Remember how in the Iliad Aphrodite rescues Paris from certain death in his single combat with Menelaus and deposits him upon the bosom of Helen?
The queen of love her favour’d champion shrouds
(For gods can all things) in a veil of clouds.
Raised from the field the panting youth she led,
And gently laid him on the bridal bed,
With pleasing sweets his fainting sense renews,
And all the dome perfumes with heavenly dews.(Iliad, book III, Alexander Pope trans.)
That’s just how it was in our scenario during the New Year holidays. Except that the goddess was referred to by Eileen-chan as “Princess”, her office was that of Aphrodite, inasmuch as she would rescue her fallen favourites from the field and deposit them in the hot spas of Honoyu. ( Honoyu is our local hot spa, which opened its doors in February of last year.) Then, after they had had a recuperative bathe, they were able to avail themselves of a variety of outdoor pursuits such as snowboarding, surfing, swinging on a rope (“taazan roopu”), horseriding, motorcycling and so forth.
This scenario was notable for the confusion of the skirmishing and our first recorded case of a peasant turning his coat, completely unremarked by ourselves, but a most prudent course of action, as he was only one of three survivors on the Green Dragon side. Another peasant successfully escaped from the field of action, while the third prudently surrendered at the end of the engagement.
David Hurley