"It is truly an honor to have been welcomed into your palace, your Imperial Majesty," Fu Jie said, assuming the kowtow greeting for Emperor Leinji. A dark red silk robe bloomed outward beneath him like a pool. His attire was more modest than usual, with minimal embroidery and a pale pibian adjourning his head. He knelt down beside his sister, Xianying, who had accompanied him on a mission of diplomacy to Xian Palace. Before him, Emperor Leinji sat observing the young prince. The years of dormancy beneath the crown had thickened the leader, though his militant demeanor and figure beneath resided in the way he carried himself. He was a man equally as frightening in power as he was in build. His wife, Niyu, stood quietly beside him. She kept a firm posture and calm disposition to play her role in supporting the Emperor.
"Rise," Leinji spoke. Both Fu Jie and Xianying rose to an upward kneel. "I trust you haven't forgotten about our arrangement."
"Of course not, your Imperial Majesty," Fu Jie said, his voice pouring smoothly out of a curled smirk. "There is none more thrilled than I to finally marry your daughter."
"To establish an alliance between our kingdoms," Leinji said firmly. "I am offering my daughter as a token of such and you will honor our agreement with your compliance." Fu Jie breathed in. A fist clenched in his lap.
"Yes, your Imperial Majesty," he said. "Of course, that is what I want as well." Xianying's eyes peered over to him. She smirked at the obvious irritation in Fu Jie's voice.
"Very well then," Leinji said. "Why have you asked to meet with me?"
"Your Imperial Majesty, I come on these same matters, for I am just as eager to further this union," Fu Jie said. He spoke through a charming grin, occasionally glancing at Niyu with a gleam in his eye. "I would like to request that the ceremony come on the day of the autumnal equinox?"
"That's just seven days from now," Niyu said. Fu Jie looked back at her. "Yuanji may not be ready to wed by then."
"I did say I was eager, my lady," Fu Jie responded. "I trust that she is as well, having waited as long as she has since our first meeting." Niyu started to speak right away, but paused by a slight catch in her throat.
"I-I suppose we could speak with her on the matter and possibly move up the ceremony," Niyu said. "She would have to-" Leinji raised his hand slowly. Niyu noticed the gesture and fell quiet once more.
"Need I remind both of you that it is my call when she is ready to wed?" Leinji asked. Neither Niyu or Fu Jie took that as an invitation to answer. "Yuanji has had more than enough time to prepare. The sooner we can make this union official, the sooner we can join our forces and trade prospects. Very well, I have decided. Yuanji is to marry prince Fu Jie on the morning of the autumnal equinox." Fu Jie smiled and bowed his head.
"Thank you, your Imperial Highness," he said.
"Y-your highness, shall we perhaps pray on it first?" Niyu asked.
"No need, it's been settled," Leinji said dismissively. "Share the news with my daughter. Where is Sima Yi?" Xianying glanced around. Niyu looked down, her hands cupped in front of her.
"Your highness, he stepped out this morning," Niyu said. "He said he had to make a run to the market for food supplies, so I permitted him leave." Leinji let out a small grunt and a sigh.
"Very well," Leinji said. "Inform him later that he may tell Yuanji." Fu Jie perked up.
"Your Imperial Highness," Fu Jie started. "If it is not too bold for me to say, I can always pay your daughter a visit to share with her the news." The royal couple paused for a moment. Niyu looked down at Leinji, awaiting an answer.
"I know she's been studying her duties quite extensively over the last couple of days," Niyu said. "She may not be prepared for visitors at this time, much like she was not this morning."
"And my apologies for arriving so soon, my lady," Fu Jie responded. Lienji raised his hand off of his throne once more.
"I'll allow it," the emperor said. "Wife, show Prince Jie to her chambers."
"Y-yes, your highness," said Niyu. She bowed before him, as did Fu Jie and Xianying upon standing.
"A million blessings, your Imperial Highness," said Fu Jie.
Niyu led the pair out of the throne room. Fue Jie walked alongside Niyu down the corridors, lined with beautifully crafted relief carvings and hanging embroideries. The prince eyed several young handmaidens they passed by during their routine duties. Xianying trailed behind them both, admiring the Xian Palace artwork while keeping a watchful eye out for the strangely absent royal advisor. Niyu sighed. She held her head up high, though her expression was much less confident than her stance. She led the pair up a flight of stairs and toward the bedchambers of her daughter, Hong Yuanji.
"This is it," Niyu said. "I did mention that she has been rather busy lately with her responsibilities. It's likely that she's still resting."
"This shall not take long, my lady, I assure you," said Fu Jie. "I would just like to see this lovely young maiden before she becomes my wife." Niyu hung her head.
"Very well," she said. Her knuckles gently tapped against Yuanji's door. Niyu leaned in closer and spoke louder. "Yuanji. Yuanji, you have visitors. The Crown Prince, Fu Jie, is here to meet with you." All three listened in as silence answered back. Niyu exhaled a heavy breath. "Yuanji, I am opening the door. Please be presentable."
Niyu placed her hand on the door and pushed. It opened slowly, revealing a quiet bedroom. It was neat and tidy as Yuanji had always kept it. Books sat stacked neatly atop a small table in the center of the room. Incense burned by a lantern in the corner of the room. Curtains covering the balcony blew and shifted in the wind. Yuanji's caged sparrow ruffled its feathers, one fluttering away and slowly down toward the ground. The room was as silent as it had been on the other side of the door. Niyu entered, peeking around.
"Yuanji?" her mother asked. She looked to Yuanji's bed. A sleeping form laid beneath a sheet, her head turned away from the door. Niyu came closer to the bed where presumably Yuanji lay sleeping. "Yuanji, wake up."
The sleeping figure remained unresponsive beyond the rhythmic pattern of her breathing slowly raising and lowering the sheet over her body. Niyu huffed and shook her head.
"By the gods, Yuanji, you mustn't sleep so late," she said, shaking her head. Xianying peeked into the room from the open door. Fu Jie stayed behind, keeping to the outer corridor. Niyu turned back toward them. "My apologies, crown prince Jie. It seems that Yuanji is far too tired to meet with anyone right now."
"That is quite alright, my lady," Fu Jie said. As Niyu exited the room and quietly closed the door behind her, Jie turned to Xianying. He met her eyes and tilted his head. She smiled and bowed before Niyu. Without waiting for a response, Xianying turned away and casually made her way out of the palace. Niyu watched before Jie caught her attention once more. "I understand the trials and pressures of living a royal life. I would hate to interrupt the princess's much needed rest."
"Your patience is appreciated, crown prince Jie," Niyu said. "I am confident that Yuanji will make a fine wife for you."
"Oh, as am I," Fue Jie said, his voice spilled like cream through a twisted smirk. "I have already made preparations for her new life with me." Niyu forced a smile and bowed her head.
"I... I'm glad," she said. "We shall make arrangements today for the ceremony."
"I look forward to it, my lady."
"We do as well," Niyu said. She turned from him, her smile wilting almost instantly. "If you have no more business here, crown prince, I will show you out."
"Much appreciated, my lady," Fu Jie said with a bow. Niyu started off toward the palace doors with Jie following closely behind. His eyes soaked in her image, visions of red and screams playing through his head. Even when passed by more handmaidens, Niyu had his whole captivated attention.
Niyu saw Fu Jie to the top of the palace stairs just beyond the golden, arching doors. They parted from one another with a respectful bow before Jie causally made his way down toward his carriage. Niyu stood and watched him walk away. A shiver scurried across her skin. The taste of sickness came with a lump in her throat. She caught a brief scent of a wood fire, an apparition from the charred remains of Beiling. She looked to the sky. The storm that seemed to have been approaching for some time painted the heavens in a dismal, endless gray; a singular mass of cloud bearing down over the land. She sighed and reentered the palace, heading toward the shrine to pray.
Ai stayed tucked away in the bed until she was sure that the voices behind the door were gone. Carefully, the small maiden scampered out and rushed to listen against it. Beyond the wood was silence. A comforting breath escaped her lips. Ai held her stomach to calm her nerves. Pretending to be Yunaji and lying to the royal family for so long had proved to be a more demanding task than she anticipated. Every noise made her jump. Everyday came with the possibility that she and her sister would be punished, possibly put to death for such treason. Sima was always around to calm her nerves, but since Sima left early that morning to search for Yuanji, she had no one. No watchful eye, no soothing words telling her that it would be alright. Alone with her worries, she could only hope that Sima and Yuanji would return soon.
Ai backed away from the door. She rubbed her head. Her hands shook, tears welled up in her eyes. Ai tried to steady her breath, a chore cut short.
"Aww, what's wrong, cutie?" a voice shocked her back into panic from behind. She turned toward the balcony to see a woman sitting against the railing. She wore a tunic of black belted leather, a style that stretched down to her legs and boots. A small bow hung strapped to her back. Words escaped Ai with the air in her throat. Her eyes widened. Her lips quivered.
"I.... I..."
"Tsk, tsk, lying to the family," Xianying said, hopping down off of the balcony edge. Her boots tapped lightly as she walked into the room. "That's not something girls like you come back from. Not in one piece anyway."
"I... I didn't... I was just... doing what the advisor said..." Ai stuttered, her cheeks running pale. "Pl-please... please don't say anything..." Xianying smirked and looked around the room. She ran her gloved hand over the bed, the curtains, the table, anything she could directly touch. She tossed her long, ebony hair out of her face, letting it all flow behind her. Against her neck, the scar of a burn rose with distinct markings.
"Nice place for the crown princess," Xianying said. Her head twisted around to face Ai. She smirked a razor sharp smile, her eyes glistening pools of malice. "But that's not you, is it?"
"Please," Ai said. She fell down to her knees and bowed deeply, continuing to beg. "Please, please, please don't say anything. M-my sister, she serves the family too and she would also get in a lot of trouble because of me, so please... please..."
"Oh, yeah she would," Xianying said. She spoke loudly, even more so as she came closer to the door. "Lying to the family, betraying the emperor. If you're lucky, only one of you may lose their head. The other, their tongue." Ai trembled and sobbed against the floor. Xianying stood looming over the girl, painting her diminutive frame with her shadow.
"Please..."
"I do like the begging, but not earned this way," Xianying said. "Not yet at least. Because, you see, I'm not going to say anything." Ai sniffled and wiped her face. She looked up to Xianying. Her eyes and nose blushed bright red. Xianying bent down to get a closer look.
"Y-you're not?"
"No, dear, I'm not," Xianying said. She reached out and stroked the girl's cheek and hair. Ai managed a faint, relieved smile.
"Oh, thank you," Ai said.
"Because, you see, I gain nothing from you being put to death," Xianying said. "What's in it for me? Why should I bother? No, no, I came up here to find the princess and you're not her. That presents a problem for me and the prince. So I'm going to do you a favor. I'm not going to say anything to the emperor regardless. I'm a woman of my word, after all. But you're going to tell me where the princess is anyway." Ai's lips quivered. She paused for a moment to think, hoping that she perhaps knew and had only forgotten.
"I... I don't know, my lady," Ai said, trembling. "She... she just ran off. She never said-" A hard slap slammed across Ai's cheek. For a moment, everything went dark. The room twisted and swirled. Her head slammed against the hard stone floor as the burn from the strike began to bloom. The bird in the cage by the balcony cried out, flapping its wings wildly. Xianying stood over Ai writhing against the ground. She grabbed Ai's hair and pulled her back up into a kneeling position.
"Listen, I know that was just a test, right? You have to deny it the first time thinking 'maybe she'll believe me' or 'maybe she's an idiot' right?" Ai shook her head. Tears began tracing down her cheeks.
"N-no, my lady."
"It's okay, I get it," Xianying said. "You did what you had to do and I did what I had to do to really drive home the seriousness of what I'm asking. Now that all that's out of the way, I'll ask again. Where is Princess Yuanji?" Ai began to sob harder. Her cheek glowed a bright red, marked with the vague shape of a hand print."
"I... I... don't know, I swear," Ai said through pitiful weeping. "S-Sima... Sima Yi knows... the advisor. He knows better than anyone."
"Oh, I'm sure," Xianying said. "Shame he's not here though. A real cutie, that one. Can't wait to get to know him better. But he's not here. You are." Xianying cracked her knuckles and raised her hand back. Ai flinched and cried out.
"Ah! I swear! I don't know! Please! Please don't hurt me!" Ai sobbed and waited for the next strike. She bared her teeth, her hands shaking in her lap. Tears poured down her swollen face. After waiting in the abysmal silence that followed for another brutal slap, none came. Xianying smiled and lowered her hand.
"I believe you," Xianying said. Ai opened her weak and flushed eyes. Xianying patted her head. "I do. You don't know where the princess is. That's what makes you such a valuable asset." She grinned a chilling smile. Ai wiped her face and breathed deeper and slower as the tension lifted from her shoulders. She wiped her hair out of her face.
"Th-thank you..." Ai said, bowing her head.
"You're still going to tell me where she is though," Xianying said.
Before Ai could react, her neck jerked to one side. Xianying ran her fingers through Ai's smooth black hair and twisted it up into her fist. Ai let out a shrill scream that she bit down to stile. Xianying stood and pulled Ai across the floor.
"We're going to take a little trip and you are going to tell me everything you know," Xianying said, dragging the girl toward the balcony. Ai struggled and held onto as much of her hair as she could. She tried to grab onto a leg of the bed, then the desk. With each grasp, she was yanked away in hard, agonizing jerks.
"No! Please!" Ai cried out.
As Xianying pulled her closer to the balcony, Ai managed to grab onto the base of the birdcage. With a hard tug, it toppled over and broke open. The sparrow inside scrambled to find its bearings, panicking all over the princess's bedroom. It flew out in a hurry over the balcony where Xianying brought Ai to the edge. She looked down. The drop was not far, but certainly far enough. Below, a black carriage sat waiting on the road toward the village.
"You should be thanking me," Xianying said, staring deep into her eyes, glossed over with tears and terror. She held Ai's head firmly by the roots of her hair. "I leave you here, you and your sister die. But neither of us want that. So I'm giving you a new life... as one of the prince's fuck toys." Tears raced down Ai's cheeks with no sobs in her voice. Her face stared back purely frozen and white. Xianying tossed her hair to the side, showing Ai the burned scar on her neck. "Don't be scared, it's not so bad. It only hurts the first few days... and every day after that."
"Pl... ple..." Ai started through stunted breath. Xianying jammed her hand against Ai's throat. She gripped hard until the hue across Ai's cheeks changed three shades. Ai's chest tightened. She tried to breathe to pry Xianying's hand from her neck, but could do neither. She could only stare back at the woman stealing her from her home.
"Save your words, whore," Xianying said. "You might as well tell us where the princess is. Or even where the advisor went. Because the next time you'll see either of them, they'll be just like you."