Drakkon

Drakkon 2 (Black Jade) - five

The summer breeze wafted through my hair gently like a lover's kiss. I closed my eyes and inhaled the scene of flowers and grass while walking through the palace gardens. It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky and the harshness of the summer's heat wasn't upon us yet. My mind was a tangle of thoughts so it was peaceful to take a walk and unwind each one, and hide away some others.

Nuo was taking a nap currently, which gave me enough me-time to destress and declutter everything bothering me. Meilin hadn't asked why I wasn't at the party, but I could see the questions in his eyes when he came back to our room last night. I had my own questions, like who and why that lady—who I later learned was Wang Yanlin—was to him and what he was talking to her about, but I didn't say anything. I didn't want to hear the answer.

Two maidservants trailed behind me silently. Ever since giving birth, Meilin made sure I always had servants around me to help me. I had tried talking to them and befriending them in several occasions, but all that resulted in was making them more uncomfortable. It was a high, daunting task to be working under the new empress, so I tried to understand where they were coming from, but it also made me lonely not having fluid conversations with everyday people. They were more similar to me than nobles were.

Before I could decide to head back inside, there was a rustling in the bush beside me and a small gray cat popped out from it. It leapt in front of me and watched me with bright amber eyes, before licking its paw. A pink ribbon was tied around its neck, with a tiny silver bell in the center.

I knelt beside the cat and held my hand out for her to sniff it. The cat stared at my hand for a split second before returning to grooming itself, completely ignoring me. I chuckled softly.

"You sure are acting like royalty, huh?" I said, keeping my hands to my sides. When I was younger, we had a few farm cats that we kept to hunt mice that crawled into our barnyard. I learned from a young age to not pet cats without their consent. I still vividly remembered getting swiped on my hand when I tried giving our old, grumpy cat a pet on the head.

"Jade! Jade! Where are you?" a panicked, feminine voice called out.

I straightened and tilted my head towards the sound of the voice. Was Jade the cat she was referring to?

A young woman with waist length wavy inky hair emerged through a bush of summer lilacs. Her breath came in gasps as if she had been running, and a sheen of sweat budded over her forehead. She wore a simple violet dress with matching ribbons, that harmonized perfectly with the flowers surrounding her. She was young, likely fifteen or sixteen, and was quite the looker. Her face was round and innocent, and she had wide brown eyes that looked too soft for the world.

At the sight of the cat, her eyes widened and a smile broke over her small mouth, relief clouding her face. She dropped down to her knees. "Jade!" she said, scooping the cat in one swell movement and hugging her. She sighed loudly. "I was so worried."

She finally seemed to notice me because she clamped her mouth shut instantly and jerked up to her feet. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered.

I cocked my head to the side curiously. "You don't have to apologize. You didn't do anything." I gave her a reassuring smile and pointed at the cat. "What an adorable little cat. Is she yours?"

"Yes." She visibly relaxed before patting the cat on the head. "She's mine."

A rustling from the same bushes she came from snapped my attention away from her. A palace guard with a long, pointed spear appeared. "Princess Biyu," he said in a terse tone as he swatted the bush leaves. The summer lilacs flew to the ground with the force of his walk. "You're not supposed to run off like that."