Falling Snow

Chapter 17

The morning sun peaked outside of the gloomy cloud as it shared its radiant light with the world. Xue and Lian was just walking down the isolated alleyway. Madam was especially lenient today, seeing that they performed the new dance without hiccup, she surprisingly gave them the day off. Also, Xue suspect it had something to do the the "Invitation" from Lady Lì yesterday night. But she decide to enjoy the morning before having to go to Lady Lì's palace in the afternoon.

"Hey, Xue, why do you think the Queen and Lady Lì are both trying to get Princess Dai's attention. " Lian asked absentmindedly as they walked around the trail, they rarely got a chance to just relax and appreciate the view in the palace.

Xue thought about it, then she answered, "Princess Dai is connected to a lot of people. For starter, since she is Queen Yuan's daughter, the Emperor sure has a special affection for her. She is also the maternal sister of Prince Yang, if the Queen wanted to restrain the Prince, the best way to do it is through Princess Dai." Lian listened to her explanation carefully, and nodded at some times.

"I heard that the Princess lived with Lord of Liang, the Emperor's brother for five years, that would also means she have a connection there. The only possible reason why the Princess was called back would be for marriage. In what ever the case, her future husband would be leaders of tribes and powerful alliances. It would be in the Queen and Lady Lì's interest to be on good term with the Princess, such grace would extend to the tribe she will marry." Xue continued, the answer seemed to flow right in, Xue was kind of surprised that a girl had so much influence in the court, but look at the Queen and Lady Lì, they were the prime example. Under different circumstances, Xue might respect and admire them because of their intelligences.

"Wow, I would never guess that. You sure are smarter than me." Lian said fascinatingly. Xue smiled at her friend's approval. The alleyway was quiet except for their footsteps, but suddenly a voice startled them from behind.

Out of nowhere, a girl came running out in a desperate manner. The moment the girl saw Xue and Lian, her eyes widened and she almost gasped in fear. As she ran to them, she suddenly grabbed both of them by the arm and ducked in a small, and shady alley hidden on the side of the wall. Xue was about to scream, but the girl raised her hand and hushed them.

"Don't be frightened, I just want to get rid of all those people following me. Please!" She whispered immediately and stared at them with pleading eyes. Sure enough, soon, a trail of people running frantically down the alley where. "Where is she, we have to find her!" One of the people said while running straight past the dark hidden alley. Any normal prison would have scream and struggled, but Xue didn't do anything. It might have been her sympathy for this young girl, or she was just curious about the situation.

She looked at her side and saw Lian shocked at this sudden change of event, but she didn't do anything or make any sounds. Finally, the disturbing sound in the alleyway disappeared around the corner. The young girl let out a breath of relief and loosened her hands around their arms. As soon as no one was left, Lian busrt into questions.

"Who are you? Why are they after you? Are you a thief?..." Lian asked a string of questions. For the first time, Xue regarded the girl carefully, then she realized that there were something different about her. She was indeed young, about fourteen or fifteen. Her light orange dress unlike most servants in the palace was made silk instead of cotton. On her hair, a small golden hair piece shined, showing its prestigious status. Even the the girl averted her gaze, Xue still managed to recognize her.

"Wait a second, you are the Royal Princess Dai!" Xue said with realization, and Lian frowned at her words. There was no mistake, the shy girl who looked slightly guilty was indeed the same princess from last night's banquet. Suddenly, Xue remembered the manner in the court, and she knelt down quickly and bowed, Lian quickly followed.