Golden Thread

Their Revelation

The Summer Festival was a week-long joyous celebration of the hottest days of the lunar calendar. Children wore colorful clothes and played happily in the streets under the watchful eyes of their mothers, sitting on wooden stools and conversing with each other. 

Both the princes were very busy taking care of their granaries and appearing during the numerous banquets held by the nobles and the Emperor in honor of the Summer. Ming Lei had found the handmaiden who had access to his chambers the day he lost the jewelry box and had her confined deep in the dungeons till she was willing to talk. 

Meanwhile, Leah had more time on her hands now that all of the princess' outfits were ready and she only had to help putting them on. She spent her days walking through the gardens surrounding the palace, relishing in the taste of freedom free time. 

But this free time also forced her to think about herself. 

Sometimes, as she gazed at the beautiful princess adorned with sparkling jewels and colorful silks, she realised how different their worlds were. Although she didn't know the name of the woman who married Emperor Zhu  Ming Lei in the history book, she supposed it would be a woman of the princess' status. Leah often found herself full of ugly jealousy, quickly followed by a deep shame for even thinking about it. Leah loved Ming Lei, but she didn't deserve him. He was destined to be with a woman of his level, and Leah was far from that. 

Deep in her thoughts, she missed a step and stumbled down some wooden stairs, stifling a yelp when she grazed her elbow against the wall. She rubbed her reddened knees and painfully stood up, making sure nothing was broken in her body before raising her head. She was in an unfamiliar hallway lined with dark crimson wooden walls. She couldn't recall how she had arrived here and decided to go back the way she had come until she heard voices from there. Quickly, she slid open a door and stepped inside the room without checking first, closing the door behind her. 

She waited until the footsteps were far to release her breath, which she quickly sucked back in when the dreadful feeling of a sharp blade against her neck froze her. 

"Well, well, well, what do we have here ?" A croaked voice whispered in her ear before a huge blow on her head made her lose consciousness. 

Ming Lei bid goodbye to the Emperor and retired to his courtyard, his head light of the alcohol offered at the banquet. He had had more than enough of those silly evenings full of fluttering of lashes and sweet words through poisonous lips. One look in their eyes was enough to know they were after the title of his wife. He wondered whether there even was any woman in this world who didn't want to be his prospective bride. 

There is. 

Leah.

He smiled at the thought of her and started walking faster to his courtyard, eager to spend another night talking about the novelties of her world with her. He was passing in front of the courtyard of the Minister of Finance when something on the ground caught his eye. 

It was a tassel with a familiar note tied to it. 

After the hunting contest, Leah insisted on getting the tassel she had offered Ming Lei back. She said it wasn't good enough and she wanted to make a better one. The prince himself didn't mind. He was just happy that someone had taken time during their days to make him such a gift.

He bent down and swiped it up, gazing closely at it before he noticed, in the dim moonlight, the dark sticky liquid that covered it. His heartbeat picked up and he felt a lump in his throat. The world seem to dull as he stared at the blood on his hands, not believing what he was seeing. 

Quickly, he shook his head to clear his mind and called his guards before they sneakily entered the courtyard. The minister was still at the banquet and last he remembered, the old man was dead drunk, lying on the ground sleeping.

The courtyard was empty as expected and the weak moonlight was just enough for them to hide in the shadows offered by the low roofs and pillars. One of the guards had bought a hunting hound and they followed closely behind as the animal sniffed the ground, searching for the origin of the scent of blood. 

They finally arrived in front of a rundown door and even the men could smell the overwhelming metallic scent. It felt like they were chewing on blood. 

The guards pulled the door open and one of them gagged at the sight inside.

Dozens of rotten bodies of poultry and pigs were inside that room, their bodies slashed open cleanly through the blood vessels. And in the corner, leaning against the wall, Ming Lei could barely make out the form of a person. 

His heart jumped as he stepped closer, not noticing he was mumbling, praying that it wasn't her. 

Leah. 

It was Leah.

She was covered in blood, her two hands and legs bound with a thick rope that dig into her fragile skin. Her hair was tangled and dyed brown from the wound on the back of her head. 

With shaking hands, Ming Lei approached her, uncaring of how filthy the ground was and how the dirty blood of the slaughtered animals were sipping into his clothes. He placed a finger under her nose, unknowingly holding his breath.

She was breathing.

Ming Lei thought he could probably leap into the air and scream out in joy if this wasn't such a secret operation. He stood up with Leah in his arms and was leaving when another figure deeper in the room caught his eye. 

The First Prince.

The body was mutilated and he was barely able to recognise his own brother, but he was sure of the fact that his brother was still at the banquet !

That's when Leah's voice echoed in his mind. 

Black Magic.