Soaring Eagle

Raeki looked up into the trees. The breeze brushed the tender leaves and they rocked gently in the air. Raeki gazed at the tree. A small black bird was learning how to fly. The small bird jumped up and flapped his wings with all his might but fell down with a small thud. The bird’s mother clucked her beak, spread her magnificent wings and soared into the air. The majestic bird flew round in a large arch and then landed gracefully next to her son. The small bird looked at its mother with awe. Eager to fly now, it jumped back into the air. This time however he hovered for a split second, opened his feathered wings and glided over to the other branch. His mother flew over to him and gave him a small stroke with her beak.

“Lady Raeki, Emperor Atari is here to see you,” quavered Shizuka.

Raeki grudgingly left the window and faced her servant.

“What does he want,” she answered angrily.

“He needs to see you about something very important, but I do not know what it is,” she replied.

Raeki returned to the window. She gazed up at the old willow tree covered with cherry blossom bushes. She could see the little black bird that she had seen earlier. It had once again glided over to the next branch, this time with more confidence than before.

Raeki was pulled out of her trance by a knock at the door.

“Come in,” she said with a slight tremble.

The large oak doors were thrust apart and a chubby bald man strode in.

“Ah Lady Raeki, your beauty never ceases to amaze me,” croaked Atari, his voice like a bullfrog.

“Emperor Atari,” Raeki said as she bowed to the ground. “How pleasant it is to see you again”

“You never could lie could you?” he stated rather than asked.

Raeki looked up and cowered at his malevolent grin. “You know why i’m here I presume?”

“Shizuka please leave us.” Raeki managed to say.

“Yes lady,” Shizuka replied. She slowly walked to the door straining to hear as much as she could.

As she closed the giant oak doors Raeki turned to face the emperor. Her face had paled dramatically in the last few minutes.

“I do know why you are here, and I am sorry that I must refuse your offer,” she said calmly.

Atari’s face turned a deep shade of purple but he managed to stay calm.

“You know very well lady that this is not an offer. It is a command,” he said coolly.

“Just because you are emperor does not give you the right to command me to marry you,” she shouted angrily.

“Agree to marry me or I will declare war on your country. And you know very well that you cannot win against me and my impenetrable army. You only control half of the Eastern Empire, while I on the other hand control the whole Western Empire,” he said shaking his fist angrily.

“I know of this. But do you know of my alliances. All the other ladies of Japan and their armies have turned against you. Your womanising has made sure of that,” she said smartly.

Atari looked flabbergasted. His face had turned a deep red and he could no longer hide his anger.

“Are you saying that you won’t marry me?” he said.

“I think we both know the answer to that,” she replied.

Atari took one last glance at Raeki before storming out of her chamber.

After several minutes Shizuka burst through the oak doors.

“I saw the emperor walking out. He was talking about some sort of war,” Shizuka managed to splutter. “Is everything alright lady?”

Raeki had returned to the window.

“I am afraid to say that I have unleashed a terrible plague upon the people of Japan,” she replied somberly.

She took one final glance at the window and caught a glimpse of the small black bird. She looked into the bright blue eyes of the bird when suddenly a bright fire started to blaze in its eyes. The bird seemed to have grown ten fold. It spread out its wings which now seemed majestically large. Colourful patterns had suddenly burst upon its wings in a flurry of feathers and its beak sharpened. The once small black bird had transformed into a stunning eagle. It jumped down on its powerful legs and took off into the clear blue sky. It soared for what seemed like hours before finally returning to land gracefully on the branch. Raeki surveyed the eagle with amazement as she pondered on her dilemma; her thoughts flying with the bird towards the infinite sky of freedom.