Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ Captain of the Guard! ❯ The Capital Saga! Seven ( Chapter 29 )

The Capital Saga: Part Seven

Poor Miki was shaken to the core to hear of Wakaba's attack on the princess when the blue haired courtier returned from his latest excursion to the library. Anthy had recovered some of her clothing by then, the others watching over Wakaba worriedly.

"I'm all right," Wakaba said crossly as Shiori hovered over her.

"Would it help if I said I'm not too worried about you?" Shiori asked her wryly. The purple haired sorceress passed her hands just over Wakaba's body, her expression thoughtful, "I'm getting better at feeling the traces this Mikage leaves behind."

"Can you find him?" Anthy asked, the expression on her face fierce. Attacking her through her friends had angered the princess, that was obvious. The dark violet haired girl's dusky cheeks were bright red with her anger, her dark eyes glittering.

Utena put her hand on to her lover's shoulder, "I seem to remember once you counseled Juri and I over loosing our tempers."

Anthy hesitated, then smiled slightly up at the pink haired woman beside her. "Thank you," she murmured softly.

Shiori smiled grimly, "I'll try my best to find him, princess." Gravely she continued, "I think we must try to wrap this up before your coronation as queen in three days."

"If it helps," Miki looked over at Wakaba with a clearly worried look on his face, "I've found some scrolls of Mikage's history." The blue haired man made a face, "It doesn't say what ultimately happened to him, but it does reveal the kinds of magic he used."

"Well done, Miki," Juri murmured, her long orange hair braided backwards..

"But what do we do once we find him?" Nanami asked them all crisply. Her long golden hair flowed over her shoulders as the commander carefully avoided looking over at Keiko, a faint blush coloring her cheeks occasionally.

"Is he spirit or flesh?" a faintly blushing Keiko agreed with Nanami, her own brown hair tied back tightly. "And his magics seem quite potent..."

"Well isn't that interesting," Anthy murmured as they watched how the two young women acted around each other, and Utena smiled slightly.

"I might have a solution," Utena murmured. She looked over at Juri and the others, "Can you watch over Anthy for me? There's something that I need to do."

"Of course," Shiori agreed, "but what will you be doing?"

"Reforging the Sword of Dios," Utena said simply. She looked over at Nanami, "Is there a sword-smith in the castle?"

"I'll take you to him," Nanami volunteered crisply.

"The blade can be reforged," Shiori spoke up, "but the magics bound to it are in tatters. Call me once the blade is ready, and I will try to restore them."

Utena nodded to Shiori crisply, then she looked over at Anthy. "I'll be back here as quickly as I can," she promised her.

"Please," Anthy smiled, but her eyes were grave.

Nanami lead Utena down the hall, but Utena reached out to stop her. "We need to stop at the princess' quarters first, the fragments of the sword are there," she explained.

"Right," and the two detoured towards the rooms in the royal wing. They didn't run, but their pace would have left most others behind as they entered the set of rooms. Utena rummaged through her bags, producing a cloth bag that clanked slightly as she moved. "Is that it?" Nanami asked as she lead the way down to the ground level.

"The pieces of the Sword of Dios," Utena agreed as they strode through the gaily decorated halls of the palace. She smiled to herself, "Shiori collected the fragments for me, after the blade itself was shattered."

"This weapon, it was magically powered?" Nanami asked. "Do you really believe it may be able to help us against the magician Mikage?"

"It helped slay a roaming spirit that threatened Anthy's life," Utena said, wisely leaving out that it had been her brother Akio's ghost. The princess had enough problems without letting that bit of information being revealed..

"And if he is flesh and blood?" Nanami asked as they descended one of the great stairways.

"Even better," Utena said dryly. They walked across the great entry hall and then out through the massive doors. She looked around, "Where to next?"

"This way," Nanami lead her towards a great stone structure, built up against the outer wall. White smoke rose from the chimney, and as they grew nearer they could hear the sound of a hammer striking on a metal anvil. Heat seemed to radiate from the structure, and the scent of coal and raw iron was carried on the breeze.

"Yes?" the big bear of a man was turned away from them, but as soon as they got with in a few feet of him he had spoken up. He turned to look at them, clean shaven and hair tied back, his muscles bulging beneath a protective leather shirt.

"We have a commission for you," Utena spoke up.

"Who's she?" he asked Nanami, giving Utena a skeptical gaze.

"Taryn," Nanami said in scolding tones. She smiled slightly, "This is the Captain of the Princess' guard and her consort, Tenjou Utena."

"Huh," Taryn looked Utena up and down. "A bit scrawny for the guards, aren't you girl?" he asked her cheerfully.

"I manage, somehow," Utena said dryly.

Taryn surprised her by breaking into loud laughter. "Good for you," he clapped her on the shoulder, nearly sending Utena falling to the ground with the force of the blow, "you don't let yourself be bullied!" He grinned, "Now you were saying something about a commission?"

"We need a sword reforged," Nanami said, smiling slightly at the look on Utena's face.

"The pieces?" Taryn said thoughtfully.

Utena unwrapped the bag she was using to carry them, spreading them out on a worktable nearby. The metal almost glowed, twinkling silver in the light. "Here they are," she said.

"This is fine," Taryn picked up a piece, turning it over in his fingers. He opened his mouth, laid the piece on his tongue, then closed his mouth.

"What in the.." Utena blurted out.

"Shhh," Nanami jabbed her in the ribs.

The smith spat the metal back into the palm of his hand, then he looked down at the shards laying there on the table. With an almost uncanny knack he began to arrange all the pieces, shifting them around like a puzzle. In less time it took to tell the shape of a sword gleamed there, a shape that was achingly familiar to Utena.

Taryn gave her a sympathetic glance before he quietly asked Utena, "Is this what the sword once looked like?"

"Yes," Utena nodded slightly. She took a nervous breath, "Is there some way you can.."

"It won't be the same," Taryn shifted the shards around thoughtfully, "it can't be. But I can use this alloy, try to create something as close as I can."

Nanami spoke up, "But how long will it take?"

"Huh," Taryn mused, "that's a good question, ma'am." The big man looked at the sword, then over at Utena thoughtfully. He seemed to sense the urgency in the young woman as he said, "Two days, I can't do it any faster without risking the quality of the blade."

'It would give them a very small window to act,' Utena mused, 'the coronation of Queen Anthy was in three days.' Somehow, she knew that the enemy would act before the coronation, to prevent her from becoming queen.

"Thank you," Utena said softly. She smiled grimly, "Send a page to let us know when you begin shaping and tempering the blade."

Nanami and Utena left soon after, after watching the smith Taryn heat the great forge and then begin melting the shards down. "Are you going to send Shiori down to work on it while he's finishing the blade?" Nanami asked.

"I hope it'll work," Utena admitted, "we need the blade ready as soon as possible."

To be continued...