The Emperor's Concubine

26: Dunes

Li Hua's P.O.V
TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️: MENTIONS OF MURDER AND VIOLENCE

The slapping  of footsteps against stone floors is suddenly muffled as her feet touch the still warm sand of the dessert. Shouting from the guards follows closely behind and Li Hua's heart races wildly. The spy's hand is gripped tightly on her wrist as he drags her behind him up a steep sand hill. The sand crumples with each step they take and they both stumble over and over, desperately trying to find footing in the ever sinking floor.

From the corner of her eye, Li Hua can see the lights in the 郭 (Guo) residence slowly flicker to life, room by room. Voices stir in the building and the sound of drums suddenly erupt from its walls, the thumping beat resonating in her ears.

The guards appear at the foot of the hill, a hurricane of limbs clamouring to reach them. A large hand suddenly grabs Li Hua's ankle, dragging her downwards and towards him. The spy, still holding Li Hua by the wrist falls with her. The three of them tumble down the hill, sand spraying in every direction and both the spy and the guard finally release their grip on her.

There is sand in her eyes and Li Hua can barely make out the scene in front of her as she stumbles to her feet. She is immediately tackled to the ground by the guard, his body slamming against her frame. The wind is knocked out of her and she frantically starts to kick at him. The spy, now standing a few paces away glances at Li Hua hesitantly with one eye on the remaining guards now quickly advancing.

"RUN!" Li Hua screams, desperately clawing at the guard who is now reaching for his sword.

The spy remains frozen as the the remaining guards surround them, weapons now drawn. The guard now straddling Li Hua raises his own sword above her preparing to strike.

A whistle suddenly pierces the air and before she can comprehend the situation, the guard atop Li Hua collapses. His solid frame suddenly slumps over her body pinning her beneath him. She hears the sound of another whistle whizz by followed by another and another.

Li Hua pushes the guard off of her, his body falling limply to the side and clambers to her feet once more. Two guards have now also fallen, arrows still impaled from their bodies. Shouting from the top of the sand hill ensues and in the dimly lit desert, Li Hua can make out the faint silhouette of Alya's cloud of dark locks bouncing up and down. A number of other figures accompany her, weapons sparkling under the moonlight.

The group's descent accelerates with every step down the hill and eventually, they clash violently with the remaining guards, some having taken to the air to lunge using the momentum gained.

It's over in a manner of seconds. Alya stands over the bodies of three dead guards, her sword slick with blood.

"Time to go." She nods to Li Hua and the spy. She is barely out of breath as she turns and heads back upwards towards the sand hill leaving Li Hua and the spy. The rest of the group moves to follow and Li Hua starts to move when she catches the spy's eye. He remains frozen in place and quickly averts his gaze.

She walks over to him, gently touching his elbow. He flinches slightly, his eyes raising hesitantly to meet hers again.

He had planned on leaving her behind.

The thought is understandable to Li Hua. After all, to him, she was just a royal concubine - hardly worth sacrificing ones life for. Why the Empress thought she was ever worthy of the throne was beyond reason.

She nudges him towards the rest of the group and he reluctantly begins to move.  The group wordlessly ascends the hill and Li Hua looks back to the residence one last time. Faint shouting can be heard and Li Hua finally realised that the sound of the drums had ceased.

"Where is Jal?" She asks.

"Freeing the slaves" Alya replies softly.

*****
The sun is starting to peak out from behind the dunes by the time they stop walking. The desert is starting to heat up and Li Hua's clothes stick to her skin uncomfortably. Her face stings from the scratches she sustained tumbling down the hill and her feet ache from treading on uneven ground.

The group stands silently in front of the opening of a cave. It's contents are pitch black and even from a distance, Li Hua can feel that the temperature inside it is much cooler. The sweet coolness beckons for her to enter and the slight desert breeze flows around them creating a strange and hollow sound as it passes the cave entrance. Sand whips at their legs as Alya raises her hand, signalling for the group to stay put.

"Where are we?" Li Hua whispers to the spy.

He shakes his head. Li Hua watches as Alya disappears into the dark. A sudden chirping sound echoes from the cave -

"Chirp chirp chirp...chirp chirp chirp...chirp chirp chirp"

The sounds reminds Li Hua of the young birds that would nest amongst the Palace garden trees. Their chirps piercing through each morning welcoming the Spring. The chirps come to a stop and Li Hua keenly listens. All she can hear is the soft howling of the wind at the cave entrance and the shuffling of feet from the other members of the group.

"Chirp ... chirp chirp ... chirp ... chirp chirp"

The chirping is slightly different, paced differently between each interval. Alya emerges from the darkness with a grin on her face. It's only now that Li Hua notices the blood caked on Alya's face and hair. The morning sun highlights her red soaked clothes and Li Hua looks down to find her own garbs stained with blood now browning.

The group and the spy move into the cave and Li Hua lags behind hesitantly watching.

"What are you waiting for" Alya asks, leaning against the cave. Even behind her grin, Li Hua can see the exhaustion creeping on her face.

"Even if this spy validates who I am ..." Li Hua licks her lips. She notices how the dry skin has tightened around her mouth and it stings as she continues to speak.

"I am not worthy of the throne."

She states it simply, a fact to be put out without any underlying meaning.

"No, you are not" Alya replies. Her hands fiddle with the the hilt of her dagger and she hesitates before speaking again -

"But you have been chosen by the Empress for a reason. Come now, it is time for you to show us what the reason is."

Alya extends her hand and Li Hua takes it.

*********
A/N: One day I will properly edit before posting.