Evolve.

12 - Silk Trees

CHARACTER UPDATE
The Crown Prince has been renamed as Jin meaning gold.

...
"Don't you remember the silk trees, Mei?"

I recalled Jin's last words before the eunuch escorted me away. They were haunting, and I felt a blast of ice-cold air as soon as I stepped out the Crown Prince's palace.

FLASHBACK. UNKNOWN TIME OR DATE.

"Mei! Mei!" A little boy called to me, and we were dancing underneath the silk trees.

I laughed when the wind picked up my soft dress, and ignored the scolds by my nanny when it did. My nanny was too stern for her own good anyways.

That boy was my best friend, and I alway got to see him once a month. Bàba said he was little older than me, and I should be more careful around him and his father. His father and my Bàba both fought together in the War that everybody talks about. I was too young to remember the War because I was only a little baby when it happened. 

His older brother was fun too...but everybody acted really weird around him. I don't know why.

All I know is that my nanny treats me better in front of those two boys.

I'm happy.

"Tai! Jin!" I called back to the two little boys, and I took their soft hands as the three of us flew away like butterflies in the palace garden.

FLASHBACK DONE. EVOLVE AGAIN,

The bed is cold, and I try not to disturb my six other roommates with my violent morning thoughts.

Who the hell am I? Or to be more precise, who the hell is Mei?

I'm starting to remember things, but it isn't Astrid's experiences in the modern world. Instead, I'm revisiting memories that feel strange at first, but then slowly become natural in my mind.

There is this huge fog of amnesia that is hiding Mei's life from me, but soon, it will finally come out of the blue. It's like Mei's life is my life. Astrid and Mei are different but the same.

How crazy is that?

Anyways, I turn in my bed until I finally get up. The birds are chirping, and I have the urge to get out of this cramped one-room building. I can't stand to stay in this place anymore...even if I'm the only girl to be awake. The walls were made of stone, and there weren't any flooring - just the dirt ground.

I guess the Empress doesn't sleep here...only the girls at the bottom of the harem

Then, I get my shoes on, brush my hair with my fingers a little, and sneak outside to explore the palace. It's a little cold when I'm outside, and the sun is just beginning to wake up. My hair is a little unruly and I think I have morning breath, but a few minutes outside could never hurt anyone.

Could it?

I feel swift as the cold wind, but the wind is stopped by a palace guard. My eyes widen at the sight of the sleeping guard, but I'm lucky that one guy is bad at his job and I continue to

What wonderful sight! The silk trees dance like swift ballerinas leaping in the morning wind. All my worries are blown away as I inhale fresh air.

I giggle a little...then a bit more...then a lot more...finally until my giggles have shook the birds out of the silk trees. Oh, well - I don't care if I'm so loud. Ironically, it's the first morning that I haven't woken with a dreadful weight on my chest - despite practically transporting into another life at another time.

Suddenly, I hear a loud voice boom. "Who dares disturb my palace?"

Oh, no...it's the Crown Prince! My heart is racing, and I fear death from disturbing the royals. I immediately run and take cover behind my quarters. The building is small, and not too discreet for hiding but it will do.

Except the loud voice booms once again. "Come out! I'd like to see you, Little Mei."

Little Mei? Again? My heartbeat returns

I hold my breath as I slowly and cautiously walk out from behind the building. In front of me stands a boy that looked like Crown Prince Jin, but wasn't the power-controlling Crown Prince.

Instead, he reminded me of Ryland and my eyes immediately locked with his. "Who are you?" I suspiciously questioned the owner of the loud voice and warm face.

He had soft black hair, and brown doe eyes. The boy looked my age, and closely resembled the Crown Prince Jin, except he had a softer, and more innocent look altogether.

"Don't worry about it, Mei. Everyone knows that you have a forgetful mind after your accident--I'm sorry to hear about that by the way - so I will simply have to introduce myself to you."

I bite down the urge to roll my eyes; this boy was trying too hard. He didn't carry a certain confidence like the Crown Prince, but something about him screamed royal, so I kept a neutral outward expression on my face. You never know who could be the one to send you to your death!

The boy exclaimed,"It's me, Tai!" But he quickly cleared his throat and spoke in a deeper voice. "Ahem! I mean the Eighth Prince of the Tian Dynasty."

I'm teasing him when I say, "It's an honor to meet you Tai, I mean the Third Prince of the Tian Dynasty. Boy, do you have a long name to remember!" For some reason, making people laugh has always been and hearing Tai's cute giggle warms my heart. I have a feeling in my heart that Tai may be the only person in this palace with a real sense of humor. I've only been here for one night, and the politics was already getting to me.

Anyways, Tai had that same warm laugh and grin like my darling Ryland. They were both the definition of golden boys, and I reveled in their warmth.

"Would you walk with me, Mei?" he said, and I nodded.

He took my hand, and I couldn't help but feel nothing but happy.

...

we're finally in the palace now...

mei isn't a palace wife yet, but you'll see.

& tai will be an important character too :)

also...if you couldn't tell already, my chapters are sweet & short. i keep it that way, so that i can update more frequently. well that's ideal anyways.

ANYWAYS!

thank you all for 3k reads!!!

love, ash mei