by Cutter, Leah
Xiao Yen asked, “Why?” She folded her arms in front of her chest. The three girls looked like vultures waiting for her, the tiny bird, to make one wrong move.
“Because that man you were talking with at the temple this morning is our visitor,” Gan Ou said.
“What man?” Ling-Ling demanded.
“Really?” Xiao Yen asked, almost whispering. Why was he here? She remembered the hungry look in his eyes. A small tremor of fear ran through the center of her chest. She swallowed hard.
Gan Ou told the story, then turned back to Xiao Yen. “You're right to be afraid.” She dropped her voice and came closer to Xiao Yen. “Do you know why he's here? Do you know what Wang Tie-Tie's going to do?”
Xiao Yen said no. Had he talked about a school of cranes? She didn't remember.
Gan Ou reached out and touched Xiao Yen's shoulder. “He buys children, trains them at this school of his, then sells them as servants to rich houses. You know, everyone knows, we need money. Ever since Papa died, we've been at the mercy of Wang Tie-Tie. Now, Wang Tie-Tie is going to sell you, so Mama and I can stay here. That was her bargain with Mama, you know.”
Xiao Yen scowled. “Mama wouldn't sell me.”
“I bet she would,” Ling-Ling said. “Your mother told my mother how she despaired of you. She had to bring you to Wang Tie-Tie to be scolded three times last week, didn't she? Selling you would solve her problems, and Wang Tie-Tie's. I feel sorry for you.”
Xiao Yen bit her lip. True, Mama did scold her often, more often than she scolded Gan Ou. Plus, Mama didn't have to bring Gan Ou in front of Wang Tie-Tie for a lecture as often as she had to take Xiao Yen. Would she sell her youngest daughter? Ama told many stories of children being sold as servants.
Gan Ou put her hands together in front of her chest as if in prayer and said, “I'll never forget you, Xiao Yen. I swear by the Buddha himself. If I ever have enough money to buy your contract back, I will. I swear it.”
Xiao Yen trusted Gan Ou's words. She'd do the same for Gan Ou. She'd walk across the sea or battle a thousand demons to help her family, or do her duty. She peered into her sister's face. Gan Ou stared back, eyes wide and sincere. Yet, that smile still lurked. Xiao Yen didn't believe that smile. She repeated, “Mama wouldn't sell me.”
Gan Ou said, “It isn't Mama who's selling you. It's Wang Tie-Tie. Why do you think she was so angry this morning? It wasn't because of the incense. It was because she and Mama had been fighting about you.”
Xiao Yen heard some truth in her sister's words. “I don't believe you,” Xiao Yen said, though not as fiercely.
Another servant rushed into the family courtyard, going straight to Ama sitting in the corner, then whispering in her ear. Ama looked up and stared at Xiao Yen.
“I'll never forget you, Xiao Yen,” Gan Ou said as Ama got up and came toward where the girls stood.
“Me neither,” said Ling-Ling. “I'll always remember how pretty your hands were before they got ruined by working.” Ling-Ling smiled politely at Xiao Yen, her sharp teeth showing.
Ama reached out to Xiao Yen and said, “Let me look at you.” She spun Xiao Yen around, brushing her hand over Xiao Yen's pants. “I suppose your jacket is fine enough,” she said.
Xiao Yen glanced at her jacket. It was made from light blue cotton, with a pattern of white waves embroidered around the hem. Her pants were a darker blue, plain, but well made.
“Why do I have to go?” Xiao Yen asked as Ama took her hand and led her toward the gate. “Why doesn't Gan Ou have to go?” Xiao Yen looked over her shoulder at Gan Ou, who mouthed the words “never forget you” with exaggerated motions.
“Because Wang Tie-Tie didn't send for Gan Ou. She sent for you. Quit dawdling,” Ama said. “Master Wei is an important man. And your aunt doesn't like to be kept waiting.”
The formal courtyard, also called the Yard of Greeting, was covered with large whitish, quarried stones, like tile. The Hall of Politeness was the only building in the Yard of Greeting. Knobby ridges went from the high point of the roof to the four lifted corners. Small brass bells hung under the eaves and rang when the wind touched them. All the tall sliding doors on the long southern side of the hall were open. The doors on the short side of the hall, facing east, were closed, but the shutters were open so light could pass through the finely carved latticework. Incense floated from the hall, filling the courtyard with a heavy, solemn scent.
Xiao Yen walked in front of Ama up the three broad steps to the hall, then paused at the threshold. After the brilliant sunshine, she couldn't see inside the dark hall. Ama came up behind her and nudged her forward.
Slowly the room resolved itself. Wang Tie-Tie sat at the long low table, facing Xiao Yen. The man Xiao Yen had met at the temple sat around the corner from Wang Tie-Tie, with his back to an altar dedicated to Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy. He sat on the best pillow, the one reserved for the most important guests. He wore the same all-black jacket. The embroidered cranes caught the light every now and again as he moved his arms. His gray beard formed a neat point just past his chin. He looked proper, worthy of being treated like an important guest. But his words made no sense.
“The immortality of the crane is reflected in the dance. Learning it helps one manifest qi, which feeds the shan. It also increases the jing. One grows in harmony with the nobility of the crane. The qi rises with the wings of the crane, sinks with each landing. Jing swells with movement and understanding.”
A scowl tugged down the edges of Wang Tie-Tie's fine mouth. She sipped her tea, watching her hands as she brought the cup up to her lips and returned it to the table, instead of politely regarding her visitor. The room was too dark for Xiao Yen to see the expression in her aunt's eyes, but she suspected they held anger.
Wang Tie-Tie sat in front of the altar dedicated to Xiao Yen's ancestors. The family poem hung above her aunt, drawn with beautiful firm strokes in black ink on yellowing silk. Once a year the head of the household swore to uphold the values listed there. The second name of sons often came from the family poem. An altar table stood under the poem, holding a sand-filled brazier. Three sticks of incense burned in it, sending long curving streamers toward the high ceiling. A small bowl of rice, three gold cups filled with wine, and two sprigs of jasmine also lay below the poem.
Xiao Yen held her head up higher, less afraid. Wang Tie-Tie was so beautiful, framed by her family poem and the altar, almost like a goddess herself. She wouldn't sell Xiao Yen.
“One is taught to appreciate and understand nature, the light and dark sides of the day, both the mountain and the valley. Only by fully understanding the nature of a creature and the nature of your materials can one infuse an image with its own jing, or life force. It isn't a matter of compelling an artifact. You must mold yourself to it and it to you.”
Suddenly Master Wei stopped babbling and said, “May I show you?” Without waiting for a response, he reached inside his sleeve and drew out a snowy white piece of paper.
Wang Tie-Tie's attention froze on his hands. The room grew still.
Xiao Yen only drew shallow breaths as she watched. Master Wei's fingers were stiff and precise, a counterpoint to his arms, which moved in a graceful dance, folding one over the other as he folded the paper. The last two folds he did with his hands above the paper, hiding it. When he finished, he revealed a beautiful paper dove.
Master Wei stared at the dove. His smooth brow didn't wrinkle, but Xiao Yen could tell he concentrated hard. Xiao Yen thought his cheeks glowed with the effort until she realized the light came from his creation. A small white cloud covered where the paper dove had stood. The cloud swelled until it was almost the same size as Master Wei's head. Then the edges sharpened and solidified. A real dove, gray and white, now stood on the table.
The bird pecked at its feet a few times, before spreading its wings and hopping into the air. It flew around the room three times before flying over Xiao Yen's head, out the door. She gasped with delight as it winged its way toward the bright
blue sky. In a moment, it was a speck on the horizon. A moment after that, it was gone.
Xiao Yen felt her smile spread from her face all the way to her toes. She was so lucky to have seen that! Who would have thought Master Wei was a magician? Just wait until she told Gan Ou and Ling-Ling. No one she knew had ever seen a mage before, though their work was rumored to be everywhere. Her eldest cousin said he had a friend who knew someone whose sister had married a man who had a magic trident that caught eels every time he stuck it in the water. Plus, Xiao Yen had never heard of magic being done with paper. All the stories Ama told used magic mirrors or hairpins.
An ashlike dove still stood on the table. Master Wei picked it up. It disintegrated into dust in his hands. He poured the remains of his creation into a bag at his waist.
When Master Wei looked up, Wang Tie-Tie asked in a strangled voice, “How much?”
An icicle plunged through Xiao Yen's chest. Was her aunt going to sell her after all?
“We can discuss terms later,” Master Wei said. “I'm sure we can come up with something agreeable.”
“And you're sure Xiao Yen is the one you want? Not one of my sons?” Wang Tie-Tie asked, sipping her tea with shaking hands.
Xiao Yen felt even colder. Was Wang Tie-Tie afraid of this man? Was that why she was selling Xiao Yen?
“No, your sons are too old. The training must start when they're Xiao Yen's age.”
“And she'll be able to do . . . to cast . . . to make paper come alive?” Wang Tie-Tie asked, looking hard at Master Wei.
Master Wei rubbed his hands across the table as if smoothing out a wrinkle. “She must work hard. She must study the nature of things, through paintings, through poems, through observation. She must be able to control the flow of essential energies, both through herself and to her creations. If she can imagine enough, and understand enough, after many years, then she'll be able to do paper magic.”
Paper magic? Master Wei wanted to teach her paper magic? Gan Ou and Ling-Ling were going to be so jealous. Xiao Yen couldn't wait to tell them.
Wang Tie-Tie motioned for Xiao Yen to come farther into the hall.
Xiao Yen felt shy in front of the great magician, so she moved forward slowly.
Master Wei stood and looked down at her. His dark eyes glittered under his bushy eyebrows, like a fierce demon hunter.
Xiao Yen backed up, afraid.
“Ah, hmmm,” he said.
“Is something wrong?” Wang Tie-Tie asked.
“Ah, well, when I saw her at the temple, she was, not so shy. She needs to be, um, well, less restrained, I guess, if she's going to succeed.”
Wang Tie-Tie said, “I'll make sure of it.”
Xiao Yen didn't like the cold sound of her aunt's words.
“You understand that I've only agreed to test her for the school, to see if she'll work out. If she fails the first exam in six months, well . . .”
Wang Tie-Tie said, with a little impatience, “I do understand.”
Master Wei replied in a tired voice, “I'm sure you do.” They bowed many times saying their good-byes.
After Master Wei had gone Wang Tie-Tie called Xiao Yen to her side, then pulled her niece closer so Xiao Yen's face was next to hers. “You're a wonder, child. My hope. My true descendant. Do you understand why he asked for you? What he wants to do for you?”
Xiao Yen said she understood, wishing she could melt into the floor. Wang Tie-Tie had never looked so pretty, or so fierce. Her perfume mingled with her breath, sweet flowers and bitter tea. This was worse than being scolded, because for all her kind words, Xiao Yen had the feeling Wang Tie-Tie was angry at her. She didn't know why.
“He wants to teach you paper magic. You will learn it. I was promised once . . . Never mind. I'll tell you later.”
Wang Tie-Tie turned and looked out the door, across the courtyard and into the sky, as if she followed the path the dove had taken.
“More independent, hmm? Old fool thought I didn't know what he meant. But I do. And you'll learn, all your lessons, very well. No matter how poor it may make you.”
Xiao Yen didn't reply. Wang Tie-Tie's words sounded threatening. Yet, if Xiao Yen could learn to make doves out of paper like that, she was certain she would be the luckiest girl in all of Bao Fang.
Chapter Three
On the Trail
Even Xiao Yen recognized the shouted foreign word. “Dinner!” She crawled out of her tent and struggled to her feet, her legs still sore from her first day's ride. The night was quiet. It was too early in the year for crickets or cicadas. An occasional wind stirred the winter leaves. Sounds of the river—gurgling water, quietly croaking toads—came from the wrong direction. Bao Fang, where Xiao Yen had grown up, sat west of the river Quang. For the first time, Xiao Yen was east of it.
Gi Tang, the courtesan's guard, sat on the ground between Xiao Yen's tent and the fire. He had a nose as sharp as a dagger, hooded eyes and a face unused to smiling. His cloak hung below his waist, made out of a thick red material, with a stylized horse embroidered in black on the back, marking him as one of the horsemen soldiers. Under his cloak he wore a light blue shirt and bands of leather across his chest. He bound his heavy wool pants around his ankles with leather straps. He had small knives strapped to his waist. During the day, Xiao Yen had seen him carrying a long bow and two quivers of arrows.
He stared at Xiao Yen as she passed him, one hand reaching across his chest to touch the hilt of a knife. His face tightened with the intensity of his stare. Was he afraid of her? He glanced away from her as the circling tiger passed. He obviously didn't like her magic. Xiao Yen bowed her head to Gi Tang, to be polite. He wrinkled his nose in a sneer, as if he'd smelled something bad, then turned back to his dinner.
Xiao Yen walked away quickly. She'd seen his fear. She didn't want him to see hers. She hoped he wouldn't test the strength of her tiger. Xiao Yen could only affect the mundane world a little. Maybe her tiger could bend a leaf or break a twig. She didn't have the experience to animate a tiger that could kill a man. She'd have to study many years before she would. Her employers didn't know that though. No one did. And no one would. She had to keep a strong face. She had to keep them all from knowing she had any weaknesses.
Udo, Ehran and Bei Xi stood near the cooking pot. Bei Xi's perfect skin reflected the fire with a rosy glow. The firelight picked up the red highlights in Udo's hair. Pieces of it that had escaped from his ponytail fanned out around his face like a fiery mane. Xiao Yen smiled, thinking maybe Udo could pass for a fox fairy. Though fox fairies were usually female, they brought luck if they were good. Ehran's face was in shadows, his eyes hidden.
Xiao Yen smelled cooking vegetables over the earthy scent of the thawed ground near the fire. Her stomach clenched and she realized how hungry she was. Udo handed Xiao Yen a cold tin bowl, a small spoon and a ladle, then gestured toward the two pots sitting in the ashes next to the fire. The bigger pot held a thick gruel. The wonderful smell came from the smaller pot, which was filled with stew.
Xiao Yen filled her bowl and returned to the group. Ehran handed her a small pouch. The leather was well oiled, waterproof. Inside was something red that had been dried and crushed. The smell went all the way down the back of her throat, dark and slightly bitter.
Udo pointed at the bag, then at his mouth, and said, “Ow, Ow!” Then he said something in a condescending tone, lecturing her.
Bei Xi translated. “Don't laden your food with too much pepper. It's spicy. You might burn your mouth.”
Xiao Yen bristled at the suggestion. “Please tell my respected client that I appreciate his warning. However, my mother grew up in the south, where they eat much hotter foods than in Bao Fang. I'm used to eating spicy food.”
Bei Xi smiled, shrugged and stepped back. Xiao Yen tried to read her face in the flickering light. She couldn't see beyond Bei Xi's lovely smile. Udo had a smirk on his face. Ehran kept his face without emotion, unreadable, like someone born in the Middle Kingdom.
&n
bsp; Xiao Yen used her spoon to put the peppers in her bowl. She knew better than to use her fingers. She took only half as many as she would have if the peppers had been from Fu Be Be's village. She could always get more later. She almost put on more when Udo's smirk grew larger and Ehran's face took on a serene smile, like the Buddha's. She'd show them who could eat hot food. It had always been a pleasure to hear the amazement of her classmates when they saw her heap peppers on her food. In that way, she'd excelled them.
After the first bite, Xiao Yen knew her mistake. The bitterness she'd smelled didn't manifest, but the darkness did, burning the back of her throat like the black heart of a piece of coal. Her eyes smarted and her nose started running. The peppers she was used to were more subtle, increasing their power throughout the meal. What would these peppers be like after a few more bites? She ate a spoonful of the gruel, knowing water would set her whole mouth on fire.
The grain cooled her tongue enough that she could take another nibble. The spiciness stayed intense. Xiao Yen couldn't taste the vegetables beyond the pain. Her eyes watered. She sucked in the night air to cool her throat.
Someone tried to suppress a snort.
Xiao Yen looked up, suddenly aware of her audience. The wind against her cheeks told her she had tears streaming down her face. She couldn't imagine how red her nose must be.
Udo howled with laughter, while Ehran merely chuckled. Even Bei Xi's smile widened to show her flawless teeth. They'd known how hot the peppers were. Why had they tricked her? Why had they warned her in such a manner as to make sure she'd take too many, and make a fool of herself?
Xiao Yen handed her bowl to the still-grinning Udo, saying, “I'm not hungry anymore.” Then she walked away. First she headed toward her tent, but she swerved to avoid Gi Tang. She didn't want anymore witnesses to her humiliation. She walked east instead, toward the river.
Another small clearing stood beyond the tethered horses. The moon broke through the patchy clouds as she crossed it, coating the winter grass with silver. Xiao Yen stopped short of the circle the tiger followed around the camp. Maybe tomorrow night she would start the camp defense after dinner, in case she needed to get away.