‘Perhaps,’ she said, her voice shaking. ‘My skills are not what they were since the fight,’ she added quietly. ‘I have an idea of where on the island they might be, but we can’t…’
‘You expect me to leave them there?’ he interrupted.
She shook her head. ‘They will be very difficult to capture. They have more skill. If we arrive at the gate, they could kill us all in the narrow streets before we could even determine whether the prince still lives.’
‘He lives,’ the empress pressed.
‘He will be too well protected,’ Lis said.
‘We could go above them, hit them from the wall,’ the emperor suggested.
‘You can’t see them from the wall,’ Lis said.
Hui Te-Sze caught Lis’s eye and then grinned. ‘We could draw him out,’ he said.
‘How?’ she asked.
‘Oh,’ the general said beside her.
The emperor stepped forward.
‘He does not know that Lis lives,’ Te-Sze said. ‘None of us did but Yang.’
‘You want to draw him into another fight?’
‘Your Eminence, the boy loves the girl. If we allow the news of her return to filter through the men and the Palace Isle, he will learn of her and try to see her.’
‘How can he love her? He tried to kill her. He very nearly did.’
Lis tried to tell Te-Sze it was a bad idea with her eyes.
‘He does love her,’ the empress said.
‘They barely know each other.’
‘I think they have spent far more time together over her time on the island than we have in all these years.’
The emperor scowled but didn’t look at his wife. Lis sucked in a breath. What if they were wrong? But then, she had always known there was more feeling on his side than hers. Only now that she knew she felt the same, she would need to do all she could to keep him safe and save him from the dangers of the magics.
‘Will it be enough? What will happen when you find him?’ the emperor asked.
‘We just need to know he is safe,’ the empress said.
‘It is not enough,’ Lis said. ‘If you try to hold him, he will fight his way out.’
‘He might not,’ the emperor said, ‘if you are there. If these men are right.’
‘He may try to fight me,’ she said, ‘and I’m not ready. I’m not strong enough.’
‘We will put you somewhere safe, where he can’t harm you but he might try to sneak in to see you.’
She nodded once.
‘And then he shall face his punishment,’ Advisor Gan said, striding into the room. ‘As shall you.’ He held out a sharp finger in Lis’s direction.
‘This is a private meeting,’ the emperor snapped.
‘This concerns the entire Empire,’ a minister said, following the advisor into the throne room along with other ministers of the Empire.
‘I thought you had run away,’ the emperor said.
‘We continue to advise, Your Highness, and we advise the death of the crown prince, once he can be separated from the magics. They would be easier to face without him,’ Advisor Gan continued, looking towards the general, who nodded once.
‘Kill the crown prince?’ the empress asked softly.
The little man bowed before the empress, and Lis realised he had not shown the same respect to the emperor when he entered the room. She wondered what his punishment would be.
‘What do you propose we do in relation to the continuation of the line?’ the emperor asked. ‘The Rei Dynasty has ruled this Empire for countless generations. It is our Empire.’
‘Until your son became the enemy. Do you have any other children hidden away?’
Lis looked up at the empress, who continued to stare disbelieving at the advisor, and Lis caught the eye of the emperor before he sighed.
‘We feel it might be time for the representatives of the people to rule.’
Lis sat back at the overwhelming emotion in the room as it washed over her. The fear, the uncertainty, the nervousness. These men were claiming they should rule over the emperor, and Lis didn’t think they would survive the day.
‘I put you in these positions,’ the emperor snapped, swinging around and marching back to his throne. ‘You represent my interests, not the people. You are men of rank, a rank I gave you. From wealthy families, as favours to keep you close, to ensure you wanted to keep your families safe. Do you think the people of this Empire will let you decide their fate?’
Several men nodded. Others looked around and exchanged glances.
‘I was born to this role,’ the emperor went on. ‘The gods put me here, not you. Only the gods can remove me.’
‘Even the priestesses have run away from the Palace Isle,’ the little advisor said. ‘No one will return to you. Do you really think you can save us by playing games to bait the crown prince?’
‘Do you think you can take on the magics and remove them from the Empire? I’m sure there are some priestesses still hiding somewhere on this island. And they haven’t left us; they have returned to the Sacred Isle, which is part of this Empire, to see how they can assist us with their prayers from there.’
Lis wondered just what the emperor knew of the priestesses, or what he might have guessed.
Gan looked over the ministers but said nothing.
‘Well?’ the emperor prodded. ‘Are you to stand in the square and fight my son and his magics?’
Several of the ministers dropped to their knees. But others remained standing, some looking to Gan for guidance.
‘Do what you think you can,’ Gan said. ‘And then we will revisit what the man is.’
A part of Lis was relieved, but when the emperor waved her forward, she realised things were about to get a lot worse before they got better.
As Lis stepped forward, the empress stepped up to join them. She reached out for Lis, who was thankful for her comfort, although there was a nervousness around the woman she hadn’t felt before.
‘You want to save him,’ the emperor said quietly, and Lis noted the little advisor leaning forward. ‘You will do what is best by him.’
Lis bowed her head to him.
‘Despite my concerns, he is my son, and the only heir to the Empire. I trust you,’ he added softly, and Lis wasn’t sure she heard him correctly. ‘I know you put this Empire before your own needs, and that is what we need in an empress. You have not wed yet, but he is your husband. I trust you will do what is necessary.’
‘I will do whatever I can,’ Lis said.
Murmuring started amongst the ministers, and the little advisor huffed. Again anger rolled off the emperor, but he maintained his calm features, his attention focused only on her.
‘Work with the general,’ he said as the general stepped forward and bowed low. ‘Find a way to bring him out. Or we may have to face him again, and I’m not sure the ministers could win that fight.’
Lis bowed again and followed the general towards the door, the hunter only a few steps behind. The ministers maintained their stance, but as Lis left the throne room and hit the warm sun at the top of the stairs, she heard them following her out.
She stood to the side and hoped they would continue past, but the advisor stopped, his face showing the anger he felt at the situation. ‘I don’t care what the emperor thinks you are, or what you might be able to do. You are a girl. And a magic at that. You will suffer the same fate as the crown prince.’
Lis opened her mouth to respond, but the words were slow to come. In that time, he turned with a flourish she didn’t think a man of his size was capable of, then moved down the stairs and away, the ministers trailing behind him.
‘I think he sees himself as the next emperor,’ the hunter said, his voice unkind. It reminded Lis of the fear she used to hold for him.
But as she looked up at his scarred face, she knew he was no longer such a threat.
‘What do you need me to do?’ she asked.
‘I want to put you somewhere we
can watch and keep men close, but where he could reach if he tried.’
‘What if he can’t? What if he is no longer here?’
‘He is. And if he was hurt as badly as you were…’
‘Or worse,’ Lis murmured. ‘Are you sure he is alive?’
The hunter surprised her by placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her square in the face. ‘Of course, he lives. There is some strange destiny the two of you share. If you could survive that…whatever it was, then so could he.’
Lis nodded slowly.
‘Your Highness,’ a soldier called, running towards her. Then he dropped to his knees and bowed low before her. ‘I feared you lost.’
She recognised him instantly as one of her guard, one who had stood for so long in her garden, keeping her from others and safe at the same time. He had also fought beside her as they’d left the little palace on the day she had faced Remi. She smiled at the idea that she could use his name. Such a strange thing to be able to do, and yet it meant so much to her. She wondered why it had been so easy for him to call her Lis right from the beginning. But then, he had chosen her.
‘As did I,’ she said to the soldier. ‘But all is well, and I am returned. Have you seen the crown prince?’
He shook his head, and Lis could feel his confusion. She understood what these men had faced by standing against someone they had respected so much.
‘Do you think he survived?’ she asked.
‘I didn’t think either of you had,’ he said quickly as he climbed back to his feet. ‘I shall gather your guard,’ he announced, looking briefly at the general. ‘Where are you staying?’
Lis looked at the hunter for an answer.
‘We will keep her close,’ he said, ‘but it may be that we are to find refuge in the servant’s quarters before we can find suitable accommodation.’
‘The laundry girls had a good-sized room, and they have all gone. Shall I show you the way?’
‘We can find it,’ the general said. ‘Go find your men and let them know the good news.’
He bowed again to Lis, and then the other two men, but not as deeply, before he ran down the stairs and away from them.
‘The laundry could be as good a place as any, and the ministers would not expect us to hide you there. I worry what harm they may do to the Empire before we can bring you back together,’ the general said.
‘The Empire survived the magic war,’ the hunter added.
‘Come,’ the general said kindly, indicating the way. Lis walked between the two large men, hoping the news would spread quickly.
The laundry, when they reached it, consisted of a large open courtyard, strung with lines and surrounded on three sides by covered walkways. On the fourth side, a small garden sat against a high wall. They entered the space along one of the walkways, and it had an abandoned feel; sheets and clothing lay haphazardly across lines and in the dirt. The smell of soap reminded her of the baths.
She was tempted to pick up the fallen clothing, but she continued along the covered walkway. On the far veranda, she realised the shadows hid a door. The general pushed it open, and they entered a large dormitory-style room with a raised platform. Sleeping mats were lined along one wall, and the rest was open space. She imagined it full of laundry girls of a night, all lying down together.
‘We can bring in a table,’ the hunter said, ‘and a kettle…’
‘It will be fine,’ Lis said, trying to give him a reassuring smile. ‘But where will you be?’
He looked around the room. There were some high windows along the far wall, but it was a space designed for sleep only. He turned back to the door and sighed. ‘There are other rooms,’ he said.
Lis walked ahead of him out onto the veranda and continued along the walkway. There were two more narrow doors on the third side of the building. She opened the first and found a narrow room, with space only for the bed and a small table against the wall. A coat hung on the back of the door, and the bed appeared to have been left in the middle of the night, the covers thrown back and half on the floor. A single shoe sat in the middle of the floor.
The next room was similar, although a little larger. The bed was also similarly dishevelled, and clothes lay on the floor as though someone had pulled together all they owned and then only packed some of it.
‘Perhaps I would be better here,’ she said. ‘The two of you could be in the larger space; it would be more comfortable.’
The general laughed. ‘We are soldiers. We aren’t used to being comfortable. Although there is a small window there. I would rather you in the other space. If the prince arrives, it would be easier to contain him rather than trying to get into a room.’
‘Are we sure he isn’t going to try and kill her?’ the hunter asked quietly.
‘Are we sure any soldiers won’t try to kill him?’ Lis asked.
‘I will talk with them,’ the general said as the first of the hidden princess guard rounded the corner of the courtyard. Lis smiled at the sight of them.
‘Clean this up,’ the general called over the group, and they moved into the courtyard. ‘I want all the washing and the lines put back how they should be.’
A couple of the men looked at each other and then bowed to the general.
‘We need to keep the princess safe, but we need to ensure this place looks like a laundry.’
The men bowed as one and then got to work. Lis moved back into the large room, listening to the men move around the courtyard. She waved one hand over the other, and a single cake appeared in her hand. She held it out to the hunter and then, closing her eyes, she tried again. A bowl appeared, but it was empty. She sighed and screwed her eyes closed as a heavy hand rested on her shoulder.
‘Save what energy you have,’ the hunter said, glancing at the general who stood by the door. Lis could not only read the concern on his face, she could feel it. At least her senses weren’t dulled. But if she needed to protect herself or others, she had no idea what she could do other than hide.
Lis stood out in the evening light and looked over the washing blowing gently in the breeze. She knew the soldiers were close. She could sense their uncertainty—or was it their vigilance? Either way, she couldn’t see them, and she wondered if Remi would sense them as well. She sighed. In many ways, she wished Wei-Song were here, and Yang, yet she didn’t want them anywhere near the mess this might easily become.
The general and Hui Te-Sze were so sure they could take him unawares. If his magic was still anything like it had been, there was no chance. He was stronger than Lis. She only hoped that her choosing to return to him, choosing to help him would be enough. The child had been so clear that Lis needed to return to the Palace Isle and to Remi.
She felt both exposed in the open courtyard and too closely watched for Remi to take the chance. And it was all a gamble. He may not be interested in seeing her again. Everyone, from the general to the little girl she had left behind at the school, felt that he would do anything he could to get to her.
She walked back around the covered walkway as the sky grew darker and the shadows longer. If she’d had a little palace like this, she might have been happier. She looked across at the garden by the wall and wondered if there would ever be a time she could simply sit amongst the grass and flowers.
She moved into the oversized room, designed for so many laundry girls and now only occupied by herself. The general and the hunter had retired to their little rooms. They had promised to stay alert, yet she questioned whether they would really have the time to reach her if Remi was determined to kill her.
That was, if he came. She sat slowly on the edge of the sleeping platform. She had insisted on a simple mat rolled out. They had moved a small table into the space, and it looked strange in the vastness of the room. She waited, looking into the dark corners of the room as they grew deeper. She didn’t know what she would say to him. She didn’t know how she could make this any better.
When the room had darkened, she lay down on
the mat as she was and stared up at the ceiling. Would she ever sleep? And if he didn’t come, or took days to learn she was there, she would be a mess by the time he did arrive.
She must have drifted, for she was suddenly aware of someone close by. She stayed stock still, but her eyes were open. There was no light, and then someone was leaning over her.
‘General?’ she asked in a whisper.
‘I was just checking,’ he murmured.
‘I’m still here. Do you think this is a good idea? What if you are seen?’
He murmured something else before his quiet footsteps disappeared across the floor and out. She sighed into the darkness and then sat up. Someone else was already in the room. As the door clicked quietly closed behind the general, Lis pushed the cover back and slipped from the platform to the floor.
She stood in the middle of the room and waited. Her hands hung by her sides, and although she was tempted to pull her barrier in tight around her, she didn’t think it would work, so she didn’t try. She closed her eyes and could almost hear the quiet breath in the corner. She waited for the light, but it didn’t come.
‘Will you speak to me?’ she asked. ‘Or do you just want to see that I’m alive?’
He stepped out of the shadows then, looking tired and worried and lost. She stepped forward without hesitation. Relief washed over her that he had survived the fight, and she felt the same from him. She paused only momentarily before him, and then she threw her arms around his neck and pulled herself against him. He rested his head on hers and wrapped his arms around her. For a single moment she felt calm, comfortable and complete.
And then he pushed her off. But as the empty feeling surrounded her with the air that filled the gap between them, he took her hands.
‘I thought I had killed you,’ he whispered.
‘I thought I had killed you,’ she returned, trying to calm her heart rate as it took off and tears threatened to run over.
‘They want me dead,’ he said, tipping his head towards the door.
‘No,’ she started, but she could hear the footsteps getting closer and sense the soldiers. ‘You knew they were there.’
The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set Page 58