Blood Oath (血誓)

Chapter 1

Run! I must run! Before they catch up to me!

The acrid tang of fear, desperation, and her instincts for survival screamed at her from the top of her lungs.

Branches and leaves snagged her long hair as she flew past them, twisting and turning down the long road ahead. She couldn't stop the tears streaming down her face, dripping down and soiling her royal robes.

She didn't give a damn about ruining the expensive material.

She couldn't care less about such superficial beauty, not when she never had anything to flaunt. Distantly she felt the roots and twigs catching the exquisite hem trying to drag her down. Focusing her energy on running, she watched the distance stretch between her and the only kin she's left with, and the scorching flames that enveloped her courtyard.

"Xue-Er, remember I love you always. Run and hide. Stay away from this god damned place. It is the damnation to hell." Her mother cried distantly behind her. Chun Xue choked on her breathing as she struggled to force her body away from the lady standing between her and their killers.

From the corner of her left eye, she saw five figures dressed all in black moving towards her mother. Each of their movements trained with stealth. Instantly, they surrounded her. Something flashed in each of their hands. They are not the imperial soldiers I see training at the palace grounds every day. Her 14-year-old self may not know who these deadly captors are, but she knows they do not move like the soldiers in the palace. Their attire is all wrong - black against black with leering faces of silver masks that concealed their faces.

From her periphery, she saw her mother lunged towards one of them, a hairpin in her hand. The assassin dodged her easily like swatting a fly, however, it was a feint. She watched in shock as her mother twisted to the right in a sudden maneuver and plunged the pin into the man's neck. The man's eyes rolled back and a gurgle of surprise left his mouth before he slumped to the floor.

The other captors froze in surprise, but it only lasted two seconds.

"Continue Xue-Er! DON'T STOP! Not even for me." Her mother screamed as she spotted her standing in the middle of the forest staring in horror and shock.

Chun Xue looked at her mother and saw the desperation in her eyes and at that moment, she conveyed whatever she wanted to tell her through that look they shared. I love you, mother. Farewell. Chun Xue knows that this will be their final exchange, her mother is not going to make it alive. But she won't go down not without a fight.

"Shut up you noisy whore." One of the captors hissed as they circled their prey.

Chun Xue heard her mother lashed out something distantly as she forced herself away. Whatever she told them threw their captors into action as they lunged for her. Minutes or seconds later, her mother's dead body laid on the grass in a pool of her blood. But she did not turn back to see, as she bolted through the woods that surrounded the palace.

***

"What a pity. She was such a beauty." A gruff voice said as the man knelt to check the lady's pulse. However, before his hand made contact with the porcelain skin at the base of her neck, it was slapped away crudely.

"Who said you could touch her?" A commanding voice said. It was his leader's voice, and he recognized the tiger mask, the one and only in their group. He dropped his hand immediately and bowed his head. "My apologies. My actions have been out of place."

His leader only grunted in response and gestured with a flick of his hand. After three years of training under his liege, the subordinate understood his command and scooted away to make space for him. He watched as his leader held a leaf to the dead concubine's nose and noted its stillness. The other three men stood around them watching.