by Alice Wilde
And now, here we were, drawing every ounce of attention to ourselves in the middle of the biggest city in the world. Everyone would know of Roan by sundown, I was sure of that.
“Annalise!” Roan yells, his voice easily carrying over the sounds of the city.
The people jump away from him in fear and shock as they turn to look at him. Not only are we both towering over the majority of the people here, but Roan has the added benefit of looking completely foreign.
“Shut up,” I say. “You’re drawing attention.”
“Like we wouldn’t have drawn any attention the way we are anyway,” Roan scoffs.
He’s right, but I can already hear the whispers trickling through the crowd, and they’re none too pleased with what they see.
Roan has started running down another street, and I follow.
“Our best bet would be to find the imperial palace,” I call.
Stopping in his tracks, Roan looks frantically around in all directions. “A palace,” he mutters to himself before hurrying down a nearby alley and out onto an even bigger street. “There we go.”
I keep Roan within sight, but allow myself some distance so I can better assess the situation we’re about to put ourselves in…or at least try to. Roan’s spotted the massive walls of the city and one of the gates leading in and is making a beeline for it. Following in the wake of the people he’s pushed aside, I watch as the guards suddenly notice Roan and their eyes grow wide with fear.
Just as he’s about to reach them, one of them manages to shout something at him that I can’t quite make out, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway as Roan ignores it and charges headfirst through the gateway. The guards look at each other in stunned silence for a moment before chasing after him, and I follow close behind.
The city within the wall is even busier, the crowds compact and the noise deafening as people go about their daily lives. Roan turns onto a street ahead of me and I can hear the sounds of the crowd as they start to notice him.
“Annalise?” Roan shouts.
I turn the corner and find Roan surrounded by a sea of angry faces.
“Red devil,” a woman shouts, and the name spreads like wildfire through the crowd.
Several men have pulled out weapons, and the two guards who have been chasing him point long spears at him as they set themselves into a defensive position behind him.
“Guards, call more guards,” someone shouts.
“Warn the emperor!” a woman says.
Several children start to cry as the adults get more agitated with each passing second. I cautiously step forward, hoping they won’t be more alarmed by my own presence.
“Please,” I say calmly, “this man means no harm. We’re here to meet with the emperor, but my companion simply got too excited and charged ahead.”
Heads snap toward me as I speak, and one of the guards looks anxiously from me to Roan, the spear shaking in his hands.
“Who the hell are you?” he finally snaps.
Before I can answer, a stream of armed men files through from the other side of the crowd and surround Roan and me, much to the visible relief of the two original guards. The new soldiers drop into a defensive position and point their spears at us. They’re outfitted differently from Luo’s men, their armor shining golden in the sunlight. These must be some of the palace guards. The circle of spears slowly moves toward us, forcing Roan and myself to move closer together.
A tall man steps through the crowd and pushes aside several of the guards.
“I see you’ve finally made it,” Luo says as he motions for the men to lower their spears. “I thought I gave you orders to remain aboard your ship.”
“I’m sure you can understand why that would be impossible,” I answer.
Luo smiles at me, but the expression is far from friendly, and we stand in uncomfortable silence for a long moment before he turns his back on us. “Seize them.”
The spears are in our backs before either Roan or I can react and we’re forced to the ground where we’re gagged and our hands are lashed behind our backs.
“Lock them in a cell until I have a chance to deal with them,” Luo says before walking back the way he came.
Several of the guards help us to our feet before we’re ushered away down another alley away from the main entrance to the imperial palace. I hope Annalise heard Roan calling her, or we might be in for a very long stay.
Six
Annalise
Luo returns from the crowd without Roan or Li in his wake, and I can feel my heart pound in my chest. Either Roan and Li weren’t really there, or something awful has happened. From the look on Luo’s face, I’d venture it was the latter.
The guard from before has returned and speaks to Luo quietly as he and several of the other men proceed to pull open the heavy doors. Luo stands to one side as the men carrying my little wooden cage hurry me inside, and I can’t help but shudder at the strange smile on his face.
Once inside the palace walls, the doors are shut tight behind us and I’m hurried along through a vast garden, surrounded by large, truly royal looking versions of the buildings I’d seen earlier. Nearing the most central building, the men finally stop and lower my wooden carrying box to the ground. I hurry to let myself out but find that I’ve been locked inside.
“Let me out,” I demand of one of the men standing outside, but he doesn’t even turn to look at me.
Luo strolls casually over and looks at me through the small holes in the window, his expression unnerving.
“The emperor will see you once he’s ready. Until then, you are to remain here,” Luo finally says.
“Where are Li and Roan?”
“Who?”
“My men,” I say.
“I’ll deal with them later. For now, the emperor only needs to see you.”
“How am I supposed to speak with the emperor if he can’t understand a word I say?”
“I’ll translate for you.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Good. Neither do I.”
We stare at each other in silence, Luo’s expression pleased as I do my best to keep my own face as blank as possible while I rage inside.
The tapping of footsteps draws my attention as a man hurries toward us, his arms folded in front of his chest and hidden within long sleeves. Luo turns toward the sound and the man bows low as he reaches us, speaking in a quick but surprisingly calm voice before retreating back the way he’d come.
“Well, you didn’t have to wait long,” Luo says with displeasure as he unlocks the door to my wooden prison and opens it.
I’m more than a little tempted to stay seated in defiance, but instead, I stand and step slowly from within. As soon as I’m able to stand straight once again, Luo grabs me by my upper arm and steers me toward the palace entrance. There are several steps leading up to the main doors, large stone lions sitting on either side as if they are guards themselves.
Even as I’m nearly dragged up the stairs, I can’t help but turn my head to look at them in an effort to persuade myself that they’re only statues.
“Hurry,” Luo growls, yanking my arm upward as I trip over the top step.
The palace is full of life as people hurry back and forth, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from the quietness of the halls. Men and women almost seem to move like shadows, their voices low, if audible at all…at least until we reach the throne room.
Stepping into the large hall, I find us surrounded by men lining the sides of the room. At the far end of the hall is a raised platform on which a young man is seated on an elaborate golden throne.
An older man is crumpled on the floor before the emperor, and it sounds as if he is pleading with him. Luo pulls me to one side as we draw nearer to the throne. From here, I am able to make out the expression of the emperor, and he looks far from pleased. He listens to the man for only a few seconds longer before he raises one of his hands. Two guards step forward and drag the now howling man from the room as
the crowd looks on with great interest.
The emperor looks lazily around the room until his gaze falls on Luo and me. He says something and Luo guides me to the center of the room, bowing low and forcing me to my knees in the process.
The room falls silent as Luo speaks from his still bowed posture. As Luo finishes speaking, I can feel the tension in the room grow. The emperor remains quiet for a long moment before saying something that makes the tension in the room break, and the light titter of laughter spreads through the onlooking crowd.
“Stay,” Luo whispers, removing his hand from my back as he straightens to continue speaking with the emperor.
I can’t help but notice that the exchange between Luo and the emperor almost seems like friendly banter more than between a ruler speaking to a subject. Not that I think it’s a bad thing to be kindly with one’s people, but it is in stark contrast to the almost aloof and uncaring way the emperor dealt with the last man. I can’t help but wonder why.
From the way the conversation is going, Luo seems to be well liked by the men in the room, and I start to worry that I’ve rubbed a very powerful man the wrong way. If only I could understand what is being said, or Li and Roan were here. My thoughts start to spin out of control as I wonder how and what I’m supposed to do without them. I have to find out what happened to them and help them if they’re in trouble, but how?
Acting without thinking through my actions, I slowly rise from my prostrate position on the floor to my feet, looking up at the emperor as I do so and suddenly becoming aware of the sounds of the room that I’d only moments before been nearly deaf to.
The emperor quiets mid-laugh as he notices my unexpected change in posture, his face frozen in shock as he looks at me.
“Insolent girl,” Luo snaps, kicking me in the back of my knee so I drop to the floor once again. Pain shoots through my legs as I meet the hard ground with an audible crack.
“No!”
I glance up at the emperor, who’s lifted himself halfway off the throne, one hand outstretched toward us. Luo’s hand is frozen in place, as if he was preparing to strike me.
“You speak my language?” I ask shakily, my voice barely loud enough for the emperor to hear, but he doesn’t respond to my question, instead speaking once again in Chinese.
Luo lets out a low growl, but then sighs. “The emperor wishes for you to eat with him this evening.”
I lift my eyes, briefly looking at the emperor before turning my head to look up at Luo. “Yes, of course,” I say.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there, too,” Luo says through tight lips. “So, don’t think this means anything.”
My heart beats faster in my chest at his words. The very fact that Luo has to warn me not to do something must mean he’s worried, and that bodes well for me.
The emperor speaks, and Luo bows once again, grabbing my upper arm and lifting me to my feet. Walking backward out of the throne room, Luo drags me along until we reach a respectable distance from the emperor. Luo turns on his heel and strides quickly out of the hall where we’re met by several women and a stern looking man holding a piece of parchment.
“Follow them,” Luo says coldly, pushing me toward one of the women and turning to speak with the man.
The women hurry me through a maze of hallways and out into a small, lush garden. The trees almost seem to grow horizontally as opposed to vertically, as if they are reaching out to capture as much sunlight as possible. The path we take through the garden twists and turns and splits in many different directions. I can’t imagine how long it must have taken for the women to learn their way through the garden as easily as they seem to be able to navigate it.
Stepping out from the thick vegetation, we are met with a small stone bridge over the prettiest pond I’ve ever seen. There are small statues and lanterns set up at various points around the pool of water, as well as little circular buildings without walls in which small stone seats and tables have been placed.
I wish I had time to explore the gardens more, but the women hurry me along before I have time to take in more of my surroundings. We cross the bridge and step back into the depths of the garden, weaving through another set of winding pathways until we finally step out onto a small stone walkway. Before us is a large, windowless building with a heavy set of doors. Guards stand on either side and quickly move to open the doors as they see us approaching.
The women usher me through the doorway and the door is shut tightly behind us. I have to stop and stare for a moment. Directly in front of us is an open courtyard full of some of the loveliest women I’ve ever seen. Some are sitting quietly, embroidering various pieces of silk, while others play instruments I’ve never seen before, and still more seem to be gliding gracefully about the large space, chatting and laughing with one another. Several children squeal as they chase each other around the courtyard, and I finally realize where I am.
This must be where the royal women live, although I can’t be sure if they’re all the emperor’s or simply the women of the palace. I still have much to learn about Chinese culture.
As I step further into the courtyard, several of the women look up from what they’re doing, their eyes growing wide in surprise. Within seconds, the whole scene almost appears to be frozen in time, and I lower my eyes as I hurry to follow the women I came with and down a hall on the other side. The moment I disappear from sight, I can hear the noise of curious voices rise behind us.
As we near the end of the hall, we enter into a large stone room. There are sizeable pools of water on either side with stone steps leading down into them. Several women lounge lazily in the water on either side, while still more appear to be helping wash each other with foam.
As I continue to look around the chamber, I notice the women who have brought me here. One is collecting several items while the other two have almost finished undressing. While I’d honestly love a bath, I’m not particularly fond of the idea at this moment in time. The other women who are bathing haven’t noticed me yet, but I can’t imagine that will be the case for much longer.
Unfortunately, I have no choice in the matter as the two women who have apparently been chosen to serve me finish undressing and move to disrobe me as well. The process is far more uncomfortable than I would have imagined, but I hadn’t dressed myself earlier or I would have hurried to remove my garments myself.
I can’t help but notice the women whispering to themselves as they undress me, undoubtedly remarking on how my naked body must differ from theirs. Although we are not so different in height, our skin, hair, and body shapes are quite different. I’d never thought of myself as being particularly curvy, but in comparison to the slightness of these women, I must look quite voluptuous.
They finish by letting my long, blonde hair out to fall down my back. One of the women enters the bath first and then turns to wave at me as the other presses her hand into the small of my back. I take a quiet breath in and then follow her down into the water, surprised to find that it’s quite warm.
The other woman enters the water behind me, and the third positions herself at the edge of the bath a little distance away. I close my eyes as I let the warmth of the water spread through me in an effort to try to relax. One of the maids tugs gently at my arm, and I open my eyes to see that she’s trying to get me to move toward the woman waiting on the side of the bath.
Wading over, I notice the other bathers have started to take note of me and have stopped what they’re doing to watch. They don’t remain quiet for long and begin excitedly chattering away to each other as I reach the edge of the bath and find there’s an underwater ledge running along the rim of the bath for bathers to sit. I lower myself onto it, and the three servants set to work washing me.
The other women bathing eventually move closer and appear to be asking my ladies a string of questions, to which they seem delighted to answer. I wish I knew what they were saying, although perhaps it’s better that I don’t.
I’ve never ever been so thoro
ughly washed in all my life, but I’m happy to find the bathing materials they use are surprisingly soft on the skin and lovely in fragrance. The woman seated on the edge of the bath pours water over my hair to wet it before massaging my scalp with something that smells of flowers. Both the fragrance and the pressure of her fingers as they expertly make their way through my hair make me want to sleep. But just as I’m beginning to relax into the massage, one of the other bathers reaches out and touches my breast and I’m startled back into focus.
She laughs at my reaction and several of other women giggle as she says something to them, but they swim away and return to bathing themselves, much to my own relief. I’m thankful I don’t know what they were saying now. The ladies finish washing my hair and gently scrub at my face before indicating that it’s time for me to exit the bath.
A robe is wrapped loosely around me and a set of small, wooden sandals are slipped onto my feet as the women collect my old clothing items and guide me down the hall to another room. Here, they set to work drying and combing my hair, as well as preparing a fresh set of clothes for me.
What I had worn earlier looks drab and ordinary in comparison to the garment laid out on the bed in front of me. My robe is taken from me as one of the women begins rubbing my body with fragrant oils and another begins oiling my hair, pulling it back from my face and pinning it into a half-up hairstyle.
Across the room, the third woman has set to work mixing several small jars at a little table near a large set of latticed windows. I can hear the sound of a stringed instrument being played somewhere outside, as well as the little chirps of birds and crickets as afternoon gradually transitions into evening. Once dressed, I move to sit by the window where the third woman uses the small jars to paint my face. A dark substance is used in generous amounts on my eyebrows and to line the tops of my eyelids, elongating both in a way that makes me nearly unrecognizable to myself.