Treasured by Dragons

Human Tribute

With my breath held, I hid in the shadowed corner beside the vanity. The servants scurried past and scrambled to search another part of the Astana. The rattle of footfalls on bamboo floors faded, and I exhaled in a burning rush. As long as I held my breath, I blended unseen into shadows, a small magical ability that I had been born with.

I had merely tried it on impulse, when I had heard the servants climb my tower chamber. Where they had expected to find a princess, they had seen only an empty seat. Could it be possible that if I kept quiet and timed my breaths, they wouldn't find me? And if they didn't find me, I wouldn't have to leave, would I?

The Rajah and Hara would have to send their apologies for the change of plans. The chancellors would have to find another human tribute to send to Shengxin; a girl pretty and well-bred enough, but wouldn't be missed too much by anyone. As for me, what would I do and where would I go?

A soft voice brushed away my racing thoughts. "Saren?" My mother scaled the ladder into the chamber awkwardly, her arms filled with books.

"Mama!" I huffed, helping her up. There was a chair with hoists operated by servants that could be used to ascend into and descend from the chamber, but she almost never used it. "It's a wonder you haven't gotten injured climbing that ladder."

My mother, the lady Anaiz, waved off the chiding with a chuckle, straightening her gown. The skirts we wore here in the Seventeenth Domain of Silang flared out only slightly, forcing us into small and lady-like motions. "Oh, I can manage. I didn't want to trouble the servants."

"That's what they're there for," I muttered.

My mother didn't seem to hear me, leading me to the cushions at the sitting area, a low table a few steps away from my bed. The princess tower was but a square chamber, installed on top of the Astana, the residence of the Rajah and the Hara of the Seventeenth Domain of Silang. The trapdoor leading to the lower floors was in the center, and at each of the four sides were the vanity and the bed, where both my mother and I slept; the sitting area; the wardrobe and dressing area; and my study desk. The hanging tapestries were clean, though worn, and the intricate carvings on the furniture abraded. There was a window by the sitting area and another by the desk, both barely large enough for me to lean on. The narrowness was meant to protect me from spying eyes and snatching hands, but all it actually did was block the sea breeze and accumulate the suffocating heat.

Holding one of my hands, my mother gazed at me with misty eyes. She traced the patterns of gold-plated buttons on my red silk blouse, smoothened the layered skirts, and stroked my head through the red veil, an embroidered and beaded confection of lace. "You're the most beautiful bride, my child."

I adjusted the brocade drape hanging from my shoulder to cover my embellished blouse. "I'm not a bride."

She nodded appeasingly and placed the books she was carrying on my lap. "I thought you might want books for the journey. You loved these stories so much and mastered the Sheng language from reading them again and again."

I scoffed, shuffling the frayed, stitch-bound volumes, the covers adorned with woodblock prints of dragons surrounded by peach blossoms. I had been happy to receive books filled with wondrous tales and felt proud to have found something I excelled at. Even then, I was probably already being groomed to be the tribute. "I don't need these."

"But you'll definitely need these," she said, opening the pouch to reveal the contents.

The breath was knocked out of me at the sight of the black pearls; a necklace festooned with three strands, chandelier earrings, studded bangles. This set of jewelry was the only thing my mother had received as the concubine of the prince of the Seventeenth Domain. As for me, all the man had given me was the memory of being left in the charity of the Rajah and the Hara as he gallivanted off, to be whispered about by the nobles and jeered at by the servants when my royal grandparents weren't around to hear. I swallowed a lump in my throat.