Falling Snow

Chapter 4

The ride to the palace was long and silent, nobody said anything or dared to make any sounds. It was just the darkness and silence until they arrived. Then, the contrast was obviously. The royal palace, the richest, brightest, and the most corrupted place in the empire, housing for the emperor, the queen and the royal family. The light was so enchanting that it gave off a sickly sweet aura, drawing everything closer. But like fire drew moths, most who were stupid enough to fly closer were burned; sacrificed to the compete for power; or killed between the more vicious fights between women over a single man, the most powerful man in the whole empire.

Quickly, they were in the gate, along with more carriage which Xue assumed were other dancers. They all being brought to the little quarter in the palace, quarter for the royal entertainers and artists. The quarter was not grand or luxurious, but it was more than enough for most people. Xue stepped out of the carriage and followed Madam into the court yard. Apparently, Madam was being offered a position as the one who will be in charge of the dancers, their mentor. Because of the influence of the unknown master, of course. But it didn't matter, all they needed to do was to do their jobs, and to play their roles. They didn't have a choice.

The seven of them walked silently to the front of the door. Madam left after took them to the door, told them to rest early, for they had to perform in front of the emperor and his court tomorrow night. Xue and Lian stepped into the stairs and went into the bedroom. Like other servant's quarter, they all had to share room together. It was a big empty room with bunk beds side by side but no one ever complained.

As Xue was getting ready to settle down, she heard a noise coming at the far end. She turned and found many dancers gathering at a spot, not just the one from Fei Xian Ge, but others too. They formed a loose circle around two girls, Xue was surprised to see that one of the girls in the center was Mei. But the other girl, she didn't recognize. She must be from the other houses. The girl looked frightened, she was smaller than Mei, and as far as Xue could see, Mei was angry.

"You spilled water over my dress, how stupid and insolent can you be!" Mei screamed to the smaller girl viciously, and the girl obviously shuddered. Fare enough, Xue could see the girl was holding a wooden bowl, and there was water stain on the floor. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to" the girl shrieked and her voice was so shaken that it was almost impossible to hear. It was obviously an accident, the room was crowded, and everyone was rushing by. But no one wanted to speak up for the poor girl. Mei's face was frightening, and her usual condescending smile was morphed into an evil angry face. No one, including Xue, wanted to speak against that.

"You wretch, you will pay for this!" Mei yelled again, and she moved closer with her hands ready to swung. Really, Xue thought, this is our first day, and Mei is already making trouble, how bold and without sense can she be. She knew that if this got out, not only it would cause trouble, but all of them would suffer. So she quickly walked over before Mei can struck the girl.

"Stop Mei, please, she already apologized, just leave her be." She quickly went between Mei and the other girl, and everyone else started whispering. Lian tried to stop her, but she didn't make it in time. Now she stood by the girl with the same fearful face. Some girls were laughing, some were just curious to see what would happen, and who would go down first. But Xue pretended not to let that bothered her, although one thing she hated the most was whispering behind one's back, mockery, and the daggers in people's smile.

"Do you really want to mess with me, Xue, your are not in the position anymore, in here, it is fare game." Mei looked at her in distaste , even though she did put her hand down and lowered her voice a bit.

"I am not trying to cause trouble here, but what will Madam say, that you fought with the other dancer on your first day." Xue tried to sound as calm as possible, it was not the first time they had an argument, but it was the first that they argued in front of so many people.

"You try to use Madam against me?" Mei sounded like that she just drank fire, it caught in her throat and she was bursting in rage. The dancers all took a step back, even Lian. But Xue knew Mei enough to know that she wouldn't defy Madam, so she was not as scared as the rest. But it also made her wonder, what happened? They used to be best friends, and now, they were the bitterest enemies. It was not just in dancing, but everything else.

"That is not my intention, but this is the royal palace, we don't want to cause trouble here. If this gets out, all of us will suffer the consequences." Xue said calmly, and she continued to stand her ground. This had to end, for all their sakes. Some of the dancers that were watching murmured, maybe some of them still had some senses.

Mei obviously noticed the uneasiness around her, because she was not that firm in her posture anymore. She seemed to realize that all the dancers were afraid of the concequences of her action. "I will let it go this time, but make no mistake, I am not afraid of you. And you, you are lucky, don't think it will happen again!" Mei turned to the girl who was hiding behind Lian and glanced her with a burning gaze.

After Mei walked away, Xue turned to Lian and the girl. "Are you alright?" She asked the girl, she seemed to be a little shaken. But like all the people in the palace, she was trying her best to cover it up.

"I am fine, thank you for help me, no one ever done that for me. I am Ying." She said, and then she smiled at Xue and Lian.

"Nice to meet you, I am Xue and this is my friend Lian. Please excuse Mei, she sometimes have a temper, but she don't usually lash out on people. I hope you will be okay" Xue said quietly. It was true, Mei usually didn't lash out on people with such small things. Maybe only with her and Lian, but never in front of so many people. It must be the stress in the palace, and their roles.... Well, she tried not to think about that.

"Thank you, but you should really watch out, you just embarrassed her in front of everyone. She is not going to just let it go." Ying said worrily. But Xue just smiled, it was a sad smile, which confused the new girl.

"Don't worry about me, it's nothing new to me." But of course things were different now. Because now, she would be walking on ice.

Author's note
Another chapter, Yeah, please leave a comment or hello or both, I love meeting new friends. Give me critics, I need them to get better. Please vote if you enjoy the story, which is clicking the star at the end of the chapter to show your support for the writers. May all the readers have a great day!

Next chapter we get to see the actually inside of the palace, along with some new important characters.

Ying- nightingale