Upon returning, Bai Han was the first to welcome her.
"I'm glad you made it back safely." His arms tightened around her.
Rin let out a soft laugh. "It was only one day."
"Another day to the many others apart from you." He muttered.
Smiling helplessly, she turned to the emperor. He was watching the two of them, a strange ripple within his face.
"Your Majesty?" Rin broke him from his trance.
"Ah. How was your journey?" His words came out stiffly.
"Governor Chi accepted." She said, sparing the minor details of his refusal. "It would be best to send a group of troops to help them evacuate as soon as possible."
"Right, yes." The emperor nodded his head and waved a hand to deliver the order.
Saying all there was to about their journey, Rin went to prepare for dinner. Sometime later, she ventured her way to the dining hall, and as usual, sat at the table with the others.
During her leave, she learned of Fan Mingli's plans to dispatch scouts in the woods to watch for suspicious activity. She also came to find he had given numerous orders to the troops, helping them through their training. When she praised him, the young man burned red, earning a slap on the back from Yin Changpu.
And so, they ate, drank, and chatted amongst themselves like normal.
An Sun had just finished his cup of wine when a faint voice spoke from behind. "Sir Sun?"
He turned to find a soldier standing stiffly among the tables, a parchment in his hand.
"What is it?"
"It's a letter. For you." The soldier thrust the parchment forward. It was tightly rolled and sealed with a button of hard red wax.
Everyone at the table fell silent. An Sun set down his cup, took the letter, and cracked the seal. When he saw the signature, his heart seemed to stop for a moment.
An Ruo, Lord of the An Clan, it read, in large, spiky writing. The brown ink came away in flakes when he brushed it with his thumb.
"What does it say?" Fan Mingli peered with his dim, small eyes.
"It's from An Ruo." An Sun's fingers closed around the parchment. "He wants to meet with me...and discuss terms of surrender."
"What?" Rin was taken back. "You're not going, are you? It could be a trap like last time."
On the side, Manchu nodded his head. "The little strategist is right. Sun, it's too dangerous for you to go. After the last time, you two met...he'll stop at nothing to kill you."
"I know that." The words were knives. "I haven't agreed just yet."
"Still..." Manchu spoke again.
An Sun slammed down his cup, and the dregs of his wine erupted across the tablecloth. "We'll discuss it later."
Another silence fell over the table. Tenser than the last. For the remainder of the meal, everyone ate just like that. In silence.
When they finished, they stood up and left to settle for the night. Rin walked down the dark, cold halls. She could hear the faint murmur of voices coming from outside, although the sound was too weak to make out words.
It was some of the men, still drinking and carrying about.
Passing by a row of pillars giving view to the imperial garden, Rin's steps came to a halt. A figure stood there, bathing in the dark's cold. The light of the moon was in his hair, his black hair kissed by darkness.
