said Lord Tolnor. “These weapons are all about demoralizing the enemy very quickly; if you get hit by one of these it will blow a hole through you the size of your fist.” “We should give them out,” said Akio. “Not yet, this room is a practice range,” explained Lord Tolnor. “Nobody upstairs will be able to hear us practicing, but we need to train everyone first, and keep this a secret. We don’t want the enemy to know we have weapons.” “Okay, but who gets which ones?” asked Si. “If I remember, the Officers carried the revolvers and the soldiers carried the long rifles,” said Lord Tolnor. “We can start…” Lord Tolnor was interrupted by a thunderous explosion followed by another and another and another. The boys dove for the ground and covered their ears, even Lord Tolnor was crouching on the floor. The boys looked up and saw Marshal facing the far end of the room where the dirt mounds were at; he was aiming one of the revolvers and shooting at the dirt. Marshal had some kind of belt wrapped around his waist and was wearing one of the funny hats Lord Tolnor found and some of the boys had taken to wearing. Marshal turned around and faced the other boys; he looked terrifying. Marshal shoved the revolver into some kind of pocket on the side of the belt. “The guns work,” shouted Marshal. “Where did you find that belt?” shouted Si barely able to hear himself, his ears was still ringing. Marshal pointed at one of the side rooms. “More stuff in those rooms,” said Marshal. “Boys, I think we have ourselves an army,” said Lord Tolnor. “Everyone spread out and search all the rooms, but show me before you go shooting anything else.”