Qian woke up earlier the next morning before the maid and picked up her room slowly. She folded her clothes over the tub, washing them in the water to get rid of the smell of the river before she changed into fresh robes after cleaning herself.
When there was a knock at her door before the maid entered, Qian looked up. She had finished giving herself a cold bath and was combing her hair out.
"You're up early, mistress," she told her, coming over to help her.
"I can't sleep." She told her, looking down. "It was hot last night and throughout the day. My ankle is swollen and still hurting." A little more because of how much she'd walked on it last night.
"I'm sorry," she frowned, "let me help tend to you so we may call the doctor later to look at it."
"It just needs to be elevated and I need more cold water." She told her, looking down. "I was waiting for someone to come back and fetch new water, anyway."
"Of course." She nodded in agreement.
A Late Morning
Vy had cleaned up before going to bed. It had been difficult going to sleep after everything that happened. He almost couldn't believe it. They had kissed and- He didn't regret it though. She was everything he never knew he wanted. How were they going to handle this now? After a while he was finally too exhausted to stay awake. He slept it quite a bit the next morning too without realizing it.
"Vy," Keelan knocked at his door. He looked exhausted, but it had been a bit more than that. He was stressed out, to be honest.
He opened his eyes, hearing someone at the door. He sat up quickly. What time was it? He went to the door and opened it. "Keelan," he started. He looked exhausted.
Keelan looked at Vy, worried and a little sick to his stomach. "Have you seen Siam?" He asked him, feeling guilty. "He's not in his room or anywhere on the grounds."
Vy pressed his hand to his forehead. His head hurt from how little sleep he got. "No-" He frowned, remembering what happened at dinner. Where would Siam go? "Let's go find him."
"Well, that's the thing-" Keelan looked down, feeling guilty. "He left a letter, saying he left for the South because he would not live here anymore." He felt his chest squeeze tight. "And he took one of the horses for the carriage." He looked at Vy. "Siam has been gone for hours. No one saw him after he went to bed."
Vy stilled and looked at Keelan. "He's really gone?" He couldn't believe it.
"Yes." He looked at Vy, feeling terrible. "He's never left before. Vy, I don't know what to do." He stabbed his hand through his quite frazzled looking hair and paced back and forth. "Father won't send anyone else beyond the grounds to look. He said he's as good as dead. I can't- I can't let him die! He's my brother."
"He's not going to die," Vy told him quickly. "Siam isn't stupid. I think he's being a bit extreme, but he's not in danger." He was fairly certain of that. With the way things went last night, he couldn't be that surprised.
Keelan stopped, looking at Vy, but his gut just felt like it was so much worse. "No one rides alone in a bandit infested desert on a horse." He felt his teeth chattering, his nerves a little high as he paced a moment. "I shouldn't have asked. No one cares." He grabbed his head, thinking about what his father told him. "I need to go." He walked back towards the other buildings, feeling panic rising in him.
Vy winced. "Don't- you know I care." He was so tired. "What do you plan to do?"
Keelan shook his head, waving Vy off with his hand before slipping around a corner. He went down to the stables, grabbing the doors to reef them open so he could step inside. The first thing he grabbed for was a bridal, snatching it up from the wall before attempting to heft a saddle down after.
"Keelan!" Vy called after him. He sighed. This was a mess. He pulled his boots on quickly and ran after him. He ran into the stable and watched him. "What are you doing?"
Keelan shrugged him off, ignoring him as he walked to the horses and opened one of the stalls as he stepped into it and grunted, nearly dropping the saddle as he tried to clumsily throw it onto the back of the animal.
It startled the horse, making it stomp as it turned towards him, and he tried to pull the straps down around it.
He grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "Stop! You cannot go after him."
Keelan shoved his hand off with his hand and glared at him. "You're not doing anything about it. What? Do you expect me to just leave him be while we're at war with the foxes? You think I want my brother to get caught by bandits and sold off to the highest bidder?" He grit his teeth. "I'm going after him."
"You'll do no such thing," Keenan interrupted the two of them, standing at the doors.
Vy was about to explain how that would just make it worse. Vy could go and would because he held little value. Even being the King's nephew. He stilled, hearing his uncle.
"Return to your rooms," he told Keelan and Vy. "Siam sealed his own fate. Leave him. If the guards catch him in time, he'll be returned to the palace."
Vy turned to his uncle. "We can't do that. He is still considered a prince by everyone else. You might not care anymore, but what would it say about us if bandits take a prince? Then sold off? If the foxes get a hold of him, they will use it against us." He was trying. "What would your people think if you allowed the foxes to kill your own son?"
"Then word will spread. If we do not catch him in time, then let him writhe. He'll learn soon enough." He looked at Keenan. "Leave the horses. I must leave to the South tomorrow." He told his son. "You'll be heading home and getting ready to marry your fiance. I want to spread things along a bit since we have come to understand that."
Keelan felt dread overtake him upon hearing that, and he went rigid. He startled when the horse neighed and he stepped back, stumbling against the stall as he remembered their conversation.
"Return to your rooms or I'll have the guard escort you both."
His son could die, and he's worried about the other's marriage? He straightened, unable to argue with him. He noted though that there was more. That, whatever that was, had Keelan quiet. Vy just bowed his head and turned to leave.
Keenan said 'catch him in time'. Had he sent someone after Siam?
Keelan lowered his head. "I'm going back to my room," he told his father, but the disgust was evident.
"Vy." Keenan stopped him. "I'll be seeing you to talk soon enough. Make haste to your room, boy."
Vy stopped and nodded to his uncle before leaving. He didn't look back after that. This was a mess and he couldn't do anything about it. He thought about talking to the guard, but his uncle was going to find him later.
"Keelan," he looked at his son and his jaw went tight.
Keelan looked at his father, a hint of defiance crossed his mind, but his father caught on quickly and grabbed him by the shirt. By the time Vy was out of the stables, it was quiet.
The frigid night air was cool, brushing swashes of warm and cold chills over him. A maid was heading down to Qian's room, bringing fresh clothes to her. She seemed busily entranced in her work, but the unfamiliar face that was standing near was someone who was clad in soft white. She had wavy hair that spilled over her shoulders in large curls as she watched the maid.
The woman from before at the dinner table. Keelan and Siam's aunt. Their mother's younger sister.
Vy paid almost no attention to anything else around him as he went back to his rooms. He was so tired, but not he was too irritated to sleep. He wanted to believe that Siam wasn't stupid enough to just run away in the middle of the desert. Maybe he underestimated how mad Siam was. Of course Keelan would want to go after him, but that would be even more idiotic. He pinched the top of his nose as a headache started.
She took a few steps forward before entering Qian's chambers to speak with her, and the door slid shut behind her slowly.
"Look, it's brother." Ying tugged at her sister's robe, pointing to him across the courtyard, walking towards their rooms.
Vy looked up to see his siblings.
Zuri pulled her robe free of her sister's grip. "Don't pull on me."
"What do you think he's doing on his own?" She asked, ignoring her sister's complaint. It was easy enough to ignore. Her sister hardly wasn't like this with her.
Zuri sighed. "Brother!" She called to him. She pulled Ying with her as she went to him.
Vy sighed. He wondered if Bao Ma was close.
Ying followed her sister easily, her eyes curious, but a devious nature lurked beneath. "Vy." She started, hardly referring to him with affection. "What are you doing outside so late this afternoon?"
He looked back towards the stables for a second and then back to them. "I was just talking with our uncle and cousin." He told them.
Zuri tilted her head. "About cousin Siam?" she asked.
Vy knew they likely knew something was going on, but probably not the complete picture. "Yes."
"Did he run away?" Ying asked, knowing that was the rumor the maids spoke of quietly. They didn't think she realized these things at her age.
Vy sighed. He tried to think of a way to put it without lying. They were young, but not stupid. "He- needed time to himself.l He'll be back."
"Maybe uncle is going to silence him." Ying said darkly. "Maybe he won't come back." The maids said it. Why couldn't it be true? She looked back at Vy. She looked at Yuri. "Don't you think?"
Vy frowned. It pained him to see his younger siblings being so apathetic. "Why do you say that?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral.
Ying looked at him, unphased by his question. "Isn't that what happens when you're a traitor? I heard others saying it. Isn't it true?"
Zuri watched Vy closely, awaiting his answer. She understood that Vy differed from her parents. He wasn't loud or harsh. He was actually comfortable to be around since she never felt the need to act a certain way in front of him. Her mother didn't seem to really like him, but she had nothing bad to say.
"Why do you think he's a traitor?" he asked her.
"He yelled at Uncle at the table and cut his hair off. Isn't he not a prince anymore?" She seemed confused now. "Doesn't that mean you hate our home?"
He frowned. "I know there are things that he doesn't agree with, but I don't think he hates our home."
"But he cut his hair and ran away."
He looked at Zuri. "Yes, he did. Sometimes people do crazy things when they're- Overwhelmed." He sighed. "He is still our cousin. We shouldn't wish anything bad to happen to him."
"Why?" Ying asked, staring at him. It was a bit beyond her age.
"Would you want anything bad to happen to you?" he asked.
"No," she told him.
"Then don't wish ill on others."
Zuri thought about it. "What's going to happen now?"
He sighed. "I don't know. We'll find out soon though."
It shocked her that he would admit that he didn't know. Didn't adults know everything? He said they would find out, though. It was nice being included. Their parents always told them not to worry about it, or that things like this didn't concern them.
Ying calmed a little, looking at her brother. "So then what's going to happen to him?"
"Hopefully nothing too serious." He loved Siam like a brother and hoped he'd just come home safe.
She nodded, looking down before looking at Zuri and Fai. "We're going home today. Maybe he went home early." She told Vy, feeling a little bad. She looked up at her brother and then back to the courtyard before she started to walk back to her room. She was tired, and a little confused with everything going on around her.
"Maybe," he agreed with her. He watched them walk back to their rooms and sighed. Hopefully, they wouldn't grow up to be as cold as their parents.
Ying disappeared down another hallway before Keenan appeared from behind. He caught up to Vy with ease, placing a hand on his shoulder from behind. "Come with me." His voice was heavy, devoid of all emotion.
Vy stilled under his uncle's heavy hand. He looked at him and nodded, not really saying anything. The tight knot in his stomach wouldn't allow him to say anything.
Keenan led him down towards a more isolated area away from everyone else. The guards were fewer, and the hallway was more barren, devoid of any servants. He pulled his key out, unlocking the door to open it up into a study. It smelled somewhat musty, but the candle in the back was lit, illuminating the room dully. "Sit." He pointed to a chair near the desk.
He followed his uncle, growing more and more unease. The dank, dimly lit room definitely did nothing to settle his nerves. He tried to keep his unease from showing as he did as he was told and sat in the chair. What is going on?
Keenan closed the door, flicking the bolt handle, so it slid into the holder, keeping the door tightly secured, sealing them both inside. "You work in the archives and have read through, possibly if not many scrolls, but there's one place I have not given access to you." He started off, going to a shelf to pull a book down from it. It was unlike their home's archives. Everything was in binding instead of scrolls. He looked at the binding a moment before opening it. "Except. Your cousin." He looked at Vy, his eyes dark.
"I have a task for you." He told him, getting to the point as he placed the book in front of him. The language wasn't theirs. It was very different, almost ancient, but he cleared the air. "Scriptures from the Northern Tower." He started off. "They're old text, written by the high priests of the tower." A smirk crossed his expression as he looked at Vy. "Would you be interested to learn a new language?"
Vy watched him, and he worried what he was getting himself into. Then Keenan brought up archives and scrolls he didn't know about. His interest piqued, though. He looked at the scripts and reached out to take it and look it over. Amazing! He could recognize that it was an ancient language. He looked at his uncle. "Yes," he couldn't hide his excitement.
He smiled more, "Then maybe I could have you study these. I have some back at the main palace. Should you do well and decipher them, I may reward you with more." He lifted another from the shelf and placed it down, opening it to a specific page. "Namely this one." He tapped on it, putting his finger at the top. A picture of a fox neatly printed in gold started before the scriptures followed behind it.
"Then I may request you one thing you desire if you do well for me. Yes?" The boy was naïve. What would he know even if he deciphered it?
Vy looked from the script to his uncle. Grant something he desired? Immediately he thought of Qian. He couldn't ask for that though. Even with his uncle being the king it would be stupid to even confess.
"I'll do my best," he told him.
"Good," he smiled. "I trust you'll keep this between just the two of us." He dangled the key before him. "Feel free to use this study to your own discretion. Don't allow anyone in and the servants aren't allowed over here anyway." He held it out for Vy. "I trust you'll do the thing best necessary to maintain this between us."
He made sure to look him in the eye. "Absolutely," he said, reaching for the key. Secrecy was a small price to pay for this knowledge.
"Then since all is in order. I trust you won't mind staying behind a night here to get acquainted with the material." He walked to the door after, looking back at Vy. "I am sending the rest back tonight and will be leaving South. Decipher what you can and after I return, I will have more for you to unveil."
Vy couldn't help but feel a bit like a prisoner at that moment. Even as rewarding as it would be to have this material and to decipher it, he was being locked away here while his family went back home. He couldn't protest though. This was a rare opportunity and likely would not be brought up again.
He bowed his head to his uncle. "I will get done what I can until your return."
"Good. I will spread the news of this to your father so he returns home proper.," He opened the door, stepping out to disappear into the hallway. The door clicked shut quietly behind him.
Vy watched him leave before taking a deep breath. His attention went back to script in his hand. He looked it over, trying to see if there are any context clues.
Many hours dwelled by, but it was hard to tell the time of day with a room that held no windows, no skylights, and was only lit by candle. The candle was glowing dimmer, coming to the edge when it nearly snuffed out.
A soft noise came from outside the door but died out just as quickly before another tremored yelp came after.
"Ah!" A female's voice shrieked.
"What do you think you're doing down this way?!" A man's voice shouted over her scream.
Vy had been drifting to sleep after a little while. He hadn't had much sleep the night before and with how quiet and dim the room was he couldn't fight it any longer. He jolted awake hearing a scream though and turned to the door. What was going on?
He stood and walked over to the door to try to open it.
Down the hall, not too far from sight, a blonde-haired woman was fighting off the guard. He had her by the arm, pulling her with him as she tried to weakly shove his arm off. A whimpered cry escaped her lips at how futile it all was to even attempt to fight back.
"Let me go!"
He yanked her arm up, pulling her hard towards him and her hair fluffed over her face, blinding her as she tried to reach for the floor in means of escape.
"Come with me." He growled, obviously angered by her presence. "I'll see to it little spies like you are properly dealt with!"
Vy's eyes widened, seeing the guard handle the woman so harshly. "Hey!" He yelled before he could think better of it. "Let go of her!"
He looked up at Vy suddenly, yet his grip loosened on her enough that she broke free. He didn't look happy with Vy though as he turned quickly, grabbing her by the hair and tugging back hard. She screamed again, grabbing her hair as he looked at Vy. "And who exactly gave you permission to be on this side of the sacred grounds?" He growled.
Vy grit his teeth when he grabbed her by the hair. He had moved closer now and looked him in the eye. "My uncle, the King," he told him, trying to remain calm, but how could he when the guard was abusing this woman?
He straightened up, sizing Vy up. "Interesting you say that. You know this area is off limits to you. Yes?" He asked him. He pulled her closer, and she flashed a glance at Vy, scared.
Vy looked at him, not intimidated. "How would I have found this place if he hadn't shown me? I have better things to do than snoop around. Don't insult me or the King."
He glared at him. "Of course," he curled a lip. "Then I have business to attend to." He pulled her towards him as she clawed at his hands to free herself before he hefted her up and she tried to wriggle free. "I wouldn't linger, though. Spies often sulk here. Pay no mind to the witch. The interrogator will clear her of suspicions if she's innocent." He huffed, smiling deviously at the notion.
Vy grit his teeth. "I told you to let go of her." His voice was surprisingly calm, but it still held weight.
"Under what premise?" His eyes narrowed. "I'm following direct orders from the king."
"The King told you to drag her around and harm her?" He asked.
"She's resisting arrest." He told him. He looked at her and then to him. "You want her?" He asked, raising a brow.
"She's resisting your brutality." He looked at her. "No," he told him. That was not his intention when he interfered. He just didn't want to see her abused.
"For a youth with relation to the emperor, you have strange ideas." He loosened his grip on her and she tried to run, but he snatched her back by the wrist and held her up by it. "She's hardly worth the time. You're better off going back to your current place of residence."
She looked up at Vy, biting her lip as she held her breath in. Her eyes pleaded for him to help release her.
He looked at her and then back to the guard. "You said she's a spy?"
"Potentially. The interrogator will be the one to investigate further. He's always good at getting a confession." He told him. "Why?"
"So you have no proof and are sending her to be tortured to get the answer you want." He raised a brow at him.
"Are you accusing the total interrogator of false confessions?"
"Based on the way you've treated her, yes. If there was any tact you would have taken her there with a little more dignity."
"Interesting." He raised his head, staring down at him. He released her and she stumbled forward, her hair a mess as she looked back at him and he turned stiffly to walk away.
She stood there a moment, holding her arms as she looked behind her to watch him leave. Her heart was still hammering in her chest.
Vy watched the guard leave before turning to the girl. "Are you alright?"
She took a deep breath, looking back to him slowly and her brow creased together. "I-I'm just shaken up," she told him, not trying to bring him too close but she wasn't willing to go far from him till she was in the clear. She'd have to tell her mistress of this. They certainly were hiding things here.
"Why are you here?" he asked her.
She looked up at him, maintaining her composure, but it unnerved her. "My mistress asked me to find the emperor," she looked down. "I had asked his whereabouts and was told he was here. I was unaware they restricted this to only select individuals." She bowed her head. "I apologize."
"Why are you looking for him?" he asked. "Or better yet, why is your mistress trying to find him?"
She looked at Vy, lifting her head. "She was asking for the doctor." She felt her breathing accelerate a little. "I can't say much else, it's a private matter between herself and the emperor."
"If you need a doctor, I can see what I can do, but-" He'd have to know what was going on.
"I just need to find him," she told Vy. "I'm sorry. I'm under oath."
"Then I can't do much more to help you," he told her politely and turned to go back to the room.
"I understand." She stood up, straightening her back. "I appreciate your time and offer to assist." She looked back down the hall. "I must return." She told him before turning to leave. She smiled a little at Vy. "Hopefully we meet on better terms."
He nodded to her. He doubted they would ever see each other again, and that might be for the best. He needed to get back to work.
Dining Out
"She's not coming again, is she?" Ying asked her mother. "It's lunch. We're going home and she'll be hungry if she doesn't come eat."
"That's not for us to worry about," she told Ying. Sighing heavily she contemplated how much of a pain this new concubine had been.
Ying slouched in her seat and she looked around, noticing Vy also wasn't here. Where was he? Was he gone like her cousin?
"Everything is well, yes?" Keenan asked his brother as he sat down for lunch. He figured Vy would still be busy by now. It's not like the study gave way to what time of day it was.
Koto nodded. "I haven't seen Vy yet." He looked at his brother. "He didn't go after his cousin did he?" he doubted it, but it also wouldn't surprise him.
"No," he smiled. "He's doing some work for me. I was going to tell you that you need not worry about him. He will be staying behind to finish a few documents for me before returning home."
Koto raised a brow at his brother. "Is that so?" He was irritated that Keenan would just use his son without asking him first. Vy was his son, if he needed to do anything Koto would be the one to order him.
Keenan leaned forward, eyeing Fai. "You have another," he smirked, "don't worry though. He won't be gone forever. I think it's far more suitable for him to continue these documents and will help us all later on."
"What are these documents that no one else could finish them?"
"He's doing research for me," Keenan told Koto, clearing his throat quickly. "From the articles in the archives in relation to what documents are here. I was looking for a bit of information and asked him to do this for me since he's the only one with clearance enough to have close access to restricted documents. I hope you understand the level of security we have to keep with those texts." He took a slow drink of his wine.
Bao Ma placed a gentle hand on Koto's forearm. "Calm, love. I'm sure our King would not ask him if it were not necessary."
Koto relaxed a bit more when Bao Ma spoke. If anyone else had interrupted them he'd have made them regret even speaking, but this was his darling. "When should we expect him home?" Koto asked instead.
"Three days," Keenan told him. "No more." He'd make sure he went back if he had to make it happen.
Koto just nodded. It didn't matter honestly. It wasn't like he could go against his brother and King. Three days seemed reasonable enough.
Fai looked at his uncle and then to his father. "Is brother in trouble?"
"In the meantime," Keenan smiled at Koto, "I wanted to ask of your other wife. The concubine. My own recently went to visit her, checking on her ankle and she seems in good health. When do you think you might have a child from her?"
Koto ignored his son and continued the conversation with his brother. "I would like to start soon," He looked at Bao Ma who looked furious.
Bao Ma looked at him. "You promised me we'd have more first."
Keenan laughed at Bao Ma, shaking his head. "She won't be young forever. You've already had three," he told her, "What more do you need?" He raised a glass to his brother. "I look forward to seeing what she's capable of. Maybe a gem like her has hidden talents."
Koto squeezed Bao Ma's thigh under the table. He understood what she was implying. He'd have to - eventually - claim his new wife nevertheless.
Keenan watched his brother, Koto, smiling as he thought about it slowly but Bao Ma hadn't produced any children with a significant mark of the Gods. He was certain they had to be elsewhere. "Tell me. What are your plans for the twins-" Keenan smirked at his brother.