A couple of days later, three young "men" disembarked from a rickety merchant ship, stepping foot onto the sturdy boardwalk of Dahai's main pier. One of them, the smallest of the trio, was bright-eyed and eager as "he" scanned the new surroundings; the next looked entirely unimpressed, though a hint of a smile played upon his lips; last but not least, the tallest of them was sulking as he stepped ashore, having suffered at the hands of the other two along the way.
Maroo would likely never forget the experience of hanging off the side of the ship, staring face down at the deep blue sea that could have become his watery grave. Even though a compassionate sailor hauled him up merely an hour later, it had already been traumatising enough to leave a permanent scar in his memory. Since then, he kept his mouth tightly zipped, being clever enough to have learnt his lesson.
Thankfully for him, there were no more scares for the rest of the journey and he had survived in one piece. Yuhwa reckoned that was what was most important for him—staying alive so that he would be able to serve by his prince's side once more.
She caught Maroo looking around at the other ships docked along the pier, probably searching for the crown prince's ship. His face fell when he realised that the ship was nowhere to be seen. "What if something happened to the ship along the way? Maybe the assassins found their way on board the royal ship as well?" he mumbled, hands wrenching anxiously at his garment.
"If your crown prince is so almighty, surely he'll be able to dispatch a couple of assassins with ease." Yuehwa snorted. "Those people they sent to kill you were hardly worth an ounce of my effort."
"You're not even worthy of being compared with my prince's little finger!"
Turning around to face him, Yuehwa grabbed him by the collar and gave him a good shake. "Excuse me? I don't think I heard you quite well."
Gulping, Maroo frantically shook his head, denying that he ever said anything.
"Where are you headed now?" Shoya asked.
"Me?" Yuehwa let go of Maroo, turning to look at her other companion. Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, "Don't know. Explore the city I suppose? The annual sparring championships doesn't begin for another week. Plenty of time to eat good food before then."
The port of Dahai was bustling with activity, with ships busy unloading their passengers and cargo onto the docks. There were merchants shouting instructions to deck hands, nobles from the five kingdoms dressed in all manners of expensive silks, children running around playing hide-and-seek among the crowd. There was something different to be seen around every corner and Yuehwa simply could not wait to see more.
Exchanging a glance with her feathered friend, she began marching down the boardwalk towards the city, tossing the other two behind.
Dahai was vastly different from the other cities she had come across. As an island kingdom, it served as the port of call between the other four kingdoms and the lands beyond. As a result, the architecture and culture of the kingdom was an eclectic mosaic that reflected the influences of those who passed through its shores.
As she walked down the street, Yuehwa was enthralled by the numerous small stalls she saw along the way, each selling unique trinkets and snacks that she had never seen before on the mainland.
"Could I get one of those please?" she said gleefully as she pointed to what looked to be tiny octopuses strung on wooden skewers, roasting cheerily over charcoal.
"Gross... What is that?" a voice echoed from behind her.
Turning around in surprise, she found Maroo peering over her shoulder, a look of disgust etched on his face as he studied the mini octopuses. "You're still here? Why are you following me around?" she said with a frown.
Taking her skewer of barbecued octopuses from the stall owner, she paid the man for her purchase and immediately bit the first octopus off the stick. "Delicious!" she exclaimed in excitement, savouring the freshness of the octopus in every bite. Waving the skewer in front of Maroo's face, she said, "Want to try some? I bet you don't get this in Gi."
"Get that away from me!" Maroo squealed, backing a couple of steps away from her.
Yuehwa refused to back off. Instead, with every backward step he took, she moved two steps forward, still waving the stick of octopuses in his face. "Come on, you know you want to try one. You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't," she said, with a broad grin that probably showed off all the fleshy bits of octopus stuck between her teeth.
Shrieking in his agitated high-pitched voice, Maroo took off running, dashing over to hide behind a nearby merchant cart selling woven blankets—a much less obnoxious ware.
Yuehwa laughed. Picking up another stick of delectable roasted octopus, she whistled a tune and quickly disappeared into the crowd. There was no way she was going to tour Dahai with that coward sticking to her like a leech. As she walked away, she thought she heard a certain high-pitched voice cry out in dismay.
"Where are you my prince?"
Where indeed was the almighty crown prince of Gi?
Not my business, good sir. Not my business.
#
After shaking Maroo off her tail and finishing her first snack in Dahai, Yuehwa found her way to one of the city's most renowned restaurants, which had been highly recommended by almost every resident she stopped along the way.
"Time for lunch!" she declared, looking up at the signboard which read "The Four Seasons". "What a bloody generic name. And ironic." With its year-round balmy weather, four seasons didn't exist for Dahai.
As was her usual practice, she got herself a private room and ordered the best dishes that the restaurant could offer. The serving staff typically gave her condescending, skeptical looks when they heard her orders, but a casual tossing of a bag of gold always solved the problem. There was nothing more valuable than a paying customer with an expensive appetite.
When her food arrived, Yuehwa's eyes lit up. She had ordered twelve different dishes in total, each one looking more mouth-watering than the next. Picking up her chopsticks, she picked up her first slice of fish braised in scallop stock and was about to place it in her mouth when another pair of chopsticks intercepted its trajectory and snatched her food away.
"Not bad, but a little too salty. They probably used sea salt since they have no shortage of that around these parts, but soy sauce would probably have been the preferred option in this case," Shoya remarked as he chewed on the slice of fish.
Scowling, Yuehwa pointed her chopsticks at his face. "What are you doing here! Are you a stalker of sorts?" She thought she had already gotten rid of him at the boardwalk—apparently not.
Ignoring her ire, Shoya sat himself down and continued eating. "Sorry, I forgot that you were a miser," he said.
Even if that's true, obviously you don't care, Yuehwa thought. She crossed her arms and watched as the man across her continued eating her food at her expense. She had always thought of herself as one of the most thick-skinned individuals that you would ever come across, but she had finally met her match.
"It really isn't as good as what I can do," Shoya declared once he had tried every single dish that was laid out on the table, setting down his chopsticks neatly.
"Egomaniac," Yuehwa hissed, continuing with her meal and trying to pretend that Shoya was invisible. Unlike Maroo, there was no point trying to shake Shoya off her tail because he would easily be able to keep up with her no matter what she did. There was no reason why her enjoyment of good food should be denied by the presence of this annoying gnat.
"This is much better than what you can cook," she said loudly, although her heart was telling her a different story. Shoya was right, he was indeed a better cook than the cooks at this restaurant.
To her surprise, Shoya suddenly stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?" she asked, mouth still full of rice. Although she didn't quite fancy him sticking around, she hadn't expected him to eject himself this easily.
"I told you I came here because I was looking for something," he replied. "Now that my stomach's filled, I suppose it's time to go looking for it."
"What is it that you're looking for?" Yuehwa asked curiously.
Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Nothing important, just something that belongs to my family." With that, he was gone.
"What a funny fellow," Yuehwa said to Ember. "You would think he was acting mysterious on purpose. Whenever you ask him a question, he just gives you these answers that appear to be answering your question but in fact invite morequestions than the one you had before. Something that belongs to his family? I thought he didn't even have a family?"
Why are you looking at me, does it look like I would have the answers?
Ember ignored his owner and flew up to one of the ceiling beams.
#
The palace of Dahai was located atop a hill, right in the middle of the city. From afar, the fortified stone walls made the palace appear as an imposing structure that kept any enemies at bay. Standing up on the palace walls, the guards on duty had a bird's eye view of almost every corner of the island, keeping an eye out for anyone who dared create trouble in the kingdom.
Fortified walls or not, palace guards or not, the Phoenix managed to slip unnoticed into the palace grounds anyway.
Yawning, Yuehwa sat on the rooftop of one of the palace buildings, leaning her back against the multi-coloured stone tiles.
"You would think they would put more effort into maintaining the security of this place, but no, they must think that their stone walls are sufficient to keep unwanted individuals out," she babbled to her companion, who was not listening to her as usual. "What do you think, Ember? How does it compare to Hwa or Jin? It's a little too tacky for my liking. Why would anyone use multi-coloured roof tiles?"
The colourful tiles made up a unique rainbow mosaic that reflected the multi-ethnic cultural diversity of the kingdom, but it also gave Yuehwa one giant headache.
"I suppose it could look less jarring from the ground, so I only have myself to blame for choosing to lie on the rooftops," she quipped. Sitting herself back up again, she peered down at the on-goings down below. Palace maids decked in their sea blue dresses were rushing to and fro as they hurried to get the palace in tip-top shape before the guests arrived for the annual sparring championships. There were feasts to be planned, gifts to be prepared, supplies to be checked—everyone had something to do in anticipation of the most significant event in the kingdom's calendar.
"Much ado about nothing." Yuehwa yawned again, leaping up to her feet. Turning to Ember, she said, "Let's go check out the kitchen and see if they've got anything good. I wonder what sort of delicacies they have in here."
It wasn't anything overwhelmingly spectacular, but the food lying around was still palatable. The palace cooks and maids were currently busy preparing afternoon tea for the various ladies of the palace. There were rows of little plates with dainty cakes laid out, every piece of which was cut into tiny, bite-sized pieces so that the concubines and princesses could eat with elegance and grace.
The Phoenix, naturally, couldn't care less about how she looked while she ate. Hidden under a table, she nicked one of the plates and began stuffing her mouth with multiple pieces of cake. "Hmm, a hint of rose syrup and morning dew," she mumbled as she tasted the first piece. "This one has honey and seaweed? Seaweed flavour in cake, that's a first."
She was about to start on her second plate when she noticed a familiar white shadow float past an open window. By the time she blinked and took a second look, the shadow was gone.
"Strange. I could have sworn I saw the freeloader."
Hopping out through the window when no one was looking, Yuehwa peered left and right but there was no one to be seen. Scratching her head, she wondered whether her eyes had been playing tricks on her for a second. Just as she was looking about, a couple of guards suddenly turned the corner, catching sight of her.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" one of the guards bellowed loudly.
"Ah crap."
Turning on her heels, she sped off as quickly as she could with the guards giving chase. Unfortunately for her, the Dahai palace had broad walkways and few nooks and crannies that were any good for hiding in. Short of leaping up onto the rooftops, which would undoubtedly trigger a flurry of arrows flying her way, there was little that she could do except run. Several minutes later with the guards still chasing behind (and more of them joining in the party), Yuehwa took a left turn and finally spied an open door that seemed like a possible hiding hole. She immediately ran in and shut the door.
Keeping her ear glued to the door, she listened as the footsteps of the guards passed by, thankfully with none of them stopping.
Yuehwa looked around the room she was in. It appeared to be a large fabric store. There were reams of cotton cloth and bolts of colourful silks in every shade of the rainbow piled onto the shelves. Running her hands along the soft material as she walked down the aisle, Yuehwa said, "Dahai really has got so much variety of anything and everything. It's no wonder the kingdom has such a bustling trading port."
When she reached the back of the storeroom, she noticed an ornate rosewood chest that stood in front of a huge mountain tapestry. Bending over, she opened the chest to reveal a single bolt of shimmering golden fabric that lay within.
Unravelling the fabric gingerly, Yuehwa held it up by one corner and peered curiously at the sheer material. The shade of gold sparkled under the dim light, giving it a life of its own. "Will you take a look at that," she remarked, impressed by the quality. "This must be the famous 'liquid gold' that the merchants always talk about."
"Liquid gold" was a much talked about rarity that one could only find in Dahai, and even then only royalty had the privilege of wearing it. The method of producing this fabric was a closely guarded secret that only the royal tailor of Dahai had access to, passed down from generation to generation, but rumour had it that it took so much effort, time and skill to manufacture a single bolt of "liquid gold" that no royal tailor had never made more than three bolts of this fabric in his entire lifetime.
Yuehwa stared at the fabric, mesmerised by the beauty in the way it reflected the light. Just then, she caught sight of something odd. Setting the fabric back down into the chest, she turned her attention towards the tapestry that was hanging behind it. It looked like a normal painting of a waterfall down a steep mountain cliff, but there was a strange symbol at the bottom left corner of tapestry that one would have easily missed if you weren't looking carefully enough.
It looked like a royal crest of sorts, the kind you would see on the flags of armies when they marched to battle, yet it was one that Yuehwa had never seen before. "This doesn't look like it belongs to Dahai," she mused, studying the crest carefully.
Dahai's royal emblem contained a ship, a symbol for how the original founder of the kingdom first conquered the island. What she was looking at was two crossed swords against what appeared to be an intricate snowflake. Searching through her memories for any inkling of which kingdom the symbol could possibly belong to, Yuehwa ended up drawing a blank.
The door suddenly creaked open and a stream of sunlight entered the room. Leaping back to her feet, Yuehwa spun around to find a shocked palace maid standing by the doorway, staring at her in alarm.
"W-w-who are you!"
Before the young girl had a chance to flee and start screaming for the guards, Yuehwa swiftly ran over and clapped her hand over the girl's mouth, shutting the door behind them. "I'm so sorry," she said, before giving the poor girl a hard rap to the nape of her neck to knock her out cold. Sighing as she looked at her latest victim, Yuehwa made a decision.
Minutes later, a "palace maid" dressed in her blue uniform emerged from the fabric storeroom carrying a bolt of pink fabric. At the back of the storeroom, next to the chest that contained the gold fabric, lay an unconscious young girl who had her hands and legs tied up, wearing nothing but her undergarments.
"Blue was never really my colour," Yuehwa remarked as she walked down the pavement, this time a little less concerned that she would be spotted by a wary palace guard. In fact, she even boldly called out a greeting to the next guard she saw coming her way and the unsuspecting buffoon simply smiled and waved her on.
Now that she had a proper disguise, the Phoenix could roam the palace grounds however she wished and she was intending to fully make use of this opportunity. Her next stop was the carefully curated palace gardens, which contained any specimen of flower that a concubine could dream of. Standing beneath a willow tree by the edge of a pond, Yuehwa squatted down and peered at the fishes that were swimming within.
"Is it just me or does that fish have rainbow-coloured scales?" she asked. "Does everything in this kingdom need to be in shades of the rainbow?"
Why don't you go down into the water and take a closer look? her feathered companion thought as he gazed down condescendingly from his perch on a nearby branch.
"It's the reflection of the light that makes it appear as if it has rainbow-coloured scales," someone else answered from behind.
Surprised by the sudden reply, Yuehwa attempted to turn around and greet the intruder with an elbow to the ribs, but in her haste her foot slid backwards along a slippery patch of moss, propelling her in the direction of the pond and its colourful inhabitants.
"Ah crap," she cussed ruefully, just before she hit the water.