by JC Kang
Such resolve and dedication! Kaiya shook her head. “This is just a misunderstanding. Wait at the door.”
Bowing their heads, they said in unison, “As the princess commands.”
Legs shaking, Kaiya scooped up the pipa and traipsed across the floor with Hardeep just a step behind. Hopefully, the guards would not object to her being alone in the storage room with him.
She returned the pipa to its honored place and turned to face him. “I have watched the imperial guards spar, and never before has anyone else come close to defeating even one of them. You fight faster than anyone I have ever seen. How did you do that?”
“Princess Kaiya, your imperial guards might be the most skilled swordsmen in Cathay, but—” He stared out the door into space “—there is a whole world beyond your Great Wall. Wonders beyond your imagination.”
And the promise of a world beyond marriage to a suitable lord. And such an elusive answer. “Are you saying there are others who can fight like you?”
“I am embarrassed to say…” He shifted his gaze to the floor.
“Please.”
Eyes still cast downward, he sucked in a voluminous breath. “Well… I started training as a Paladin.”
Prince Hardeep was full of surprises. Kaiya fought to keep her jaw from freefalling to the ground. The Order of Paladins, defenders of the Ayuri South, sought out children who showed potential to manifest magic through their fighting arts. Their martial skill bordered on legendary, but to hear about it secondhand paled compared to witnessing it just now.
And supposedly, they could plant suggestions into people’s minds. Had he done that to her guards?
Had he done that to her?
Maybe all these feelings were the result of his powers. A pit threatened to form in her gut. No, he had only… “Started?”
He sighed. “Yes. Unfortunately, Madura’s aggression cut my studies short. I had to return to Ankira, to lead the defense of my homeland.” His eyes searched hers. “I failed Ankira then, just like now, when I could not convince your people to end their trade agreement with Madura.”
It couldn’t end this way. Kaiya shook her head. Such a selfless, noble man couldn’t go home unsuccessful. Not if she had means of helping him. It seemed all the more possible now that she had tapped into the magic of music. Her hand strayed to Tian’s pebble. If a Dragon Song was the only way to convince Father and the lords to do the right thing, so be it. “I will do my best to help you. I will practice more.”
A sad smile formed on his face. He pressed his palms together and bowed. “I thank you. Ankira thanks you.” He raised his head and his expression brightened. “I have an idea, one that your father might approve of. I want to show you something.”
“What?” Kaiya squeezed her sweaty palms together.
“The fabled Dragon Scale Lute. It can supposedly rout an army.”
She gasped. A handful of musical instruments appeared in ancient tales, and Yanyan’s pipa was the only one known to have survived. She’d never even heard of the Dragon Scale Lute. “How did you—”
“Can you meet me outside the palace tonight? At the first waxing gibbous.”
Her heart lurched. She would need a good excuse to convince the Minister of Household Affairs to let her leave at night. Especially with the reception, and the announcement of her betrothal. And once the scholars, steward, secretary, or imperial guards reported her day’s highly irregular activities, perhaps General Lu would reject her. Not a bad prospect in itself, but then she might not be let out of the palace until her hair faded to grey.
With a grin, he brought his fingers to her chin and closed her gaping mouth. “Young Lord Peng has Ankira’s best interests at heart. I will ask him to arrange something.”
She could only nod in a slow bob of her head. Cousin Kai-Long might be Father’s favorite nephew, but even he couldn’t convince the Tianzi to leave her unpunished…let alone to allow her out of the palace to meet a man. A foreign man. Not with her virtue at stake before an important marriage.
He pointed to the book, forgotten near the chair back in the room. “Please keep practicing your music. I hope to hear you again. Maybe as soon as tonight.”
Back in the main hall, several booted feet clickety-clacked across the marble floors in rhythmic clops. Kaiya peeked out from behind the corner. At the entrance, the steward, secretary, and her own imperial guards bowed as two dozen imperial guards marched past them in formation. The Minister of Appointments himself shuffled at their head. A small man in both stature and attitude, Minister Hu was arrogant if nothing else. If his smirk was any indication, the consequences of the day’s adventures would not be pleasant. Her stomach churned.
A warm hand grasped her shoulder and pulled her around. Prince Hardeep grinned. “Wait here while I talk to them.”
She shook her head. They might not care what a sixteen-year-old girl, princess or not, would say, but she could influence them far better than a foreigner could.
The minister pushed past and walked into the hall. He jabbed a finger at the prince. “There he is!”
The imperial guards surged past the minster and surrounded him.
Prince Hardeep held his hands up, still smiling. “This is my fault. I took advantage of your princess’ naïveté.”
Naïveté! Kaiya’s stomach twisted into a knot. Had all his charm just been an act?
He turned back and winked at her, sending her pulse into a flutter.
Then, the imperial guards grabbed him and thrust him to the ground. If they suspected he’d done anything inappropriate, they’d take his head.
CHAPTER 10
Interventions
Kaiya’s silk shoes scuffed on the Hall of Pure Melody’s marble steps as she hurried down. The imperial guards’ and Household Ministry secretary’s robes swished behind her. In the vast central plaza formed by the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the imperial archives and the Hall of Pure Melody, a contingent of imperial guards surrounded Prince Hardeep.
All weapons remained sheathed, thank the Heavens. The prince might have survived two of the realm’s best swordsmen with only a shorn sleeve, but two dozen was another matter. For now, his hands rested on his head in surrender.
Her insides squeezed like a grape in an Arkothi wine press. All her fault. She should’ve never taken him into the music hall or archives, or at least gone through the proper channels. Really, she should’ve just seen him off and then gone to meet General Lu, but Prince Hardeep was so, so…confusing.
General Lu was still waiting now, probably wondering if the orc gods would return to Tivara on their flaming chariots before she deigned to greet him. If it were up to her…
Appointments Minister Hu furiously scribbled on a scroll. When he looked up, he spoke in Hua. “Prince Hardeep, the Tianzi generously allowed you to visit the castle and even dispatched a member of his family to meet with you. You repay his magnanimity by kidnapping his young daughter and spiriting her from building to building.”
Kidnapping! How did he come to that conclusion? Kaiya’s heart pounded. Expulsion from the palace, perhaps deportation might be more appropriate for what actually happened, but the minister’s charges warranted a slow death. Just what had all the scholars and other officials said?
The minister scrutinized her and her entourage before settling on the Household Ministry secretary. “And, Secretary Hong overheard you. You wanted the princess to meet you outside the palace? What did you plan to do? Defile her? Use her as a hostage to secure Hua’s support?”
Hardeep only smiled. He probably didn’t understand the Hua tongue, let alone the serious accusation and grave consequences. He turned and winked at her again.
Her chest tightened. This ill-advised escapade would never have happened if she hadn’t allowed it. She was just as much at fault as he, perhaps even more so for her lack of judgment. Kaiya pushed through the imperial guards, who stepped to the side and dropped to a knee, fist to the ground, as she passed.
“Minister,”
she said.
He bowed at the waist. “Dian-xia. I am glad to see you unharmed. Please tell us what else this rogue did.”
She scowled at the minister. “Prince Hardeep did nothing wrong. I chose to take him to the imperial archives and Hall of Pure Melody.”
The minister sidled in and whispered, “Dian-xia, you do not understand. If rumor gets out that you were with the prince alone, it will besmirch your honor and affect your marriage prospects.”
“If only it were so easy.” Heavens, did she just think that, or say it aloud? Face flushing, she swept her gaze around all the assembled men, making sure all witnesses to her misadventures were now there: the imperial guards, Secretary Hong, Minister Hu, the scholars, and the steward. She raised her voice so all could hear. “Prince Hardeep only wished to save his homeland. I wanted to help him. He did nothing wrong. Any breeches of protocol were my choice.”
“If I may, Dian-xia,” called a male voice from beyond the cordon of men. The guards stepped aside to reveal Cousin Kai-Long. He folded a piece of paper as he approached.
Kaiya blew out a breath. If he and Prince Hardeep were good friends, he would surely use his considerable influence to prevent any possible misunderstanding. Kai-Long might only be a second son with little hope of inheriting his father’s title of Tai-Ming provincial ruler, but all knew the Tianzi treated him like his own son.
Minister Hu bowed low, though not as low as he had to her. “Young Lord Peng Kai-Long, this matter does not concern you.”
“But it does,” Cousin Kai-Long said with an amiable smile. “I am ultimately responsible for Prince Hardeep’s presence. It was I who brought him to Huajing, housed him in my family villa, and arranged for his visit to the castle. I even suggested to the Tianzi that Princess Kaiya meet him, as a test of her budding diplomatic skills.”
Kaiya gaped at him. It had seemed strange that she was the one to greet the Ankirans, and now it was clear. Still, he deflected blame from both her and the prince.
The minister’s slit eyes fell first on Hardeep, then on Cousin Kai-Long, and finally on her. “The evidence—”
“Wait.” Prince Hardeep stomped a foot on the pavestones as he raised a hand. All heads turned to him. He rotated in a full circle as he spoke, his voice calm. “This is all a misunderstanding. I certainly did not do anything inappropriate with the princess. This is really just a trivial matter.”
And he was right. So what if they had visited the archives and music hall? They hadn’t damaged anything. Kaiya looked at the men, many who likely didn’t speak Ayuri. They might not be convinced, but Minister Hu’s expression softened.
He must have realized that with Cousin Kai-Long and her both vouching for the prince, very little would come of it. With a sigh, he said, “Young Lord Peng, I place Prince Hardeep in your care. Please see him out of the palace.”
That was it? If Kaiya’s mouth could hang any lower, her chin would touch the ground. Surely, somebody would be punished somehow. But Prince Hardeep allowed to just leave? A great resolution, for sure, but a complete surprise.
“Follow me, Your Excellency.” Ayuri rolled off Kai-Long’s tongue.
Prince Hardeep flashed a smile at her.
Her heart sank into her stomach. She bowed her head a fraction, as protocol demanded. Maybe the resolution wasn’t so great, after all. After the day’s debacle, she wouldn’t be allowed to see him ever again. And if what he said were true, Ankira would fall without her ever having a chance to help it. She was nothing more than a plain, gangly girl, to be strategically married off. Never allowed to explore the power of Dragon Songs, even after her breakthrough.
She studied his back, hair, and gait as he and Kai-Long started toward the main gates. Her last memory of him.
Then he turned his head, his luminescent blue eyes fixed her. Her pulse pounded again, just like when she first met him.
Tonight, he mouthed. At the first waxing gibbous.
Tonight?
Secretary Hong, that was his name, cleared his throat. “Dian-xia, General Lu is waiting.”
Kaiya looked back at Hardeep’s diminishing form. Tonight… There would be no tonight, at least not with him. He wouldn’t be let back in the palace, and there was no way for her to get out. Even if she could grow in her knowledge of Dragon Songs, Father would never let her go to Ankira. Not to mention, there was her own country’s stability to consider.
Whatever Hardeep had done to addle her good judgment…well, it had been a fleeting diversion. A three-hour diversion, gauging from the Iridescent Moon’s waning toward new. Her future husband, Hua’s savior, waited. Her lip jutted out, unbidden. If only it could be Hardeep.
Hiking her gown up and holding her hair in place, Kaiya strode back toward the inner castle. Secretary Hong and her two guards rushed to keep up with her. The faster she could put distance between herself and Hardeep, the sooner she could forget him and accept her fate.
If only it were so simple.
Though abated, the squirming sensation in her belly was a constant reminder of the power and bliss she’d felt while playing Yanyan’s pipa. With each step away from Hardeep, the chasm widened between her and possibility.
The possibility of being more than just a skinny, pimply political tool. Of being something special. She blinked and found herself at the inner moat. Behind her, Secretary Hong hunched over, hands on his knees, panting. Unlike him, her imperial guards Chen Xin and Zhao Yue managed to maintain a dignified demeanor and appearance.
In the middle of the arching stone bridge, she stopped and found her reflection in the dark water. Heavens, her hair appeared as if a family of songbirds had nested there, and perhaps rearranged her clips and pins as well. The gown, originally folded at an exact angle, now hung awkwardly over her shoulder. She must have looked ridiculous to Hardeep, who inexplicably thought there was even a remote chance she could escape the palace tonight.
“Hurry, Kaiya.” With the slightest hint of a frown, Sister-In-Law Xiulan beckoned from the other side of the bridge. “General Lu has been waiting.”
Kaiya’s paternal cousin Wang Kai-Hua nodded from where she stood beside Xiulan. Several handmaidens bowed in a flash of colorful robes. One of them, Han Meiling, gawked, with wide eyes focused on Kaiya’s head.
Kaiya’s hand shot up to her disheveled hair. With a sigh, she descended the bridge. Her imperial guards stopped and dropped to a knee, fist to the ground.
“Dian-xia, you cannot meet General Lu looking like this.” Meiling shuffled over and adjusted Kaiya’s hair.
With a deft hand, Xiulan rewrapped Kaiya’s sash. “You look like you wrestled a dragon.”
“I hope you won.” Kai-Hua tugged on Kaiya’s sleeves. Though only a year older, she had already flowered with Heaven’s Dew and filled out. She now glowed with radiance since her own betrothal to Liu Dezhen, heir to Jiangzhou Province.
Kaiya clenched her clammy hands. Neither Kai-Hua nor Xiulan were malicious, yet neither understood the stress of being sixteen and not yet flowered into womanhood, nor her lack of interest in marriage.
Xiulan stepped back. “General Lu has been waiting anxiously to hear you sing.”
Given the general’s reputation, he probably cared more about the sound of his own voice. At least today she had been able to sing for someone who did care.
“You are so fortunate,” Kai-Hua said. “General Lu would make a wonderful husband. So dashing and handsome! With his experience and intelligence, he might rise to head of the Ministry of War.”
A path to glory blazed with the dying heart of an imperial princess. Kaiya suppressed a snort. “I am not ready to marry.”
Both Xiulan and Kai-Hua stared at her with round eyes. Xiulan said, “You will have to, sooner than later.”
Kai-Hua nodded. “Yes, all the girls we grew up with are reaching that age. You know what they say: a woman unwed by sixteen is like a New Year’s feast on the third day of the year.”
As if a woman were meant to be devoured. Kaiya shud
dered. In any case, being all skin and bones, she was more like a nun’s rice porridge and tofu than a New Year’s feast.
Leaning in, Xiulan said, “I met Kai-Wu’s betrothed, Wu Yanli. She is quite…strict and reserved.”
Kaiya cocked her head. That didn’t seem to fit all the rumors. Second Brother’s upcoming wedding hadn’t been arranged, at least not in the formal sense. It had been a supposedly chance meeting, followed by a torrid love affair. The handmaidens whispered that the second prince had already partaken of that New Year’s Feast.
And yet, in affairs of the heart, the Tianzi wouldn’t extend any leeway to his only daughter. Kaiya stifled a sigh. Prince Hardeep, learning the magic of Dragon Songs—they might as well have been a storyteller’s fanciful tale.
“Come along,” Xiulan said. “You have made General Lu wait long enough.”
Kaiya lifted her chin and squared her shoulders, only for her posture to slump. All the energy she’d put into projecting an imperial image this morning now flagged. Instability in the North had turned a match she’d planned to reject into a fait accompli. What she really wanted, Hardeep—no, reviving Dragon Songs —now lay beyond reach. Each step through the inner castle grounds felt like slogging through knee-high mud toward a funeral.
So unlike Kai-Hua, whose graceful stride might have been skipping for all the effervescence she exuded. So different from Xiulan, the personification of dignity and elegance. Even the handmaidens would make better princesses.
A hand grasped her sleeve, pulling her to a stop. Xiulan nodded toward a gatehouse at the side. “General Lu is in Murder Gap.”
How appropriate. A hypothetical invader would believe this the most direct route to the inner castle’s gates, only to find themselves trapped in a dead-end courtyard surrounded by high walls. Now, it would be the site of her own proverbial death. But, “Why is General Lu here? I thought we were to meet in the Danhua Garden.”
Xiulan covered a giggle. “While you were gallivanting about the palace, he took to wandering the castle grounds.”
With all her willpower, Kaiya straightened her carriage. She strode through the gatehouse and then down the wide alley. At the hairpin turn, she paused and peeked into the courtyard.