Legend of the Dragon Princess

Chapter 12.1: Crimson Huamei

Gradually and shifting high in the sky, the amber-yellow sun grew brilliantly, stretching its vast rays of delightful rays across the azure-blue expansion; the periwinkle clusters of clouds had been pushed away by the charming wind. As Xin Yi carried the unconscious Ying Ku on his back, he sighed loudly and asked, "Wei, why are we doing this wolf a service?" I met his dark glower before turning away, with my arms crossed. "Wei! Answer me!" With reluctance, I gestured for him to speak freely. "I'm just saying: First, he assaulted you because he took you for a thief, second—he assaulted you because you and I are soldiers—and third—he's...!" The bodyguard had stopped at a short distance behind me, his feet planted firmly on the road. "He's an assaulter!"

Heads turned, and soon—the nearby marketplace customers and wanderers alike leaned one way and the other—to get a good, solid look at Xin Yi's handsome features before wondering why he was carrying the strange outsider around. Even the street musicians stopped playing, craning their necks to peer at two out-of-place soldiers—lugging around a sleeping stranger. Rolling my eyes, I lazily turned to face the boy.

"And?" I couldn't help but laugh at the face he was making, with the vein threatening to explode upon his forehead.

"He's a good-for-nothing Miao who is a danger to you—and to me, and I'm carrying him on my back!"

"Whoa, whoa!" This time, I couldn't contain myself and started busting out more laughter until small tears fell from the corner of my eyes. "Xin Yi, are you mad?"

"I—" Then, as though he remembered the cursed stairway of where he kneels while I am to stand—as a servant to the false prince that I only know of—the adolescent boy bit his red lip. "N-no..." Once more, the charming wind played with his short curly hair, blowing some over his left eye. "I just think...that we should hand him over to Captain Lu—"

"Xin Yi." I had to stop him there, and upon noticing the sharp change in my still demeanor, the young bodyguard stiffened as if to indicate that the bright sparkle of my cinnamon eyes had vanished all too quickly. "Did you hear what that lady told us? The lady who owned the market countertop of which I had fallen on?" Xin Yi opened his mouth, but I beat him to it— "She said that Ying Ku had arrived and set up shop with an acquaintance. We will be doing him a good service by turning him over to them, not Captain Lu." Confusion arose from his eyebrows. "What?"

"Then..."

"We are returning Ying Ku to his friend." I nodded, to which Xin Yi shook his head. "Don't be like that. We're not going to give him to the Captain." I'm not going to let him die. "Come, let's go—"

"Ying Ku?" It was a voice like of an alluring song, one that is shared with a lover's intent—to soothe and to warm another's heart after a long day in the sun. I nearly jumped—and whirled around to see who the speaker may be. To our startling amazement—it was a young woman, wearing a dark winter-blue yi top and a long, pastel pleated chang that floated behind her. She lifted her soft-honey hand—and there was a light gasp against her thin red veil, which covered the bottom half of her face. "Ying Ku!" The accent that was embedded in her Chinese was slightly distinguished, the fangyin revealing that she too is not of this place. "What happened?"

Immediately, we hurried to bring our human baggage over to the cool shade by her tiny wooden stall, which stood waiting for Ying Ku's return—with the thinly-patched roof and large boulders for seating. Xin Yi did not know where to place the tall, dark stranger—and so, he slowly set the delinquent down against the stall's front side, his head rested against the cheap wooden panels and back leaning into its not-too-solid structure.

Like the stranger, the girl too wore moon-silver cuffs in her long braids. Around her neck was large silver crescent plate that spanned from one collarbone to the other, completed with a thin chain of silver going around the back of her neck. Deeply engraved into the silver were small but fine-detailed butterflies and spectacular flowers that seemed to burst forward to life. Xin Yi elbowed me. He jerked his chin toward her mysterious crimson veil. The girl noticed, her long and delicate lashes blinking—also revealing the bright copper-gold eyes that shined of glimmering fireflies, faint but there. Who are they?

She's beautiful though.  There was no doubt about it. Never had I ever seen such beautiful girls outside of the palace—and those not of noble rank.

"Are you two...?" I nearly cursed, having been reminded that I was disguised as a royal low-ranking soldier whereas Xin Yi seemed like my senior. The girl sat across from us on her boulder, her small feet pointed toward the still-unconscious Ying Ku. Xin Yi and I sat at one end, the delinquent slept between the two boulders, and she was seated at the other side of him. She tried to speak again, clearing her voice. "Are you two...going to take him away?"

"No!" I wildly waved my hands and shook my head. "N-no! We were simply returning him to his friend!"

"Ah..." For a moment, her eyes softened, almost tearful. "Xie xie, kind strangers." She then began fumbling with her fingers, her nervous tick—it seems. "You see, Ying Ku doesn't get along well with the Han people—and though he usually behaves—he gets so angry—" Then, as if remembering, the girl became startled by the memory. "But—he really does like to laugh, also, and make jokes—and play too much, sometimes!"

Of course, my bodyguard was not easily persuaded by a woman's words. He remained, unmoved and disinterested, with the arms crossed tightly against his chest whereas I had sat with one knee up and arms loose, one finger twisting the end of my neatly-made ponytail. I listened, eagerly, hoping to understand the dangerous person we lugged around in the marketplace.

"Who are you trying to convince?" To my surprise, Xin Yi's inquiry came out like a spat of poison, unrestrained by the black contempt that he felt for the older boy. "I don't care! Just get out of here before he starts a fight with the wrong soldier."

How rude—"Anyway, miss, are you his...xiao tian tian?"

"Xiao tian tian?" Her cheeks instantly reddened like a pair of yingmei berries. "Oh no, we're not anything like that!" Even though she was well-protected by the veil, the girl's fingers went for her face. "We're actually childhood friends...and came here to sell medicine and flowers before going back to our tiny village." Though it was brief, she found herself staring into my eyes, deeply and involved. It was fleeting—but it was enough for her eyes to widen with revelation. "You—"

"You talk too much...Chi." growled the delinquent, raising his head and opening his other eye with a grogginess of sort.

"Hey!" I waved, leaning close to Xin Yi—shoulder touching shoulder. The servant sighed, deeply. "You're awake!"

"What..." Ying Ku jumped up, alarmed by our presence and closing proximity to Chi and their merchandises. "What do you dogs want?" As though by instinct, he reached for his left side where a small leather sheathe was strapped, hollow and forgotten. He had grabbed nothing but air. "Fuck!"

In a flash, the sharp tip of Xin Yi's sword—the one that I had never seen drew out of its black sheathe—glinted against the young man's cheek. I did not even see my bodyguard's flow of motion, and even if I did by luck, it was quicker than I had seen anyone move—even quicker than when he threw that first punch at me yesterday. Major Tang had called this boy—a prodigy. An idea began, it jelled for me, and it formed into shape. Though he seemed incompetent as a bodyguard and small in comparison to his former opponent, the bodyguard seemed different this time around. It was like the shell of which he had carefully constructed around himself...was slowly chipping away, revealing what had been hidden—what I had not known but others...had known and feared.

Perhaps, it's a wild guess—but maybe...he needed a trigger to unleash his prodigy self, the shadow of which he subconsciously hides away from...me.

I narrowed my eyebrows. "Stand down, Xin Yi."

"Ying Ku, stop it!" Like a dagger, her tone turned sharp—and within a flicker, Chi grabbed his right wrist. "Stop this aggression!" He glanced toward her as if doubting her judgment. "I have seen them for who they are." To our surprise, Ying Ku did not turn, setting his icy gaze upon Xin Yi and avoiding the cut of a waiting blade. His tensed posture began to dissolve itself, melting into a costive peace. "These are good Han people." She opened her mouth once more—only to close it while staring at me, the thin crimson veil billowing.

I blinked, wondering if she knows. The softness that had been in her dark eyes frosted over with winter's breath. She continued, "...This boy." Chi's eyes darted to Xin Yi before averting back to me. "I can give you medicine—if you can do me a favor first...Jing." It was there—that name and the hesitant in speaking it—which struck me as discreetly riveting. "God only knows...why you're here."