The Dragon Gods Box Set

by Resa Nelson

  While crossing the palace grounds, Ti tried not to think about the many times her father made this short trek on a weekly basis. She understood that men had an animal-like nature that made them crave women’s bodies. But she didn’t understand why her father’s animal cravings were more important than the hurt feelings they caused when her mother was alive.

  Ti understood her mother’s hurt feelings all too well. Like her mother, Ti wanted a man to treat her as a fellow mortal being, not a piece of furniture to be used when needed and then ignored until needed again.

  Every woman knew living in the Far East was dangerous. Every woman knew she had to stay on guard at all times in case someone tried to manipulate or mistreat her.

  And for those reasons, every woman dreamed of having one man—just one man—in her life who would treat her with kindness and dignity.

  Don’t think about it. If Father is true to his recent thoughts, then things will change. Not in time for Mother, but in time for me.

  About halfway to the Hall of Concubines, Ti noticed a peculiar sight. She saw Madam Po and the merchant TeaTree walking toward the hall from the direction of the court building.

  Do they plan to visit Madam Po’s great-granddaughter? Did my father grant them permission?

  Ti hurried to intercept them.

  Once TeaTree noticed her, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head. “Imperial Daughter.”

  Madam Po halted and offered a brief bow.

  After commanding TeaTree to rise, Ti smiled and said to Madam Po, “Are you on your way to visit your great-granddaughter?”

  Madam Po returned the smile. “By the grace of your father, yes.”

  Ti’s smile widened. “I would very much like to meet her.”

  TeaTree began to speak but then appeared to think better of it. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, Madam Po said, “In the Hall of Concubines? Would the emperor approve?”

  Ti bristled. What business did the old woman have to question Ti’s relationship with Emperor Po? Perhaps Madam Po needed a reminder of the potential power Ti wielded and the secrets she knew because of her mighty position in the Po Dynasty. “My father has granted your great-granddaughter her life by placing her among his concubines. No one will dare touch her or even approach her. The guards protect everyone in the Hall of Concubines with their lives.”

  Ti made an effort to soften her voice. “And even if a perpetrator managed to get past the guards, the concubines know how to protect themselves.”

  Madam Po raised an eyebrow in surprise while TeaTree gaped.

  Pleased with the results, Ti beamed. “It’s a fact known only to the royal family and the concubines themselves. They don’t know how to fight with weapons like your great-granddaughter, but they have improvised their own set of skills.”

  Ti paused for effect. “If you take me with you, I can share information that will guarantee your great-granddaughter’s safety. Even though Ming Mo failed to capture her, there is no guarantee that a man with higher status might succeed in gaining the emperor’s approval. One of my father’s advisors might like to capture a bride who’s a member of the Po Dynasty, no matter how distant.”

  TeaTree looked at Madam Po as if ready to consult, but she kept a steady gaze on the emperor’s daughter instead. “I understand,” Madam Po said. “Considering that we come from the same blood line, it might be well for you to meet her.”

  Smug with satisfaction, Ti chattered while she walked alongside Madam Po, who listened intently. TeaTree followed a few paces behind.

  At the entrance of the Hall of Concubines, a guard blocked their way. To his credit, he hid what must have been a tremendous surprise at seeing Ti. The guard said, “No one enters without permission from the emperor.”

  Madam Po handed the ceremonial jade coins given to her by the emperor as proof of his permission.

  The guard examined the coins. “There are only two coins.”

  “My father has never needed to provide me with a coin as proof of his permission,” Ti said. “The fact that I’m the Imperial Daughter is proof enough.”

  The guard looked from Ti to Madam Po, who said, “The coins are for the passage of myself and the merchant. And I do believe Ti is correct when she states that no Imperial Daughter is ever required to receive a coin as a sign of the emperor’s permission.”

  The guard looked back at Ti. “And the three of you are together? You will remain together?”

  Ti raised her voice to convince the guard of her dismay. “Why would we not stay together? We’re all here to visit Madam Po’s great-granddaughter, who happens to be my distant cousin. Of course, Madam Po is also my relative. This is a family matter. A royal family matter.”

  Although the guard did not appear fully convinced, he begrudgingly allowed them to enter.

  Ti’s first impression of the building that housed her father’s concubines was one of surprise, because the interior looked just as beautiful as any room in the royal palace. Somehow, she’d assumed the place would be shabbier.

  They followed another guard down a marble hallway lined with tall windows providing views of the wall enclosing the royal complex and the distant mountains beyond it. The daylight that streamed through the windows made the thin veins of gold in the marble sparkle. A few windows were cracked open, filling the hallway with fresh air and the scent of lavender from nearby gardens.

  The guard led them to a hallway through the interior of the building and then up a flight of stairs. Around the next corner, he unlocked and opened the door to a small room. Inside, small windows near the ceiling allowed dim light into the room.

  Frayka sat on one of the turquoise floor pillows piled on the smooth wooden floor. She looked up in surprise and said, “GranGran!”

  Ti turned to the guard and said, “Leave us.”

  The guard exited the room but left the door ajar.

  Ti hovered near the door and leaned against the wall. Despite being the eldest Imperial Daughter, she had observed something during the past several years that she found useful. If she stayed close to a wall in any room filled with other people and kept still and quiet, Ti discovered that she might as well be invisible. No one gave much thought to girls her age, and royal daughters were sequestered inside the palace until they approached a nubile age. Except for her father’s advisors and those who worked inside the palace, no one recognized Ti. So even when she wore bright clothing and situated herself against a pale wall, people ignored her as if she weren’t there.

  They also spoke as freely as if she weren’t there. That meant Ti could gather a wealth of information simply by listening to conversations that didn’t include her. Such conversations wouldn’t have occurred anywhere near her presence if the participants had been paying attention.

  Let’s see what else I can learn today.

  But when Frayka spoke rapidly, Ti could have kicked herself for being so foolish.

  The girl only speaks Northlander! I won’t understand anything they say!

  The time had come for a new tactic. Ti remained quiet but observed the way each person’s face displayed their thoughts or emotions. She watched the way each one stood or sat or paced. Those observations provided a good foundation of information.

  They haven’t known the girl very long. She hesitates. I see the fear of uncertainty in her eyes. The girl’s trust of her great-grandmother and the merchant is new and fragile.

  My distant cousin sees us as strange, maybe even incomprehensible. But the others strive to comfort and encourage her.

  Ti considered the pending changes in her own life and the similarity to her distant cousin’s life. Although Frayka appeared to be several years older than Ti, they were both women of marriageable age. They were both at risk of becoming captured brides.

  Frayka fought back. No woman in all of the Wulong Province would dare to do such a thing. And the man who did the capturing brought her to my father’s court expecting to see her punished with a severe hand.

  But inste
ad of being sentenced to a gruesome death, Frayka now had the emperor’s protection, whether she was smart enough to enjoy it or not.

  It occurred to Ti that having Frayka as an ally—possibly even a bodyguard—would be a good thing.

  Of course, first Ti needed to figure out how to win her distant cousin’s trust.

  Without knowing what Madam Po, TeaTree, and Frayka said, Ti watched the conversation. It began with heated words but ended with the girl looking lost and hopeless. When the talking died, Ti cleared her throat.

  The merchant and the girl looked at Ti as if she had just appeared out of thin air. Madam Po did not.

  “I have a proposition,” Ti said. “I believe I can help Frayka. I would like to know if she would be willing to accept my advice.”

  Ti kept her focus on Madam Po, believing if anything were to go amiss, she would be able to see it in the old woman’s eyes.

  But Madam Po kept a still and quiet demeanor. Staring at Ti, Madam Po’s eyes were as mysterious as mirrors, reflecting Ti’s image. Madam Po nodded for Ti to continue.

  “Observe my father’s concubines and learn from them,” Ti said, shifting her attention to Frayka. “Learn how to defer to men, especially powerful ones. Learn how to avert your eyes, how to laugh and when not to. Learn how to breathe so quietly that men will forget you’re in their presence.”

  The emperor’s daughter paused while TeaTree took an inordinate amount of time translating her words for Frayka, who immediately stared at the ground but appeared to listen.

  Ti continued. “Once you know all of that, you’ll be ready for the Initiation Ceremony. The other concubines will bathe you. Let them. They will dress you in a white silk robe. They will give you a bag of herbs and salt. Use them to draw a circle around you. They say if you stay inside that circle, it will protect you from all other men until the emperor arrives.”

  Once again, TeaTree translated. Frayka continued to keep her head lowered.

  “Emperor Po won’t harm you. My father is likely to treat you the same way he treats me.”

  When TeaTree translated, Frayka caught her breath with hope and snuck a quick glimpse at Ti.

  There. Now she begins to trust me.

  “Perhaps,” Ti said, “we can find a way to help each other.” With a smile, she turned and left the Hall of Concubines.

  But the moment she stepped outside, the smile fell away from Ti’s face and she became alert to her surroundings. While the royal court provided protection from men who would capture her as a bride for the sake of getting in line to become emperor, few other places in the royal complex offered such protection.

  Ti knew she would not be truly safe until she entered her own bedroom inside the walls of the royal palace.

  CHAPTER 25

  Frayka felt angry for being relegated to a building that housed women reserved for the emperor’s pleasure. At the same time, being here provided some relief of safety. She felt ashamed for failing to outwit the man who had captured her and guilty that Njall had disappeared because his concern for her might have made their relationship clear.

  When Frayka saw Madam Po and TeaTree enter her room, emotion swirled like a whirlwind around her. She looked at them in surprise and said, “GranGran!”

  “Careful,” GranGran said in a soft and easy tone. “See who else came.”

  The sound in her great-grandmother’s voice made Frayka’s skin prickle.

  Something’s wrong. It’s time to use caution.

  Keeping her focus on GranGran, Frayka used her peripheral vision to pick up on the presence of a girl dressed in bright clothing. A girl she remembered seeing in court. Frayka decided to match GranGran’s casual tone of voice. “Is that the emperor’s child?”

  “Yes,” TeaTree said. “She intercepted us when we walked here. Emperor Po granted Madam and me permission to see you. The Imperial Daughter caught us off guard. She said she wants to meet you.”

  “Why?”

  “I imagine part of the reason is because you share the same blood line. You are family.” TeaTree paused. “The Imperial Daughter also claims she can guarantee your safety.”

  Frayka looked from TeaTree to GranGran in dismay. “Why would she want to do that? We may have the same blood, but she doesn’t know anything about me.”

  “Good question. Smart question.” GranGran smiled. “No one knows.”

  If no one knows why the emperor’s daughter is here, then I’ll keep my guard up.

  “And why am I here? What happened to Njall?”

  “Enslaved by the emperor,” TeaTree said. Before Frayka could protest, he added, “Probably in a safe place. I find it hard to believe the emperor would go to such lengths to protect you and allow Njall to come to any harm. We’ll find him. But first we must get you out of here.”

  The thought of not knowing where to find her husband brought out the Northlander in Frayka. “I’ll walk out of here with you. Let’s go now. Let’s find Njall.”

  “Not good,” GranGran said.

  “If we do that, we’ll all be in trouble,” TeaTree said. “You’re used to living in a place where you have no real leader. You don’t know how dangerous it is to defy the wishes of an emperor.” TeaTree glanced to the side as though searching for the Imperial Daughter, even though she stood well behind him. “Or even how dangerous it can be to defy the wishes of his offspring.”

  The Imperial Daughter cleared her throat.

  For the first time, Frayka looked directly at her and realized how young the girl must be, maybe 15 or 16 at the most. The Imperial Daughter attempted to hold a strong posture; it came across as false bravado. It made Frayka wonder what it must be like to live in Zangcheen. Frayka had experienced a small taste of the dangers women faced. What must this girl’s life be like?

  More than ever, Frayka missed her home in the Land of Ice and all the freedoms it offered.

  The Imperial Daughter returned Frayka’s stare and spoke.

  When she stopped, TeaTree translated. “The emperor’s daughter claims she can give you advice, but I don’t know why she’s offering it. I think it would be wise for you to pretend to be meek or frightened right now. That way, she might think you will take her advice. The more she speaks to us, the more we will learn.”

  Frayka took TeaTree’s advice to heart. She stared at the ground but paid rapt attention.

  TeaTree continued. “She wants you to mimic the concubines. She says acting like them will protect you. It will mean going against everything you know as a Northlander. It will mean acting in no way I’ve ever seen a Northlander woman act before. These women are nothing more than servants to men. They have no voice. No power. But learning to act like them will make it possible for you to be less noticeable. The emperor’s advisors are sometimes given access to his concubines, and being less noticeable can keep them away from you.”

  Ti continued speaking. When she stopped, Ti looked once more at TeaTree and waited for him to translate.

  “There’s a way to protect yourself from men,” TeaTree said. “First, you have to act like a concubine. Then you’ll participate in an initiation.”

  To become a concubine? Never!

  Frayka tensed but immediately forced herself to relax.

  “I know this is unpleasant,” TeaTree said. “But think about the dragons in the Northlands. I’m sure you must have heard stories about them. They hunted by lying in wait. A dragon would find a well-traveled path and then hide inside a pile of fallen leaves next to that path or dig a shallow pit and cover itself with dirt. The dragon would remain still and wait as long as necessary. Then when someone or an animal wandered down that path, the dragon would pounce on its unsuspecting supper. That’s what you must be like right now, Frayka. A dragon lying in wait. Patience will lead you to success. Keep this in mind: You will never have to be a concubine. You merely have to mimic the behavior of a concubine to make others believe you are willing to become one.”

  Frayka liked TeaTree’s reminder about dragons and how
they hunted. Her father had told her many stories about the dragons he’d encountered in the Northlands, and those experiences had left him shaken and grateful to be alive. Frayka liked the idea of imagining herself to hunt like a dragon. To hide among concubines as if they were fallen leaves. To remain still and patient but ready to pounce as soon as the opportunity to escape presented itself.

  I will learn to appear to be a concubine. But I will lie in wait like a dragon.

  The emperor’s daughter spoke again, and TeaTree translated.

  “She says the emperor will treat you like his own daughter. Once you act accordingly, the concubines will bathe and dress you. When they give you a bag, use the herbs and salt inside that bag to draw a circle around you. Stay inside that circle, and it will protect you. Stay calm as you listen to what I say next. Your time here will be short, because Madam Po has made arrangements for you to rejoin us.”

  Frayka caught her breath with hope and took a quick look at Ti.

  The Imperial Daughter spoke a few more words, smiled, and then exited as if she were on a mission.

  Frayka turned to TeaTree for the translation, but he held up a cautioning hand while GranGran crept toward the door that Ti had left wide open when she left Frayka’s room. GranGran eased to peer around the doorway, watched for several moments, and then turned back toward the others with a smile of relief.

  “Ti thinks she and you can help each other,” TeaTree said. “Although I can’t imagine why the emperor’s daughter would need help from anyone, especially a Northlander.”

  “I’ll stay here and do what you say,” Frayka said. “But in the meantime, I need you to find Njall and help him.”

  GranGran and TeaTree readily agreed, and prepared to leave.

  A sense of unease came over Frayka, but she didn’t know why. Only sometime after GranGran and TeaTree left the Hall of Concubines did it occur to Frayka that her recent portent about the strange objects flying in the sky above the royal complex might be important enough to mention.

  CHAPTER 26

  Frayka decided that the only way she could act against her nature was to focus on what she would gain: listening and looking for any information that might reveal where she could find her husband.