Chapter Six – The Transformation
A week passed after the assassination attempt. Mother’s moods alternated between anger and disappointment. Xiao Xiao walked carefully around her, not even daring to trigger a scolding. But Xiao Xin was the one who cheered Mother up, cooing when the woman played with her chubby fingers. Xiao Xiao admitted to herself that she felt jealous. Xiao Xin was very pretty for a baby, very adorable, and was fawned over by the palace maids.
The silence got to Xiao Xiao one afternoon. She saddled Barrel and trotted out of the palace, drinking in the fresh cold air and the sight of the trees. Some of the trees were still red and orange. The earth crunched with fallen leaves. Barrel’s breath puffed in white clouds.
Xiao Xiao swayed along on the saddle, staring at the green pearl on her palm. The pearl gleamed sea-water green. It pulsed, like a tiny heart. She fancied seeing tiny movement inside the pearl.
Something… someone… rushed out of the grove of cherry trees. All Xiao Xiao knew that it was huge, snorting and pawing the earth. There was the flash of dark eyes and the glitter of a drawn blade.
Without thinking, Xiao Xiao kicked Barrel into a gallop. The round pony burst forth in a spurt of speed. That thing followed, snorting and galloping too. Xiao Xiao leaned forward, her eyes squeezed close in terror, whispering encouragement to Barrel. “Brave pony. Courageous pony. You can do it! You can do it!” While her heart pounded hard and painful in her chest, her breathing being gripped in a tight and unforgiving vise.
They ran, it seems, for a long time. The pursuer was tireless. Xiao Xiao darted a quick glance. It was not a thing, but a black horse and a man sheathed in the same color. A shadow on a shadow. It reminded her of the assassin.
I am being chased this time, Xiao Xiao thought grimly. I am now the target. Someone wants to kill me!
Someone wants to kill me!
Terror turned to rage. Xiao Xiao urged Barrel faster. The pony was laboring, huffing and puffing. Its short legs were not made for long distance running. The horseman was cutting her escape routes, blocking the paths leading to the palace. Xiao Xiao was being pushed… herded.
Xiao Xiao thought about Mother, about Xiao Xin. About Die Die, her father. Something roared in her. Rage, pure rage.
Without thinking, she popped the green pearl into her mouth and swallowed.
A sun burst in her chest. It filled her with light, pain and the feeling of tremendous power.
She transformed.
~*~
A silver dragon swirled forth from the sunburst of light, eyes blazing with rage. Its claws curled into talons. Spiralling skyward like a temple pillar, the dragon danced, before diving downwards towards the startled black horse and its rider. The horse reared and dislodged the man who landed on his buttocks. With a shout, he scrambled up to his feet and ran for his life, almost stumbling in his abject terror.
The dragon laughed a temple bell-like laugh that shook the remaining orange leaves and branches like a strong gale.