Reunion of a second chance

Chapter 12

The Emperor was watching as the Blind Concubine was almost literally blooming and basking in the sunlight. He looked positively stunning and surreal. It had been so many years since he had seen the Blind Concubine this genuinely happy, it was making his heart swell.

It seemed like everything was of interest to the Blind Concubine. He wanted to talk with all the villagers and stall tenders the Emperor had paid to be here. The Emperor had thought that it had been such a great idea to bring a busy market all the way to the Blind Concubine.

And in a sense, it really was, it made the Blind Concubine happy. Only it also had another effect. Since the villagers had not been told what exactly would be happening and what they should answer when asked, they behaved extremely awkwardly. They all looked around and seemed lost.

They could ruin all of this experience! The Emperor had to do something lest he wanted the Blind Concubine to notice what was wrong.

The Emperor could either take the Blind Concubine away and cut their visit short. Which he did not want to do as it would only make the Blind Concubine's happy smile disappear. Or he could go and secretly talk with the villagers to instruct them what they should and should not say.

The second option was better for the Blind Concubine, however, it was also the harder one for the Emperor. Still, he had long decided that he would do anything for his beloved Blind Concubine and he was not about to go back on his promise. Even if he had made it only with himself.

Luckily, the villagers did not know who he was so there was that at the very least. Talking with the Emperor himself could have scared them. The Emperor still wanted them to act as naturally as possible.

And so he sat the Blind concubine down in a makeshift restaurant and waved his hand. A man came running towards him and started chatting happily, just as he would usually do: "Dear guests, welcome to my humble establishment, what can I get for you?"

All the while, he was looking at the Emperor, probably assuming that the Blind Concubine would not talk to him. The Emperor gestured towards the Blind Concubine. He was not about to blow his cover just because there was some unnamed villager who thought that he could not talk with a blind person.

Luckily, the man seemed to have understood. He turned towards the Blind Concubine and waited for his answer. The Emperor also watched his Blind Concubine, he had to make sure that what the other would order would be available. And if not, he would quickly send his soldiers to procure anything the Blind Concubine could want.

"Thank you for your warm welcome, good sir. Can we just sit here for a little while and rest our legs? I am afraid that unfortunately, I do not have any money on me right now."

The man seemed a little disappointed but shrugged his shoulders and was about to leave those two strange not-customers alone.

The Emperor quickly stopped him with a single gesture of his hand. He was silently berating himself for forgetting something this basic.

He had wanted everything to be authentic. He should have given the Blind Concubine some money. No wonder that the Blind Concubine had not wanted to buy anything nor taste food from the stalls. Even when he was offered that for free.

The Emperor rung his chime, effectively attracting the Blind Concubine's attention. He took a small amount of coins from his pocket and put it into the Blind Concubine's hand. Now, they could finally have their perfect day, with the food and everything. The Emperor was proud of himself.

Seeing the amount of money being exchanged right in front of his eyes, the owner of the restaurant immediately became meeker and asked again: "Dear customers, what would you like to order?"

***

The Blind Concubine was confused. Chime had taken him to a market and he had been greatly enjoying himself. However, he had no money so he had to turn down all the offers of food and merchandise.

The Blind Concubine was feeling very uncomfortable doing that. He had his food always delivered right to his front door and did not have to move a finger. And yet, here he was, among villagers who probably had to work really hard for every single item they were selling.

And the Blind Concubine was just walking here, watching everything in his own way. It almost felt like mockery from his part.

The villagers appeared quite friendly, but he could feel that there was something wrong here. The atmosphere was not normal. He had been to a market as a child before he had been taken into the palace and also once during his stay there. On both occasions, the atmosphere at the market was just different.

The Blind Concubine could not quite name what was catching his attention so much. Was it perhaps how some of the villagers were overpraising their goods or trying too little to sell them? Or the fact that there seemed to be way too many stall tenders and not enough customers around? The Blind Concubine could not hear any bartering or customer's questions about quality of the products and the prices. Or perhaps the little awkwardness when the Blind Concubine was asking questions, wanting to be friendly with the villagers?

Frankly speaking, the last in the list could have very well been attributed to his blindness. Most of the people he had met after he had been deprived of his sight had not known how to talk with him. They had just assumed that he was not normal and that they had to treat him differently from anyone else. More carefully and thus awkwardly since they had no idea about his true needs.

The Blind Concubine knew that very well. But it was still hard to experience it first-hand. In the past, he had had his trusted servant always with him and it had been easy for him to avoid awkward situation. His servant had acted as his eyes.

However, right now, the situation was a little different. Of course, he had Chime by his side, he could feel that his friend never left him. He could also hear his chime lightly ringing because of the wind.

Still, it was not the same. Chime could not describe anything to him. He could also not apologize in his place or negotiate the situation when the Blind Concubine did something awkward or unacceptable due to his blindness.

For example, Chime could not alert him about a stall he had almost knocked over due to him swinging his walking stick too much in the crowd. He could only take his hand and stop him from moving his stick altogether. That had made walking less free for him.

Despite all the difficulties and hidden awkwardness, he was still enjoying the day. Due to Chime giving him several coins that the Blind Concubine would have to find a way to pay back, they were even able to get some tea at the local restaurant. This was the best.

Suddenly, Chime stood up. The Blind Concubine wanted to follow him, but he was stopped by a hand on his forearm. Chime was telling him that he should stay here.

"I understand," the Blind concubine agreed, "I will wait here for you."

There was a sound of a chime as a confirmation that his friend would come back for him. The Blind Concubine was relieved; he did not know how he would have gotten back to his small island without Chime.

Although the Blind Concubine had no idea what Chime wanted to do, he would wait for him patiently, just like always.

Happy new year everyone! I wish you all the best and most importantly, good health to both you and your loved ones.

I am preparing a special story for the celebration of New Year, I will post the first chapter at midnight of my local time. Feel free to check it out if you will be interested :)

Thank you for supporting me all this year and once again, happy new year!