"This looks like a good spot to fish," said Tan Bowen, indicating a deep clear water hole in the river.
"Ooooh, can we really fish Tan Bowen? Did someone bring rods? I've never been fishing before," said Meili.
"Never before? Well then, we must stop and see if we can catch a fish for our lunch," said Tan Bowen.
She discovered that the men had all packed fishing and hunting equipment, as though that was an unwritten rule of a journey through the woods. One she was clearly ignorant of.
"Will someone share with me?" she asked sadly.
"I will," they all answered together.
The prince strode forward and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to the water's edge, staking his claim.
"Come here," he said, "let me teach you".
"Can I remove my shoes?" she asked.
"No!" said the prince and Bai Li at the same time.
She sighed in disappointment. Now her shoes would get wet. The prince looked her up and down appreciatively.
"You really haven't dressed appropriately for a hike through the woods, have you?"
She wore a new pink high-waisted horse face skirt and white top she had bought from Sun's store to replace the ones damaged in the assassins' attack, paired this time, with riding pants underneath. Her new practice, under Sofya's tutelage, was not to bind her chest, so the high tight waist of the skirt and the thin white top accentuated her small-waisted, buxom figure.
The prince leaned into her ear as he positioned himself behind her with the fishing rod in front of them. "Haven't I warned you before about hiding this dangerous little figure of yours?" he purred.
She reddened, but she was prepared for him this time. "Your highness," she whispered back, firmly, "you mustn't say things like that, or touch me inappropriately. I'm sure you know the rule that men and women don't touch."
"You don't want me to teach you how to fish?" he asked her slyly.
"Yes, of course I do! Just not at the expense of good manners," she hissed at him.
"Then watch and learn," he pulled her close against his chest, leaned over her shoulder and demonstrated the hooking of a worm.
She watched in horrified fascination as it wriggled alive on the hook. The prince took advantage of her distraction, breathing in the sweet scent of her neck and letting his breath fall close to her ear. Mmmm. He felt the gentle burn of his blood rising, as it always did in close proximity to this girl.
His actions were not lost on Bai Li. Whose temper was rising as he watched the prince's actions.
The prince grasped her wrists. "Alright now Mei Meili. Throw out the line as far as you can."
"What will the worm do?"
"Hopefully stay on the hook," he laughed. "Don't throw it so hard that it flies off. There's an art to it, let me show you."
He held her wrists as he cast the line, and the hook, line and sinker arced sweetly before plopping into the middle of the pool.
She smiled with childlike delight. "Oooh, what's next?"
"Next, you sit and wait. Keep a finger on the line like this," he showed her how to lightly touch the line. "If you feel a nibble, let me know and I'll show you how to hook the fish."
He stayed right where he was, positioned closely behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, helping her hold the rod.
"I think Miss Mei can hold the rod on her on now your highness," Bai Li admonished him. "I'm reminding you to keep a decorous distance."
"Thank you for your kind reminder, Commander Bai. I'm pretty sure I've read my Confucius."
"Really your highness, I wondered if you might have forgotten it," Bai Li said pointedly.
Meili was thankful for Bai Li's interjection. She hadn't managed to set acceptable boundaries with the prince as yet. She was hopeful there would be more chances to do so on this trip.
The others sat down to wait for a bite. Meili was still too eager, so she stood, wandering from side to side, gently pulling on her line, fiddling with her bait's position.
"Mei Meili," said Tan Bowen, "the aim is to imitate a worm's actions so that a fish tries to eat it. I'm pretty sure no worm swims through the water at the rate of knots you're dragging yours about."
"Oh," said Meili, chastened. She turned as still as a statue, burning with excitement as she hoped for a nibble.
Bai Li felt a good bite on his line. "Mei Meili," he said quietly, "give your rod to his highness for a moment. I have a bite over here."
"Quick, quick," she shrieked, rushing over to the prince and shoving the rod into his surprised hands. She ran over to Bai Li and grabbed the proffered rod from him. "What do I do? What do I do?"
"Take it easy, he's already hooked. Just pull him in nice and gently. The aim is to bring him in somewhere where you don't drag him over rocks or snag him on the way, that way we can pull him up before he escapes."
"Is this a good spot here?" she asked him anxiously, pointing at a dark blue patch of water in front of the rocks she was standing on.
"That looks fine," he said to her calmly. "Don't panic. Do it smoothly."
As she pulled the fish in closer to shore she caught a glimpse of his silvery body. "Look, look, I can see the fish," she jumped up and down with excitement.
"Mei Meili, remember I said smoothly?"
"Oh, yes," she stilled and kept methodically pulling the fish into the shore. Finally, he appeared just below her and she leaned down to pull him up. "Yay!" she cheered, dangling the good-sized fish on the end of the line.
"Hold him over the land, Mei Meili," said Bai Li. "Many fish have been lost when they fall off the hook back into the water."
"Oops," she moved the line onto the rocks and put the flapping fish down carefully. Tricky ambled over to take a look at it.
"Bai Li!" she screamed. "Quick, quick, he's getting away."
He strolled over with a fond smile and grabbed the fish, holding it up.
"Nice work, you've caught your first fish. We can roast him for our lunch."
"Hooray," she jumped for joy, suddenly slipping on the now wet rock face and falling backwards towards the pool.
Bai Li sprang into action, grabbing her around the waist with one arm, holding the fish safely in the other hand. He spun her away from the water's edge with such speed that one of her yanbin clips flew out and dropped into the pool with a splash.