The Untamed Princess

Chapter Two: The Mission Begins

After an emotional goodbye with Jing Yi and a more composed farewell with her father, the journey to the Han capital had been relatively smooth for Jiang Ming Yue and her two royal guard companions.

Traversing their own lands had been never been expected to be a problem, after all, and the border crossing at a remote location under cover of night had gone about as well as could be expected under the circumstances, with only one close call when they almost ran into a passing patrol.  They had taken care during their journey, wearing non-descript clothing so that they blended in with the locals in most of the areas they passed through, and they carried very few possessions with them.

Ming Yue had studied her surroundings with interest once they crossed the border.  As they moved further away from Jin, the mountainous terrain of her home country had given way to flat plains which stretched for miles.  The views as they travelled were very different but, she had to admit, no less beautiful in their own way.

On reaching the sprawling expanse of the capital, they had stopped briefly at the house of Ming Yue's new 'family' to collect the papers she needed to enter the palace and thank them for their service to both kingdoms.  She was well aware of the risk the Li family were taking in participating in such a ruse but, like her, they knew that another war between the two kingdoms had to be avoided at all costs.  Still, the two royal guards who had accompanied her had made arrangements to stay in the city for the foreseeable future, so that if there was even a hint of danger, they could whisk the family away to safety.  They owed them this much at least.

Ming Yue herself would have no such luxury.  To all intents and purposes, she was completely unprotected.  But, as she approached the Han palace, she did not feel alone for, as far as Ming Yue knew, she was unlike any other person in Jin or Han.

Jiang Ming Yue had been born on the night of a meteor shower.  The monks of the temple had declared it to be a good omen, and a sign that the child would live an extraordinary life, but no one could have predicted what actually transpired.  As the years passed, it came to light that perhaps it was Ming Yue herself who would be extraordinary.

It had first manifested on her tenth birthday.  One of her brothers had slipped and fallen from a low bridge in the palace gardens into a large pond, striking his head as he fell.  Seeing this happen from across the garden, she had instinctively reached out her hand, at the same time seeing a bright white flash in her mind and, in response to her need, the creatures in the water answered her silent call for help.

The unconscious Prince Zhixing was pushed out of the depths by a large school of fish all moving in unison.  They glided through the pond and pushed the boy gently against the bank, at Ming Yue's feet, before disappearing back into the deep pool.

Rather than being scared by this sudden development, the little girl had been rather excited. After all, what ten-year-old child wouldn't be excited about having the power to communicate with animals?  Over the coming weeks and months, she experimented constantly.  She discovered that the creatures couldn't communicate back, which was a bit disappointing but not altogether unexpected.  It was more a case that she could make her needs and wants felt by them and, if they chose to, they could help her in their own way.

At this point, she decided to tell her father, who didn't take much convincing after witnessing first-hand a demonstration involving the palace kitchen cat riding his favourite horse.  Ming Yue was a bit surprised that she managed to convince the cat that it would be a good idea.  The creatures she reached out to did, of course, possess free will, and they could easily ignore her.

The king had taken Ming Yue straight to the temple to see the head monk.  The same monk who had made the prophecy years ago, at the time of her birth.  Luckily for Ming Yue and the king, the man was well read and familiar with the ancient scriptures.  He found several references to an ancient power, linked to the royal line of Jin, which appeared only once every 300 years.  The sources agreed that the power could only be wielded by women, but descriptions of the nature of the power, and its strength, varied.