Love In The Palace

Mistress' Death

He stares down on his own hands, gripping on the piece of cloth with black words written on it.

"Birds fly, I follow
Who is left in the palace?
Love and friend
Promises must be kept
Jade is leaving
If fate allows, we may meet again"

Her name carries the word peace. Maybe that is the reason why she is leaving the palace, because the palace carries atmosphere that does not suit her name. Her name, since birth, has forbidden her from stepping into the politics and chaos of the place cursed with thousands of years of misfortune.

Again he stares at the injured bird which struggles to move its own wings but to no avail. His tears, after so long, drop for the first time. His tears of farewell for his most trustworthy friend, his tears of loss.

---

It is the journey back home to the Mistress' household, they said. Is is the journey back to let Mistress recover from her sadness, they said. It is specifically arranged by Crown Prince with permission from the Emperor and the Empress, they said.

They just do not know, that it will be for the last time she will ever be heard.

The carriages are ready. She is ready, he is ready, everyone else is ready, but not the couple's hearts. They ache, they thump loudly against their ribcages, they carry so much regrets and pain as thousands of unsaid words get stuck in their throat. They are crying in their hearts, but they put on a happy facade for others to see.

He holds out his hand and she receives it. They both take their time strolling through the gates of the palace, leaving behind a trail of memories that will be the most painful for them and most unforgettable ones. The moments they spend together walking through the gates indirectly marks the end of their union, for he has granted her her preciously-sought serenity and she has gained her long sought-after freedom.

The carriage is now right before her. She still has time to return, but it will simply mean returning to death. She grips his hand tightly as he helps push her up the platform then he follows suit, sitting right next to her, their arms touching each other's but they pretend that it does not happen.

"Depart!" A loud sound of whip slapping against the air as a sign of departure can be heard as the carriage slowly moves into a steady speed while soldiers run behind the carriage. That very moment, feelings of reality slaps Jade out of her dazed expression and immediately she flips open the silk covering the window of the carriage. She peeks out of it, giving the palace, the place she has been staying at for the past five years to almost six years, the place she has experienced so much, for the one last time.

She has left Rowena there, under Consort Lana. It is better for Rowena, to stay in the palace than to follow a dying person to the unknown. For her help, Jade only brings along with her an experienced servant whom she trusts, who will of course return to the palace once Jade is gone, or when her master wants to return though it is quite impossible.

It is weird how things have changed so much between them that they cannot even think of anything to say to each other, thus they remain silent throughout the entire journey, throughout the entire ride.

The carriage goes past the capital city, past the gates, into the vast grass field. It is so pleasing to the eyes, the air is so much fresher and the cool breeze blows the yellowing grasses, creating an illusion of the grasses waving at her. The birds are flying above her, swiftly, so pain-free that she is envious. She hopes that in her next life she will be reincarnated as a bird, because they will not feel the pain like humans do.

When the sun has set, the carriage steers off the road into the riverside, where the travelling group will be resting.

It is at this river where the fateful event will happen, or so-called happen. She and her servant has heard from him, that tomorrow dawn they both will have to secretly leave the group into the forest, where someone else will fetch them and bring them to another city. In the morning, they will be reported missing and after three more days, he will ask everyone else to stop searching for them and pronounce them missing-dead, reason being the river has drowned and swept them away. She will be recorded as dead, that the heavens have fetched her back to end her sufferings.