The Emperor And His Birds

Long ago, in a far away land, there was an emperor who loved birds. He collected all kinds from all over the known world, and employed scores of feeders, breeders and cleaners to attend them.

Over the decades, he spent quite a bit of the lands resources in the acquisition and upkeep of these creatures. He also spent a few hours each day, in between hearing about this squabble, and that problem, talking to his birds and showing them attention and masterly affection. They were, after all, his most prized possessions.

In truth, he considered the time he spent with his birds more important than many of the affairs of the people he was presented with. Most of those should have been resolved by the people involved, not him.

At the end of the day, when his emperor duties were fulfilled, he would retreat to the residence part of the palace to be with his daughter, Suncara. If the birds were his most prized possessions, she was his most treasured gift.

His wife, her mother, had died in childbirth. As emperor, he could have hired any of a number of caretakers to raise and provide the day to day care for her, but instead, he asked his own mother to help, which she gladly accepted for the rest of her life. He made sure to be home every night, to relieve his mother while she lived and to make sure he spent the rest of the evening with Suncara.

Now, it was just the emperor and his daughter, and Suncara was now in her early teens. She didn't need someone to look after her anymore, though she was never really alone. She had tutors on a number of subjects, friends she was able to make from years of playing with the children of other royalty, and not a small group of suitors, who would vie for her affection.

This night, when he arrived and asked her about her day, she sighed wearily. Normally, she was happy and excited to see him, but tonight, she was decidedly subdued.

"What is it, my beautiful bird?" the emperor asked.

"Humi," she said, after a little more coaxing.

"Humi? What about her?"

"She said people talk about you."

A great smile, and some relief came over the Emperor. Was that all? "I'm Emperor. People do that."

"She said they're very unkind. They think you're wasting too much time with your birds."

"Oh, I see," the Emperor nodded. "That, too, is nothing new."

"They call you..."

"Birdbrain?" The Emperor said before Suncara could finish. Then he laughed loud and long, causing a stir among the house staff who had a bad habit of listening in on conversations. "You have to admit," he added, when he could compose himself, "It is funny."

"I don't think it's funny. It's demeaning," his daughter said. She absently punched the pillow she had clutched to her chest. Her pout made her look much younger than she was. "You're the Emperor. People should adore you."

The Emperor thought for a moment. "That is very kind of you to say," he finally said. "I'm sure there are people who do like me. Were it universally so, though, I would be worried."

"Why? Don't you want people to love you?"

"I'd rather they love their own families and leave me out of it," he said under his breath. Louder, he said, "I make a lot of choices every day. Many that people aren't happy about. However, I believe they are the right choices. And so I would rather some people be unhappy with me while I'm making the right choices, than placate them by making the wrong ones."

"And the birds?" Suncara asked. "Are they the right choice?"

"The birds serve many purposes," the Emperor answered, "And one in particular I hope they never will."

"I don't understand," she said.

"Perhaps, then, it is time I showed you."

Without another word, he took her by the hand and they walked from her room into the corridor.

Before they arrived at the entryway, the large doors were opened by the palace guards, spilling a shaft of light through the man-sized crack.

Two sentries rushed in. Surprised to see the Emperor so near, they skidded to a stop and fell to one knee. "Your Imminence," they shouted.

"What is it?" the Emperor said, "My daughter and I are on a walk." He gave a wink to Suncara.

"Yes, your Imminence," one of them said, his head still bowed, "Hawks are within the aviary!"

The smile faded from the Emperor's lips and he turned to the nearest guard, "Please take her to Fan."

"Yes, your Imminence," the man said.

"Fan?" Suncara was not happy to hear that name. "Why? What have I done?"

"Stay with Fan until I return!" was all the Emperor said. He then left with the sentries without looking back.

Fan was the oldest living soul in all the empire. Some, though not Fan herself, claimed she was well over 150 years old. The problem was, she spoke of historical events as if she were there. Some thought she was a witch, others a prophetess. The rest thought of her as old and losing her mind.

Suncara was inclined to the latter. She was forced to spend time with Fan, mostly when she was being rebellious. When her father realized she couldn't be reasoned with, she would send her to Fan. The old woman, despite her age and strange mannerisms, had a calming effect. She could make Suncara see and understand things others could not. She might even enjoy her visits with Fan if it weren't for the large cage she lived in and rarely left.

Suncara wasn't the only one who didn't want to be in Fan's presence. The guard accompanying her was more than happy to leave her at the door of Fan's cage.

"Suncara!" Fan said, a smile curling on her wizened face, "What a pleasant surprise! I didn't expect to see you today." In a lower voice, she added, "Have you been bad again?"

"No," Suncara said quickly, turning away. Fan hadn't bathed for a while, and her odor, something pungent between perspiration and plum sauce, always took some getting used to. "At least I don't think I am."

"I see," Fan said. "Let me guess. Hawks are in the aviary."

"Y-yes." Suncara turned back. "How did you know?"

"Come in," Fan said, "Make sure to latch the bolt securely."

Suncara did as she was told but held at the door.

"Throw the tumbler lock," Fan said.

"I hope you know the combination." Suncara moved the seven sections of the lock.

"I don't," Fan said. "But your father does."

"That's not..."

"You might want to come away from there," Fan interrupted.

"Why?" Suncara said.

"In case we have any unexpected guests."

"What?" She didn't understand, but Suncara moved away from the door. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Has your Father told you all the reasons why he keeps those birds?"

"He's told me very little about them."

Fan shook his head. "He sends you to me so I can help you see, but then he doesn't listen either." She sighed and sat down on a makeshift bed. She patted the top blanket. "You might as well sit. We might be here for a while."

Still not used to the old woman's smell, Suncara nevertheless did as she was told. "Are you going to tell me what hawks in the aviary means?"

"Yes, but let's see what you know about hawks first."

"They're birds of prey," Suncara said, shrugging, "They eat all kinds of rodents and smaller birds."

"Very good. What else?"

"Hunters use them to locate animals."

"Yes they do."

"They're also used," Suncara began. Her eyes opened wide, "in times of war."

"Your Father and this empire have many enemies," Fan said, "It's been this way for a long time. Ever since the days of the first Emperor. People without want what they think we have. Those within do, too."

Fan stopped and with a glazed look in her fading eyes she continued, as if she were recounting an experience she had once lived. "Invasion after invasion would rock the palace. Many lives were lost, but thankfully, those within were able to repel the invaders, but at great cost. The sentries could see the warring hordes when they were inside the horizon, but that wasn't always enough time to bring in the people to safeguard the old and young and fortify the palace.

"And so it went, century after century, until your Father, when he became Emperor, decided to make some changes. He opened the borders to more trade, let some of the surrounding people purchase land, and negotiated treaties with other tribes. He knew, though, that would only work for a time. Leaders come and go, and with them, the desire to honor treaties versus conquering land they covet.

"So, your Father also implemented one more strategy."

"The birds?" Suncara seemed doubtful.

"Yes." Fan's eyes snapped back. "For a long time now, it was a practice of the enemy to first send hawks out to gauge troop strength and position. Spies could then more quickly confirm location and manpower without inadvertently stumbling upon sentries. Archers would try to strike the hawks when they flew over, but only if they saw them. It often happened at night and at a height most men could not see."

"So, my Father started the aviary, to attract the hawks, if they ever came?" Suncara's statement came out as a question.

"So do you see then, why hawks in the aviary might make your Father upset? And why he might want you here with me?"

"In your cage." Suncara started to stand up. Suddenly, she felt trapped.

"Can you not see it yet?" Fan's voice was low, almost pleading. "This is the safest place in the whole palace."

"Not if the warriors show up here."

"I suggest you lie on the floor." Fan disappeared behind some drapery at the rear of her cage.

"Why?"

"So you won't hurt yourself when we fall."

"Whaaaaa..."

Suncara was barely on the floor when there was a jolt, and then the entire cage was in freefall. She screamed as they hurtled down into darkness. She didn't know how many steps she had climbed with the guard up the inside of the tower to get to Fan, but they must have been a couple hundred. A fall from that distance would surely kill both her and Fan!

Then, as abruptly as they fell, with the protesting of metal as it seemed to wrench apart, the cage lurched to a halt, banged the inner wall of the tower, nicked the one on the other side, and then slowly stopped swinging. Momentarily, the now near total pitch was lit by a lantern. The shadows it cast on the old woman made Fan look crazier than she normally did.

"What have you done?" Suncara said, daring to pick herself off the floor.

"Hopefully, only a precaution," Fan said, unshaken, "and to help further a point."

"Which is what?"

"Cages are meant to keep things in," she said, sitting down again, "but they can also be used to keep things out."

Suncara considered Fan's words. Her father was the Emperor, but to her, she was her Father first. A Father who, in the eyes of a young woman, was no longer the infallible man he was when she was a child. Had he changed? No. She had. In becoming older and more aware of things going on around her, and more apt to listen when adults spoke of boring business, she no longer saw her Father as the man who could do no wrong. But while he might be relieved to hear that she was no longer on such a pedestal, she had also been moving him to another place: the man who could do no right.

Instead, she realized in that instant, he belonged somewhere in the middle. Not without his own faults and weaknesses, but still intelligent, still extremely capable of a ruling an empire, and overall, a loving, doting Father.

Silence kept her company as Suncara worked through what she was learning. When she finally looked up, hoping to ask Fan a question, she found the old woman had fallen asleep. Picking a pillow from the end of the bed, she put it on the floor and laid back down. Apparently, there wasn't much more to do now than wait.

Suncara was oblivious to the passing of time. She could have dozed for moments, or days. When she came awake, it was to the odd echoing sound of what sounded like peeping. It took a few moments, but then she realized it was definitely the call of a songbird, which was hopping around on the floor before her.

She wasn't sure what to do, but then she was aware of Fan stirring. The old woman looked at Suncara, then at the bird, then back at the girl, and without a word, bolted from the bed and dashed behind the drapes. There was the screech of metal, and this time, the cage lifted upward.

Light began to seep through as the cage grew closer to its original resting place. Slowly, the surrounding walls and darkness gave way to the open space at the top of the tower where a ledge extended to the door. There, just inside the arch, was the Emperor and his personal physician. A joyous expression of relief crossed both men's faces.

"Suncara!" the emperor said, "My beautiful bird. I missed you! Are you well?"

"Yes," Suncara answered. "How long were we down here?"

"The entire night," the Emperor answered. He came to the door and began fumbling with the tumblers. "Let's see. What was that combination again?"

"You better know it," Fan said, "Or I'm going to make you write it down."

"Yes, yes," the Emperor said. "Here we go." With a couple of clicks, the tumbler locks receded, and with the bolt aside, the Emperor embraced his lunging daughter.

"Is the war over?" Suncara asked.

"Before it began," the Emperor beamed, "Thanks to the birds."

"I'm sorry," Suncara said, "I should have known there was a reason for them."

"And I should have told you sooner," her Father said. "If you recall, I was about to."

"Okay. That's nice. Now off with you both," Fan said. She waved at them as they looked her. "Now that this all over, I think it's time I took a bath."

Years later, after both Fan and her Father had passed, one of Suncara's first acts as Empress was to order small replicas of Fan's cage be created. They were given to every young man and woman in their early teen years as a reminder that while cages are made to keep things in, they can also keep things out.

About This Post

This bit of fiction comes about from a conversation I had with @willymac on a post he wrote several weeks ago about yard art. He stated that all yard ornaments had a story. When I told him that most of ours didn't, he insisted, saying:

There is a story with everything, even if it [is] no more than "I found it on the street." With a bit of embellishment, it can become a yarn.

I decided I would take him up on the embellishing part.

The above image was taken by Glen Anthony Albrethsen on an iPhone 6s.