Daughter of Xanadu - Dori Jones Yang [4]
High atop its back, seated in an open carriage decorated with silken banners, sat the general. I stared up, trying to catch a glimpse of his face.
One little boy, dressed in blue, was thrust into the street by the force of the crowd. He desperately struggled to return, but he tripped and fell. Suren dashed out, grabbed the boy’s small hand, and pulled him to safety just seconds before the elephant’s huge foot would have crushed him.
As the elephant passed, Suren held the boy tightly with his left hand and used his right to shield me. He flashed me an exasperated look I had seen often.
The elephant trudged past me, so close I could have touched it. A sensation rippled through me—not fear, but excitement.
Following the elephant, the general’s top commanders rode past, in order of rank. First came the highest, the general’s two lieutenant generals; then the commanders of ten thousand men; then the commanders of one thousand. I could tell by their uniforms.
“Is that Emmajin?” One of the commanders of one thousand, riding on the outside of the formation, recognized me. A young uncle of mine known for his big ears, he had left court to join the army a few years earlier, as was the custom.
“Todogen!” I shouted his name as I ran alongside his horse.
Without a second thought, he reached down, and I grasped his hand. He slipped his foot out of the stirrup. I took a few running steps, then put my right foot into the stirrup and jumped up, tossing my left leg over the rump of his bay horse. He laughed as I settled behind him. I hung on to the high wooden back of his saddle. I caught a brief glimpse of Suren’s face, which was shining with disbelief mixed with admiration, as we rode past.
On horseback now, I had joined the parade! The thrill nearly took my breath away. People in the crowd waved at us and cheered. The beat of the drums and the horses’ hooves stirred my whole body, whipping me into ever higher levels of exhilaration. I grasped the saddle with one hand and waved with the other. People’s eyes brightened with delight as they caught sight of me, a maiden, riding behind a soldier.
The sun shone on my face, and the dirt kicked up by the horses got into my teeth. My ears filled with cymbals and drums, the tromping of hooves, and shouts of triumph. Colorful banners flapped in the breeze. I closed my eyes, to capture the moment.
When we reached the square in front of the palace, the mounted soldiers lined up in neat rows, as if they had practiced this many times. The general, on his elephant, faced the central arch of the palace wall, just below the Great Khan. Todogen took his place in the second row, close to the elephant. From my spot on his horse’s rump, I could see and hear everything. One soldier frowned when he saw me, but others grinned, as if they wished they had young women on their horses this happy day, too.
High on the palace wall, on the marble balcony, stood my grandfather, the Khan of all Khans. His great bulk made him look larger and more powerful than the thin men around him. Only those closest to him knew that he could stand but not walk.
“Silence!” someone said. Quickly, the crowd quieted. I could not see Suren anymore. He must have been watching from the crowd.
The general stood in his open carriage and shouted, “Long live the Khan of all Khans!” His men echoed him. The general fell to his knees and touched his head to the floor of his carriage in a traditional kowtow of obedience and deference.
“General Bayan, rise! You have served me well!” The Khan’s loud voice boomed down from on high. “One hundred taels of gold for you!”
The soldiers roared.
“Fifty for each of your lieutenant generals! Ten taels for every officer! One tael of gold for every soldier who took part in this victory!”
Todogen nearly jumped in his saddle, his fist high in the air. The roar was deafening now, but I cheered so loudly I didn’t mind.
The thrill of victory.
The triumph soldiers felt after winning a battle.
This sensation exhilarated