A Flower Without Rain

Chapter 1

The moment those of royal blood from the Four Kingdoms are born, the insignia of their kingdom's beast is already engraved, making a tattoo. It is set upon them by their Divine God or Divine Goddess that rules over their land.

And every one of those Four Kingdoms, carries a secret.

A joyful evening this day was. Between two of the Three Great Nobles Clans, Lian Zhong, sole son of the Lian Clan and Yuan Li, sole daughter of the Yuan Clan, have been wedded.

The young pair have been betrothed since they were children by their parents, and even grew up together along with the other youngsters of the Three Great Noble Clans.

Walking along the pavement to meet the pair, was Lian Yu, the youngest and second daughter of the Lian Clan. As always, those who saw her couldn't help but admire those lovely eyes that shone brighter than the moon and stars in the night sky.

However, it was then all else seemed to come to an end.

Coming through the entrance without warning, was a messenger from the palace. The guests and family members of the wedded pair looked from where they stood to see a man out of breath. It was likely that he ran here the moment his horse came to a stop.

Coming forward to the man, Clan Leader Lian Gen spoke, "What brings you here at this hour?"

The palace messenger's eyes shook as he looked to the man in high power with lips that trembled. "My Lord......" he suddenly came down into a bow with his head touching the ground. "My Lord, your daughter, Miss Lian Song has passed away!" his voice filled with dread.

Upon those words, the crowd went silent.

Rushing forward, Madame Min Jie, wife of Clan Leader Lian Gen, came to the messenger. "Are you telling the truth?!" she seemed horrified.

Slowly, the messenger nodded his head and the woman's vision became filled with tears. The man, seeing his wife's expression took her into his arms, and doing so, looked at his now only daughter with sorrow-filled eyes.

At her father's eyes that looked at her with woe, Lian Yu's world seemed to crack more.

Her sudden death was a tragedy amongst the folks.

On this last day of mourning, the Lian Miss sat alone unable to accept her sister's death.

It didn't feel real.

Taking another incense to burn, she held it over the candle's flame before then placing it to stand in the bowl of uncooked grains. Sniffling, she took the sleeve of her dress to wipe away the endless tears from her swollen red eyes.

A knock at the door, an individual then entered. This person was Ru Mingyu, the only child and son of Clan Leader Ru Yan, also known as General Ru. Since children, he's always been by Lian Yu's side. To each other, they were siblings.

Coming down beside her, he first paid his respects before taking a look at his dear friend then away. His eyes lowered, "I know everything isn't alright but.....you can count on me." he told her.

Bringing his gaze back to her, he noticed the change in her appearance. The face that once held a blush of pink was now pale likely from no eating, lips dried of moisture, hands almost frail looking, and those eyes.

Those eyes now bear another tragedy.

At his words, Lian Yu gave a weak smile. "I know I can count on you."

Ru Mingyu frowned shortly, "Rest well alright? If Song saw you in this state, she would scream." trying to cheer her up.

The young woman chuckled knowing her older sister would truly react that way, "I will, and I should probably get ready." she paused for a second. "I was ordered an audience before the king."