The trembling started from a sick feeling deep within her stomach. Jael had exposed herself to a great many situations and outcomes by coming here.
How would this night end for her?
With a beating like Faramund warned? In a cell?
Her head ran wild... but... only for a split second, she collected her thoughts.
The girl folded her hands in front of her before speaking softer than before.
"My honest apologies your majesty it was far beyond me to come into your home." Come to think of it she did see quite a few guards on her way in, but they were easy enough to slip past that she assumed this was nowhere of importance. "I will do any favour you ask of me if you just allow me to head back to my room. I've done too much sight-seeing for one day I think."
By this point, the two figures were standing face to face in the centre of the pond's bridge, and only the night was bearing witness to their meeting. "Exactly how much have you seen... um?"
A tense silence.
"Oh, Ja- I mean," she cleared her throat, "Lì Lóng huā." She lifter her chin the slightest. "You can call me Lì Lóng huā." The prince tilted his head and furrowed a pair of dark brows, "That's – different." Jael could only assume what he was thinking as she felt him gaze at her red hair and fair skin. Not Chinese, but a Chinese name. "It's a long story." She wanted to leave it at that. If anyone knew what she was able to do now, she really would be condemned a witch. "Well," he leaned forward to bring his eyes down, level with Jael's, seeming to strain his back a bit if you asked anyone else, "I'd love to hear it sometime." The two of them smiled at each other and there was no other feeling like it. Jael marvelled at how different this man looked only days ago, at the difference in countenance and the change in expression. She had put the pieces together fast enough. That day in the throne room, when they had made eye contact, there was no youthfulness staring back at her, only a blood and dirt covered face that assessed and considered. But now, she was overwhelmed by the curiosity and kindness in his eyes.
The pair of souls were interrupted by an abrupt crashing sound as the doors to the garden corridor slammed open and eight guards rushed in. Stomping their boots and swinging their halberds in a timed formation, the group of men made their way to the bridge so fast Jael had no time to react as two of them shoved her to her knees before the prince. On the ground – yet again. The bruises from days ago were still healing, and now screamed under the pressure. One man stepped forward and kneeled in front of the prince, slamming his hands together in front of his chest, he held a sword. He must be the captain.
"Apologies your majesty! Our carelessness allowed the trespasser into your quarters. Please kill me after I beat her!
"Captain Gang," there was a slight pleading in the prince's tone as he spoke now, "Please, please rise my friend there is no need for that here." The captain stood and awaited an order eagerly. "And release her, she is no threat to me."
"But your majesty-"
"I invited her here. I wanted to see the miracle for myself. She was just leaving anyway."
Jael got goose bumps at that word, miracle, the pressure of it drifted by her and then disappeared into the night. The captain nodded to his men, "Release her." Grips on her shoulders vanished and the girl was standing in a matter of moments, much more dignified than her earlier attempt. She made sure to stare down the guards that had apprehended her, before giving them a big fat smirk. "Well I must say Captain your reaction time is terrible. If I were an assassin his Royal Highness could be dead in the pond by now, arrows in his back, sword at his throat, who knows! Really I must insist you do better in future." Tension crossed the middle-aged man's face as he listened. He probably wasn't used to taking orders, especially not from a girl, especially not from a foreign girl. Oh, how Jael revelled in it, too much maybe. Troublemaker. His brawly hand reached to his short beard and scratched it, most likely contemplating how to eliminate the girl in front of him.
Jael simply let out one of her loudest cackles she'd ever mustered. "Lighten up sir, I was only joking." She leaned closer to him, "I'd have poisoned him instead," she gave a quick half smile full of mischief.
All nine men, prince, captain, and guards alike looked at each other, and for the longest ten seconds of Jael's life, there was tense silence. Her heart stopped beating momentarily as she reconsidered the poor decision she'd made. Twenty-first century sarcasm was going to be her own undoing.
The captain looked at the prince, then back at Jael, and did an up and down on her, before releasing his own laugh that came from deep in his belly.
"You-" he pointed a thick finger in her direction, "I like you," the magnolia trees almost swayed in response to his bellowing laugh, "I like her." The man continued to make noise that filled the whole garden and was soon joined by even his guards as they nudged each other and made their own jokes to add to the fun. Not the reaction she was expecting in the least.
The prince stared at them all in awe, and then turned to Jael. "Captain Gang doesn't laugh for anyone except me, and his daughter." His face broke into a smile that reached those gorgeous eyes of his. "We'll have to keep you around more often, Lì Lóng huā." The relief she felt at the sudden ease of the conversation she did not show on her face, only a smile that matched the prince's. "Miss Lì! So, the intruder does have a name!" Captain Gang slapped her on the shoulder, with little restraint, causing Jael to lurch forward under the weight of his heavy muscle, there was probably years of fighting behind that weight. "Any friend of my prince is a friend of mine! HA! Especially if she is a lovely lady. A lady that can slip past even my own men." He shot the group of men a quick glare, and their laughter was silenced. "Now Miss Lì I must insist you let me escort you back to your quarters-"
"Oh I'm sure I can find my way-"
"No no! Nonsense, palace people will swallow you whole if they find you wandering alone in the night! Especially in your special state." Jael wasn't sure if he was gesturing to shabby knot-tying job on the clothes, or the hair, maybe it was the bare feet.
"He's not wrong there, Lì Lóng huā," the Prince offered his arm to Jael, she did not hesitate to wrap her own around it, the pale blue satin beneath was a soft feel in comparison to her own cotton sleeves, "Allow us brutes to take you back so that you may not be swallowed whole before this war is over and we've had any use of you yet." Jael giggled at the men that surrounded her and their earnest faces. "If you insist, I suppose, I can't very well say no to such fine company." The guards and their Captain puffed up a bit at her compliment and straightened their formations as the prince led her back through the garden and down the corridor. Actually, it was just as well that they had offered to escort her because the girl had little memory of which rooms and hallways she had visited during her wanderings that evening, forgetting completely, her way here.
But she was not sorry, for she was certain she'd met the finest people in the palace now. There would be no regret in Jael's heart on this night, for unintentionally walking into the prince's garden.
On the way back to her room, though, she was careful to pay more attention to where she was going, to be orientated in this new world would be her first struggle, it was certainly more complex than the streets of Parramatta she was so used to.
The group of people moved slowly through the huge palace, keeping pace with the prince on her arm. She didn't mind the slow pace he kept one bit. For minutes and minutes that soon turned into a decent half hour, the two of them walked side by side in the night, before eventually reaching Jael's own small room in a slightly sectioned off part of the palace, with barely any people walking about freely and even fewer guards… surprisingly. Taking the last step to her door she glanced behind them and noticed that the guards had been walking a few paces back the whole time, and they stopped in their tracks as the pair halted walking.
"Thank you, your majesty, for not handing me in," he lifted a corner of his mouth, "and for walking me back to my room, which was kind of you. I won't forget it." She moved to pull open one side of the wooden-panelled door, sliding her body half into the already candle-lit room behind it. "You're welcome, Lì Lóng huā, it's not every day you come across a girl who can get passed my guards, particularly one uninclined to wear shoes," his attention slid to her bare feet and Jael had the sudden urge to shuffle them out of the prince's site. Back in her home country she avoided wearing something on her feet where she could, but right now -
"Well, let me know if you'd like to see that again. It's not every day you come across a prince either."
The young man responded in kind with a laugh of his own. The sound drowning out every other. She smiled and moved further into the room, closing the door some more, "Wait, you know my name your Majesty, but I don't know yours. We should level the playing field, no?"
Anticipation sparkled in his eyes for a moment. "You will hear people call me by my common name, Gāo Xiào guàn but," Jael sensed his warmth as he leaned in closer to the door she hid behind, "You can call me by my given name, Gāo Cháng gōng."
She kept her focus on the prince as her chin dipped the smallest amount, "Cháng gōng, I like it, although," she brushed her fingers lightly over the prince's sleeve one last time, right where the faint embroidery of a tiger sat, "You remind me a little of Shang," Jael couldn't help but snort slightly at the ridiculousness of her own comment. "Who is Shang?" She was enjoying his curiosity too much, but met his eyes again and smiled, "A character from a story I used to wat- read back home. Actually, if this were a different time you'd probably be able to tell it better."
She could see his face contort into more confusion as he tried to put the pieces together, and decided to relieve him of the feeling, as much as she wanted to stay there all night, "I'll tell you all about it some time." Now they really were just looking for excuses to continue the conversation, but she had to go. The prince moved forward a little one last time, "I hope to see you again soon, Lì Lóng huā."
"I hope so too," she smirked, "Shang." Gosh she couldn't help herself.
The nineteen-year-old could have stayed there for much longer, but for stopping herself from being too caught up in those eyes, she eased the door shut all the way and turned softly to face the room that she now found herself in again, leaving the prince that waited behind the door to head back to his quarters.
The room was lit by the warm light of a few candles, one of which was being held by a very stunned Lì Mei. "Miss, was that? Were you with? I've been searching for you for hours now, I almost had to call the guard after you because I was so worried but, it seems... that you were just fine." The amount of worry on her face made Jael tremble a bit, that she had already caused her young friend this much stress. "I'm so sorry Lì Mei, I just had to get out of this room," Jael was still leaning against the back of the door, both hands behind her back, "But I got lost, and... ended up in one of the prince's gardens."
As she said the words they felt ridiculous. Lì Mei's expression didn't change from the widened eyes and slightly agape mouth. "So that was him, that was Prince Gāo Xiào guàn, and you – you wandered into his gardens. And you're not dead? Oh my goodness, miss, you are blessed."
The two of them watched each other as the words sunk in. Only the sound of two girls' laughter followed as Lì Mei made her way over to where Jael still stood against the door. "In that case miss – sorry - Hua Hua, I'll leave you to your dreams for they will surely be good ones tonight! You're nightdress is lying on the bed for you. I'll be here in the morning with breakfast. Goodnight!" Lì Mei, slipped out of the room at that and Jael was again left to her own thoughts.
Xiào. He was so much like Shang, even the way he stood. The resemblance to the character was uncanny actually.
Gāo Xiào guàn.
She couldn't conceal her smile as the name left her lips.
But it was short lived.
Gāo Cháng gong.
Gāo Cháng gong.
Where had she heard this name before? It was familiar. Somehow, somehow she knew it.
Somewhere she had heard-
No. It couldn't be. Could it?
"And of his four sons, his fourth, Gao Chang Gong, was to be the most handsome and blessed of all."
The words flooded into Jael's head, one after another. The story, the story Faramund had told her... it couldn't be. More and more words came from somewhere in a hidden corner of her mind and the flame of the candle Lì Mei left flickered as they came to her.
"But this story is a tragedy above all other things, for it would be Gao Chang Gong's own kin that would have him killed in the end, and ultimately, cause the undoing of the Gao empire, leaving it to the mercy of another, more brutal. This brought war, and death, and chaos."
"Chaos is the enemy."
Jael slid to the floor and buried her head in her hands.
***
Lì Mei had been wrong.
Jael did not have good dreams that night.
She'd indeed never had worse nightmares in all her nineteen years. Images flashed in her slumber as she tossed and turned, of a Prince with the dark brown eyes and a smile that lit up the night, of a Captain that had a laugh larger than life itself and his men who all matched his brightness. They were all rejoicing in that beautiful garden one moment... and the next, all of them lay lifeless amongst the magnolia trees, some with arrows in their back, others with sword wounds that had proved fatal.
And the pond, where she had dipped her feet only hours ago, was red. There were no koi fish. The water was tainted by the blood that dropped into it from the men dead on the bridge above. These were… these were the men that had showed such kindness just hours ago. They were so joyful.
Jael stood in the midst of the garden again, just where she had been earlier that day, and turned to the gazebo. Lì Mei stood, pinned to one of the four supporting pillars by a spear that penetrated the young girl's her chest, and blood fell from her mouth as her head hung and her eyes stayed closed.
No.
The girl saw the images flash before her eyes the whole night, of her new friends, to die in such a manner...
She would turn yet again, and her feet bumped into something heavy. Looking down slowly, Jael stared at the prince, those beautiful eyes open to the sky, but empty, as he lay there with a sword sticking out of the chest of the blue satin tunic he wore. Dead, just as Faramund's story predicted.
Her cries could not convey her sadness and regret at the beautiful light which had been distinguished. But as the girl's body folded next to the prince's so that she might hold him, she would look up yet again with him in her arms, and the sun glared into her vision.
A figure stood before her, staring down at her as she clung to the man who did not deserve this end, and they only waited... and waited. The sun behind the figure blocked out all their features and there was only a silhouette of a man left.
They lifted their sword over Jael's head, raising it to the heavens.
She stared them down to the very last. Until the sword –
Panting, the girl sat up. Sweat covering every inch of her, even on this cool night. She could not close her eyes even for a moment, without being plagued by these images that tormented her. Over and over again Jael tried to sleep but failed.
Faramund's words would ring in her ears at every attempt.
"But this story is a tragedy above all other things, for it would be Gao Chang Gong's own kin that would have him killed in the end, and ultimately, cause the undoing of the Gao empire, leaving it to the mercy of another, more brutal. This brought war, and death, and chaos."
War and death and chaos.
They infested Jael's dreams this night, and she thought repeatedly about why Faramund brought her here in the first place. Her speculations gave her no comfort.
She needed answers. But sleep. First she needed sleep.
Lying back down into the sweat-drenched sheets, Jael tried over and over to have even a moments peace with her eyes closed.
But to no avail.
The dawn was fast approaching.
