Book 2, Sequel to "The Concubine's Apprentice"
"Are you done?"
Her blood ran cold as she realized she wasn't alone. She looked up and through the reflection, she saw the source of her suffering, the bane of her existence.
Her mentor.
"Ye...
The young girl nodded her head. "One of the ladies gave me bread..."
"That's good." She smiled, but it never reached her eyes. "You should always take care of yourself."
Suddenly, the child burst into tears and threw herself into Chiyo's arms. "I-I'm so sorry! I-if it weren't for us, y-you wouldn't... you wouldn't—"
"Chiyo," The familiar chilling voice of Lady Vira came from behind them. "The servants said you were ready. It's time to go. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."
Her smile fell and faded into the façade she was used to wearing nowadays, one of indifference. She clenched her fists and stood up, following the older woman obediently through the walkways of the quarters.
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Their first destination was the richest merchant in the Capital, a wealthy middle-aged man who owns more than half of the blacksmith shops in the entire Fire Nation. His business soared to greater heights after the war, now that he had contributed greatly to the engineering of new machines for the refineries.
A businessman like him is busy from day to night, but he took his very first day-off in years just to receive the invitation of the Salinja Troupe.
Chiyo played the guqin as Lady Vira and the merchant talked over tea. As instructed, she was to be silent unless spoken to, eyes downcast and focused on the strings rather than the conversation that would determine her fate.
"My fate..." Chiyo scoffed internally, never showing her true emotions. "My fate is—"
"So... you are the famous apprentice of Lady Suiren..." The businessman had gotten up from his seat and now stood in front of her, an almost shy smile on him as he reached out for her face. "Why do you play such a sad song on a wonderful morning?"
Chiyo didn't dare flinch, instead she met the eyes of the man. "I just felt like it."
She had already expected his reaction; the silence, the small intake of breath, and his eyes widening. He chuckled and nodded. "Of course! Of course! A talented artist such as yourself expresses your feelings through your art!"
The man reached within his coat and pulled out a rectangular box, opening it with slightly shaking hands. "I have a present for you, dear. I hope you'll like it."
Inside the box was a metal hairpin fashioned into a dragon's long body. The head of the dragon was crafted with the help of metalbending, its eyes bore two precious garnets.
A very precious and expensive gift no doubt.
Lady Vira gave her a small signal by raising a defined brow. Chiyo set aside the instrument on her lap and turned sideways so the man could place the pin on her hair.
