Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 22.2: The Winter Desert

"It is far beyond my humble position to speak out, m'lady, but I feel that her majesty has been neglecting her health for too long." He paused carefully, as if contemplating his words very carefully before he uttered them. "A journey such as this would surely take a toll upon your majesty. I am concerned, for the empress's health."

Miyun sighed. She knew Xiang Yu thought long and hard before nagging her this way. He knew he risked her wrath. But she also knew he meant well in every possible way. "All this technology that surrounds us makes me uneasy, Xiang Yu." Miyun walked toward a Light Spire and looked up at it. "These strange artifacts from Taiyou. How much can we really trust the foreigners?"

"It is not for a warrior to say, m'lady." Xiang Yu did not move from his position as he spoke.

"We bring in so many resources from Taiyou, and every day that passes, we grow more and more indebted to the foreigners!" Miyun spoke angrily and with such fervor that she surprised even herself. "My husband –" She paused. "Zhao Zheng does not listen to me anymore." Miyun stared straight and caught a reflection of herself in the translucent ice. She did not like what she saw. Her once beautiful, flawless complexion was now gaunt; her once lustrous black eyes, at one time the topic of poems and song throughout the land, now bore permanent dark circles around them. Her eyes were red now, too, from constantly crying.

Miyun gripped her cloak tightly as a gust of wind blew, almost carrying her frail frame along with it.

"It grows cold m'lady," Xiang Yu began. "Perhaps it is best to head back inside." Even in early summer, the desert chill was harsh.

"Just last week, a snow storm hit the eastern steppes," Miyun whispered softly.

"M'lady, you cannot continue to do this to yourself... " Xiang Yu began to protest in earnest.

Miyun whirled around angrily, her eyes flashing in anger. "A mother will never stop hunting for her child!" She spoke with fury, her voice filled with emotion. She looked down at her feet. "Xin..." she paused for a long time to regain her composure. "Xin was last seen on the eastern steppes."

"The young master was well trained for his first mission into the wilderness," Xiang Yu began. "I know, because I myself had trained him for years. I cannot imagine how a mother would feel at the loss of her child, but the young master was... dear to me as well." Xiang Yu moved to stand beside Miyun on the parapet wall. "He was well equipped to deal with any threat that arose on the eastern steppes."

"Well equipped that is, unless he did what we expressly forbade him to do," Miyun countered, "The prince has ventured out into the northern expanse."

"We have no way of ascertaining that fact, m'lady. Perhaps the young master ran into an ice or sand storm and had to seek cover." Xiang Yu spoke the words of comfort, but he knew them to be untrue.

Miyun shook her head. "It is mother's intuition. For a fourteen-year old boy seeking to prove himself as a man, there is no greater temptation. The prince has heard the stories. It is adventure that beckons to him." Miyun sighed as her eyes went downward again. "He has been sheltered all his life. He knows not about the world beyond the palace walls."

Miyun raised her eyes to face Xiang Yu. "My husband is too preoccupied fighting this war to worry about his only son," she said softly, shaking her head in anger and disappointment. "But I cannot blame Zhao Zheng. An emperor's loyalty lies with his people, first and foremost." Miyun walked about the parapet as she looked out at the land beyond. She took Xiang Yu's hands and looked into his eyes.

Xiang Yu cringed. "M'lady, I am not worthy... " but he stopped as his eyes met hers.

"Any mother will tell you, Xiang Yu," she said with great earnestness, "that her loyalty lies with her children. More than her life, her duty, or her honor," tears streamed down Miyun's face as she fought back her feelings.

"Is it true, Xiang Yu," she continued, "that the winter desert beyond is untamable? That the shadows that beset us are legion? Why don't the four kingdoms join together and defeat this foe?"

"I have not seen the shadows, m'lady." Xiang Yu spoke softly, for it pained him to see the empress in such a state, "But I know the Dragon Emperor is no fool. He does not ally with Taiyou without good reason. Perhaps times are desperate."

Xiang Yu pushed the Empress's hands down firmly. "It is late," he said with conviction, interrupting the Empress's contemplation. "If your majesty intends to do this, you will need to stay healthy. Please eat plenty and save your strength. Get enough rest, m'lady. I shall send for your ladies in waiting. When the hour has come, you will know where to find me."

Miyun nodded her head and with that, the great warrior disappeared into the shadows. Mei-Ling, her lady in waiting, showed up a few moments later.

"You summoned us, my lady?" she said and curtsied. Mei-Ling was wearing a gold-embroidered dress, made of the finest silks. It contrasted sharply with the Empress's gray robes.

"I am hungry. Please have the imperial kitchen prepare something for me."

Mei-Ling's eyes brightened and her smile grew wide.

"Y-Yes, of course my lady." She ran in the direction of the cooks. It was not every-day that the Empress requested to eat. These days everyone feared for her health. Perhaps the Empress was finally coming to grips with the loss of her son.

Miyun was left in the darkness again, smiling to herself. Soon, her entourage would appear. She would forget about her woes for now. She needed some sustenance, and rest for the long journey ahead. This would be the last time she would enjoy the comfort and safety of the Crystal Palace.