Maybe Someday We'll Be Free

I sat quietly on my bed facing my wall and just continued to think. I was only that morning that my life had changed. A new sunrise would only mean suffering now and it did not mean that before. My father and eldest brother were to go off to war in the morning for our country: China. They didn't want to go, I saw it in their eyes but instead they played their parts and bowed to the man then took the scrolls and walking back into the family court yard. I wasn't aloud to come out to greet the messenger with them, so I watched from my favor tree. But, for now, that is mearly history. The only thing that matters is what goes through my mind.

In black ink on my left arm, I wrote one phrase over and over: Honor. Something I could not give my family. I wasn't elegant or beautiful like my older sister, Leah. She had the pretty figure and the cheery blossom cheeks. All I had was the long, ratted black hair that fell down my back. I preferred to rebel but when I was kicked out by the match maker the other day I realized what I had done. Dishonor to my family, all the generations would never forgive me. I would be the black spot on the beautiful tapestries that would hang along our walls for centuries to come. And now, I have made up my mind.

If I was never to love or to marry, then I would do something even more with my life. I would be the only girl to fight for China. How hard could it be to sneak into the army? I slowly stood from my bed, making sure not to wake Leah, and I crept from our room into my brother's room. His scroll lay near the new, shiny armor in the corner. Quickly and quietly, I grabbed the armor and the scroll and snuck from the room. Out in the barn, I untied my beautiful black horse called Star. He would carry me to the training camps and would help me fight for China. Trying to tie my hair up was a new problem. Whatever I tried to do the bun would always fall and I would look like a woman again.

The silver edge of my brother's sword caught my eye and I quickly grabbed it wasting no time. My long black hair was cut short in a few seconds as I tied it back. This was to be my new look and I had to get used to it. Star softly whined in the stall knowing something was different about this midnight ride. He pawed at the ground unsure of what I was doing. "Shh!" I hiss to him, "Do you want us to be discovered?" He stopped moving as a reply and a smile came over my face. "Good boy," I coaxed.

In a few seconds, I had the armor on and she sword hanging at my side. For a woman, I will admit, I am stronger then most others. I quickly took to untying Star and mounting him. Making sure the scroll was secure to my side, I led him towards the gate of our land. There was no turning back now.

Today was supposed to be a normal day-well as normal as can be with a raging war going on, but it was not to be. The messenger had just arrived to enlist any and all men into the army. I was disgusted with the empire. What was a flourishing land and country is now a slaughter house- killing its own men. Do they not understand that father was an old man-that my brother was just a child!? The kitchen window overlooked the court yard where my father and brother dealt with the messenger. I watched as they received scrolls and what looked like uniforms and weapons. I turned my eyes away-trying to keep my tears at bay. As I turned away, something caught my eye. It was my little sister in a tree. I love her so much-she’s a pearl! She’s so beautiful and she does not even know it. She has a way about her-a fiery passion, something so unique and just so…there are no words for it! I know that she will do great things-change the world! I want to be like her, sometimes I envy her so much! Here I am prettied up like a doll and being sold to some man-double my age- and who I will probably never meet because he is in the war. I silently sat like all the other foolish girls when I was Se’mone’s age and I just went along with the whole thing despite my feelings…I regret it…I should’ve fought more like my sister, she truly was untameable and when the right man does come along he will be the perfect man.

The day went on, the household was tense. We were all walking on eggshells around mother and even around each other. We did not know how to react-what to say in fear of one of us breaking down. It seemed like reality of the situation did not hit us-well at least not to me… My sister was probably already planning on doing something drastic-she’s strong and smart like that… I would have to keep a close eye on her.
That night we all went to sleep after dinner filled with heartfelt talks that had the undertones of goodbyes. I had a hard time falling asleep, my mind whirring with thoughts of what could happen to my family but I fell into an exhausted sleep after a while. Too bad I was able to sleep for I did not hear Se’mone leave in the dark of night. The next morning when I was waking up for my early morning rituals, I noticed her bed empty, cold like she had not been there for a while. She left! I was so infuriated!...And so proud! But what would I say to father and brother when she did not come to see them off? I would just have to lie to them…tell them that she was too upset to see them off. But how would I keep her absence from mother? I paced the room trying to come up with a solution. I know! I will just tell mother that my fiancé’s family has requested my presence and I will just take Se’mone along with me for company. Yes…that will work.

She has to have about a few hours of distance by now, so I had better get packing quickly and spin my web of lies even faster…

By mid-day I was heading off to the road, following the tracks of a horse- hoping that it would be Se’mones’. Mother was too distraught over the departure of father and brother- she did not even seem to notice me anymore…

I never knew that a camp of men could be so...joking. Men walking around without their armor...how was I going to pull this one off? okay breath Se'mone. I found myself wanting to talk to Leah, my big sister and my inspiration. A sudden pang of regret washed over me. Maybe I should've stayed home and let my mother dress me up like a figurine doll. Then again, I don't think I could stand to sit there and just let a man be assigned to me.

I walk into the camp and a man approaches me, "And you are?"

I force back a blush and stand taller, "Yin Sang. Youngest son of Yin Sol."

The man looks me up and down, "I remember the Yin family having a younger daughter but not a younger son."

"My brother will be joining us soon," I bite back a little too harshly. Star pawed behind me and I gently nudged him to keep him quiet.

After a few more seconds of hesitation the man held out his hand and clearly I had a confused look on his face because he said, "Scroll."

"Oh," I fumble for the scroll rather quickly and hand it to him.

"This says you are his eldest son," the man answers crossly and I don't manage to hide the blush in my cheeks this time.

"Uh," I manage to whimper out. "The scrolls must've gotten confused..." It was more of a question then a statement.

Finally he excepted the fact and let me get on my way. After a few minutes, I found a isolated spot and set up my tent. It took a while but finally my tent was standing. I sigh and tie up Star then step inside the small tent and lie down on the usually cot. Taking off the armor piece by piece, I threw it to the side and started to relax, this is going to be a long war without anyone to talk to.

"Get a move on! Are you men or not?!" I shouted at several boys falling back in line. I was a captain in the army. Drilling men who acted more like little girls.The Hun Invaders had driven our country desperate for warriors. what disgusted me the most was recruiting old men or those who were in no condition to fight. So, anyone who was not in shape for combat was put on other duties. like supply management. It took me several hours of arguing with the general to ensure that one.

I bit back my lip as the boys struggled to keep running at pace with the other men. "Get moving ladies! Or I will give you three ,more laps!" I barked. now they put more effort into it. More than likely because they had no interest in another three laps around the camp.Three laps at a good speed was nothing for me. However, it took these boys a good three more hours to do it. So that is five hours of running. Yea, this was going to be one hell of a summer.

At the end of the run I looked the exhausted boys over. "get you buts to your tents and rest. Drill two in an hour." I grunted before walking over to the command tent. The general looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Five hours. Ten minutes less from the last two runs." i growled as i got a glass of water.

I had been riding for a total of 10 hours now. I was exhausted and my I had trouble staying awake. I had eaten all of the dry foods-what an idiot I am! I needed to stop and make camp for the night. I could hear the shouts of men coming from ahead and I knew I was not too far from one of the army camps. Perhaps my sister was there...I rode on until I found a hot spring. I got off from the horse and led it to a cooler watering hole nearby. I had named the black stallion Devil Storm because he thundered and charged like the devil himself and yet I knew that he would never betray me. "That's right Storm, drink up buddy" I cooed to my animal companion as I unsaddled some of the cargo. I had a rolled up sleeping mat, a stolen sword and a cross with bows-taken from the treasures of my family heirlooms and a bunch of other things that would no doubt come in handy to me. I excelled with the arrows but the swords-well I'll be lucky if I didn't stab myself with it- fall on it somehow and end my own life...I washed up quickly and got a pot of water to boil over the fire I had just made. I then took my cross and bows and went to look for an animal. I quickly shot my prey in under ten minutes and went to cook my meal. I was just finishing my meal when I heard shouts coming from the army camp that was situated ahead of me...Oh shit! I rushed to put the fire out and threw my gear onto the horse in a rush. The smoke from the fire had given me away! I had to get out of here! They couldn't catch me=I had heard numerous stories of rabid men and their ways. They would not care if I was a married woman, all they would see was a lone woman-defenseless and easy to-I take in a sharp breath and climb onto Storm. I press my heal against his side and spur him on. Hopefully I didn't leave anything behind...

I've been here a single day and yet tears have already begun to sting my eyes. I have never ran that far in my life. I know my eyes must be flashing with hatred as I think of that General that made us run. But, now as I sit in my tent resting my aching feet, I hear men begin to call into the night. Being the curious woman I am, I find myself venturing into the night. Star paws nervously against the ground. He looks towards the West, towards home. In the distance, I can make out the faint shadow of a person near a fire. They douse the fire as the men of the camp make plans to pursue. As for me, I plan on getting to the person first.

In the little moonlight we have, I see the stranger mount a horse. A stallion of midnight black and yet something familiar catches my eye. On the back leg of the horse was a mark, a white mark of my family. That was our horse. My brother or father had come to join the war.

Mounting my own stallion, I ride towards the new comer. Upon approaching, I realize something is wrong. The figure is too short to be my father and too thin to be my brother. Approaching even closer, I could make out their face. A wave of panic swept acrossed me as I hear the men starting to yell. Riding closer, I grab the reins of the new horse and quickly lead them toward my own tent. Just escaping the men, I tied up both horses and pushed the rider into the tent.

"How could you!?" I whisper yell at my sister, Leah. "How could you come and risk your life here?!" Before she could answer, I wrap her into a tight hug.

The general laughed. "This is what happens when the military takes more power. We have to work with what we got."

"Right, can you give me a few years? There are only three even close to being able to keep up with training." I mumbled as I emptied a glass of water. In all honesty, it may take longer with some of these people.

The general made a grunt and sat at a desk. "Take the best of them and further in their training. The rest will be divided and trained in levels. We need to move faster and that means new methods." My face brightened up and I left the tent happily in search of these three candidates.

Someone was riding fast behind me. My heart was in my throat and I feared that I would be caught before I had even reached Se'mone. The man pulled me and my horse forcefully in another direction. A startled yell left my lips as the man pulled me off of Storm and shoved me into the tent. "Let go of-" I feel winded as the man-woman-"Se'mone! Oh thank the gods!" I choke out as she pulls me into a tight embrace. I grab her face as she pulls away "What have you done?! Where-why-" I look at her taking in her appearance-her wardrobe. "No!" I whisper-shout. "No no no no! Come home with me Se'mone! You don't have to do this! You could die! Please don't do this! I can't lose you-you're my sister, my little sister!" I shake her trying to get her to see that this wasn't the life she wanted.

"Hush!" I snap at Leah while grasping my hand over her mouth. A tent near by moves a bit and I hear the trainer leaving his tent. I glare that the wall, "Jerk face is up." I let go of her mouth gently and tie back my hair once more just in case he decided to come in for some reason. I motioned for my sister to stay as I pull back the flaps to the tent gently. The man that yelled at us earlier walked away from the tent with a grin. What was he planning now? To kill us with more running in the morning? I close the tent entrance and turn to Leah, "Stay here until I cause a distraction then take Storm and ride home. Make up something to tell mother and father, they don't need to know." Before Leah can stop me or even think about it, I slip out of our tent and in the direction of the man. Upon approaching him, I hesitated but when on. "captain? captain? I have a few questions for you." I started to panic realizing I didn't really have questions thought up.

I raised an eyebrow and turned around. "Mark one, never address your caption in that tone. I wont write you up for it this time, but please keep the formal address next time. now, what do you need. Oh! Meet me in the command tent when your done asking, I have to talk to you and save your questions till then." I request of the new recruit before kindly leaving for the other boys. I shepard the complainers to the tent after disturbing their rest. Once that was done I announced the good news.

"Do to a new change in things, you three will leave with me in two days to further your training at another camp. Tell no one of what you are doing. I will take another look at the recruits to be sure there are no other spirited people around." Once that was done i sent two boys on their way and kept the third. "Your questions please?" I asked kindly, still in a good mood.

Se'mone quickly shut me up and left the tent ordering me to go home. I spluttered and flailed the tiniest bit trying to remedy the situation but by then she had already left the tent. "how could she!?" I exclaimed under my breath. I was not going to stay at home and worry for her like an invalid or or I don't know! I huffed with anger and stomped out of the tent. I was nearly seen by one of the men and had to duck out of the way behind another tent. I saw a couple of uniforms hanging up to dry and quickly grabbed one. I went back to Se'mones tent and slipped it on. I looked at my sword and made a quick and painful decision. I cut off all my beautiful hair so that it now hung past my chin. I quickly tied the now short hair up. I left the tent and nearly ran to my sister, my sword banging against my legs with each step. I got to her, panting and a little out of breath "Are you crazy?!" I hissed at her and froze as I see the general standing before her...I don't know what to do! I have never been in this kind of situation! Do I bow? Shake his hand? Salute?! I look to Se'mone with panic in my eyes and realize that we are both suck in a difficult spot.

"Sir, my b-brother and I were...umm we were wondering-" before I had the chance to continue there was a sudden outburst of noise from one of the other tents. The clanging of pots and pans with the yells of me. The side of the tent bowed for a moment then gave out from under their weight as it ripped and they tumbled toward us. I look at Leah trying to keep my composure, for the men had clearly drank a little too much of their hidden drinks.

The first one was tall and thin as he stood up with a little unbalance in his step. "R-reporting for duty," hick-ups, "Sir." He then tries to salute but sinks into a mess onto the ground.

The second and third were not as sober if there even was a state. They mearly had their arms wrapped around each others shoulders and a bottle in the free hand. At this, I could not suppress a slight laugh. Not many men had ever gotten this drunk back in our village so the sight, to me, we unbelievably funny! The shorter of the two finally realized they were in front of their commander.

He attempted to stand but failed as he fell on his face and his voice was muffled, "Good evening ladies."

I looked at Leah leery about the man. Did he really recognize us to be woman or was he just too drunk to know any different? I looked at the Captain and forced back a smile. "You know, I believe those questions can wait considering you have...this," I motion to the three clearly intoxicated men, "on your hands." I look at Leah a little nervous, then bow to the Captain, "Good evening sir, we will leave you be now."

I grab Leah's wrist and begin to lead her back to the tent wanting to get as far away as humanly possible at this point before he realizes that we actually are women.

The fumbling male idiots had just literally saved me and Se'mone from being discovered. Of course they would be the reason that we would've been caught but anyhow. Se'mone was pulling us back to the safety of our tent when there was strange whizzing noises heading towards us. The warning drums rang up through the camp. Men started scurrying around trying to pull on their armor and grab their weapons at the same time. It was chaos! What really hit home with all of us was when a giant ball of flame streaked across the sky.

"TAKE COVERRR!" There were shouts of pain and panic all around us. Men were either running to get away from their impending deaths or they were cowering behind others. The good few warriors were already running to where the enemy was located...I don't think they will be able to make it back alive. I pulled Se'mone and myself to where the horses were.
"We have to get out of here!" If we were to attack the enemy we would have to ride around them-try to get behind them. With my cross and arrows I could probably take out a few-50 at the most. We just weren't prepared! These people were only villagers with limited training. There was only so much they and even we could do! I look at Se'mone waiting for her plan of action.