Chapter 47: When you think dining with royalty, you also immediately think of barbeque, right?

-Sephie-

The palace stood at the edge of the city, atop a hill, away from the hustle and bustle of the streets. It wasn’t a particularly tall structure, like the palaces back home, where the lords and ladies measured their self-worth by how grand their estate was compared to the others. Not to say it wasn’t an impressive sight! What this palace lacked in height – it appeared only two stories tall – it made up for in width. A long winding road climbed up along the stone foundations, circling around the small hillside once. A large, white stone wall with a bright green trim at the top surrounded the entire structure, with only one singular gatehouse offering entrance.

At the bottom of the road, just before it began it’s climb, stood two guards at a small guard post. They were expecting us, apparently, and guided us up the road after exchanging a few words with Shyleen. They were… extremely tense. I had the feeling that this dinner would turn out to be much more than a simple formality.

It was a somewhat warm evening, the sun was just about to set, though a thick fog had rolled in and practically encased the city, cooling everything down a fair bit. None of us were really breaking a sweat, even climbing up this road, yet the guards’ faces were covered in sweat. I wouldn’t think of myself as particularly insightful – given how long it took me to get what was happening with Marion – but even I could tell that they were afraid. I could also understand being afraid of Shyleen, she was a fierce warrior after all and the massive maul on her back didn’t help it, but she was also such a softie at heart, it couldn’t just be that, right?

Something was up. Just to be safe, I decided to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, which proved much more difficult, considering I didn’t even know the ordinary in this country, but I still did my best. Ashe sniffed it out as well, I could see. Her ears were flicking from side to side and her tail was wrapped around the hilt of a dagger at her belt. I carefully shifted some of the components in my bag to be more accessible, everything I would need for defensive spells as close as hand as possible.

As we reached the gatehouse, Xuè Jun stood in the entrance, awaiting us. He still wore the formal robes from this morning and had his hair done up in a much less messy bun this time. He bowed curtly as we came into view.

“Welcome to the Shu-Palace, honoured guests. My lord, the magistrate, will receive you in the grand hall first. We shall have dinner in the dining room later. Please follow me.”

As he spoke, his eyes trailed over our entire group, resting on Shyleen and me for a moment longer than everyone else.

What concerned me the most, though: We weren’t searched. We weren’t even asked to leave our weapons. Shyleen was wearing her hammer openly; Cassie put her swords in a large back sheath – the kind you can quickly take off to take out the blades – and Ashe had that strange dagger. Even I was allowed to take my bag and spellbook with me. The only one who was unarmed here was Nydia and she wasn’t much of a warrior anyway.

Either they were very confident in their ability to defeat us, if we caused trouble, or they hoped we would feel… safer? Even the lowest knight would insist that common folk like us took off their weapons when entering his home and this was no knight: This was the cousin to the emperor. Whoever he was. It felt wrong.

Everything felt wrong.

Xuè Jun led us through the lavish halls of the palace, alongside large nearly ethereally beautiful gardens, until we reached a slightly larger hall than the other ones. Two wooden columns held up the roof of this hall, one on each side with a guard posted in front of it, and a long carpet ran through the centre of the room, all the way to a slightly raised platform, atop which stood a gnarled elvish-looking wooden throne.

Inside the throne sat a figure; a man with long near-white pearlescent hair that fell almost to his hips and was done up in a half-bun that was held together by two golden needles. He wore a light blue robe with silver seams that matched his angelic hair. Underneath, he had a white robe with a golden symbol I didn’t know stitched onto it.

Slowly, but gracefully, he rose from his seat and inclined his head to us.

He began to speak, his voice clear and steady, and Xuè Jun translated for us.

“I greet you, chosen of the heavens. I am Shao Zhujin, lord magistrate of imperial security. You are Stephanie the Westerling and Shyleen the Beast of Wolfland Forest.”

My name sounded strange in the magistrate’s tongue. Still recognizable, but his accent was much thicker than Xuè Jun’s.

Xuè Jun paused for a moment, then cleared his throat and said: “You are expected to bow and greet the magistrate.”

We gave each other a look. Ashe rolled her eyes and Shyleen looked away defiantly. Well, bowing was nothing strange to me – especially as a commoner. We even had an etiquette class in our last year at the boarding school, in case we’d ever be hired by someone significant.

So, I grabbed the hem of my dress and gave my very best curtsy. Nydia curtsied much more elegant than I did and Cassie gave her best bow. A shadow crossed Xuè Jun’s face and he cleared his throat again and inclined his head to Shyleen and Ashe.

“Bowin’s like submittin’, right? I don’t submit to no one but my goddess!” Shyleen declared, crossing her arms.

“It is simply a curtesy.” Xuè Jun explained strainingly, his eyebrow beginning to twitch. “You are in the house of the magistrate and you are expected to treat him with respect!”

“The magistrate asked us to be here tonight. We are respectin’ him by bein’ here at all,” Shyleen replied. Xuè Jun narrowed his eyes at Shyleen, but then Shao Zhujin spoke again, addressing the pale man, then sitting down in his throne again.

Jun turned back to us. “The lord magistrate is excuses your rudeness. As foreigners you cannot be expected to know our ways. He expects you to correct your behaviour during your stay in these lands. Respect is highly valued in the empire. The lack of respect is considered an insult. Be sure to understand these things. All of you.”

He paused for a moment, then the magistrate continued to speak.

“Let us talk about the reason for this meeting. You pose a significant threat to the empire. A threat which I am supposed to… manage. So… to give me an understanding of how this management will look like, I ask of you: What purpose do you have in the empire? Whom do you serve? And how long are you expecting to stay in this realm?”

Shyleen stepped forward, puffing up her chest. “I serve Visay, the goddess of the Wild.”

“And you purpose?”

I took a small step forward, immediately regretting it as the entire room fixed its eyes on me.

“We… uh. We seek someone. They are further east from this town, I think they will be in the capital, at least that seems most likely to me.”

“Who is this person you seek?” The magistrate arched an eyebrow.

“I… don’t know. I only know her direction. I don’t know her distance or her identity.”

“Am I correct in assuming you are using your divine artefact to locate her? The Compass of True Love, if I am not mistaken.” He shifted in his throne, leaning forward slightly.

I looked over to Nydia. She’d always been the one most cautious about the artefact and if anyone knew how much information we should share in this situation it would be her. To my disappointment, her look was one of uncertainty. She obviously didn’t trust this man any more than I did, which was good, but maybe he would also prove helpful to us. Maybe he really is just concerned for the safety of his empire. Even if I couldn’t see how our small group of people could threaten anyone. Let alone a whole empire.

“I… I am using the Compass, yes.”

The magistrate looked over the Xuè Jun, who looked back to him with an expression I couldn’t place at all. A look only the two of them understood, I felt. They were… closer than simply master and servant, I guess. Friends… or more?

Either way, Shao Zhujin turned back to me.

“I have decided: I do not believe you are an enemy; I shall help you in your journey. Xuè Jun shall arrange for a caravan to the capital for tomorrow morning. Until then, let us eat. We have much to discuss, I’m sure and I am very curious about your life in the far west.”

I felt a weight ease off me, I didn’t know I was carrying. The tension in the room evaporated, Shyleen relaxed and Ashe’s tail unwrapped from her dagger for the first time since arriving here.

We were guided to a nearby room, much smaller than this hall, with a long, low table and cushions strewn about the floor. Servants quickly filled the table with all sorts of food and drinks. Just to be safe, I quietly cast a spell on the flagon, that would protect everyone from poison who drank from it, before the servants began to fill everyone’s cups.

The mood quickly became friendlier. Which may or may not have something to do with the translucent drink they served. Whatever it was, it packed a punch and if I didn’t cast my spell, I’m pretty sure we’d be much worse off. It was only a protection spell, after all, not an immunity spell.

Xuè Jun and Shao Zhujin proved to be much friendlier people than they appeared as at first. We learned that Xuè Jun actually went to study in Eletheo when he was a young boy. It was there, in the elven jewel of the south, where he learned to speak Jarrainian and Elvish. He heard much about the north of Jarrainoria, though he never found the right moment to venture and explore the kingdoms outside the city itself and his duty brought him back to Xien before he could make the time.

Both of them grew up in the capital together and spent much time at the imperial court. While Jun followed the path of a scholar, Zhujin became an administrator.

It was during his time as a low-level administrator, that a chosen arrived at the court: An elven man with dark black hair, pale skin and heterochrome eyes: One green and one blue. He claimed to be the chosen of Phray, the deity of time and he brought with him three riders, lesser chosen. The Heralds of Doom.

The four of them brought the imperial family to heel and nearly took over the entire empire, were it not for the Heroes of Zanji, who defeated the Heralds and drove the Chosen to flee. Since then, the empire had been especially defensive when it came to chosen. Now that Zhujin held the office of lord magistrate of imperial security, he swore to not let any chosen threaten the empire again.

Which also meant that I was right: We’re not a threat to anyone, let alone an empire. Otherwise he wouldn’t chauffeur us directly to the capital, where the imperial family is most vulnerable.

I was just explaining my magical training at the boarding school, when a guard came into the room, hurried over to Zhujin and whispered something in his ear. His eyes filled with worry and his face paled slightly. He threw a quick look over to us and despite the alcohol, the tension began to rise again.

There were some shouts outside and Shyleen tensed up, her ears flicking around.

Zhujin waved Jun over to him and whispered something to him as well, who then got up quickly and hurried out of the room.

I tapped Shyleen on the shoulder. “Everything alright? What’s going on?”

“Something’s happenin’,” she whispered sharply. “Whole palace is abuzz.”

“Ask Zhujin?” I propositioned.

She tsked but then spoke to the magistrate in Zenshian.

“He says somethin’s come up, but everythin’s under control. I don’t believe him. Somethin’ isn’t right at all, I-“

Her eyes went wide and she began sniffing. “Smell that?”

“Smell what?” Cassie whispered back and I threw a quick look over to Zhujin. He was rubbing his temples; there was sweat on his brow.

“Smoke,” Ashe stated. “Something’s burning.”

Cassie quickly got up – to the surprise of Zhujin – and hurried over to the window on the other side of the room.

“Holy fuck.”

“”What?!”” We all asked sharply, getting up as well and hurrying over to the window. Even Zhujin stood up and made his way over.

I quickly strode over next to Cass and…

Before me stood the town of Lin Shu, the hill underneath the palace giving vision across the entire settlement. The fog had rolled in, turning the streets into rivers of mist. At the far side of the town, where the river hugged the houses, just where the docks where, was a giant, orange light. Fire. The entire harbour was ablaze, a thick column of smoke rising high up in the air.

My thoughts raced back to the dream. I could smell the ashes now. The smoke. I could see the faces of my friends, of my lovers, as they were swallowed by that dark abyss.

There was a figure. Just at the foot of the hill. A shadow. Large. A rider. And two glowing, blazing, cold blue eyes gazed up, right at me.

Muffin_Maeve

Looks like we're about to have a big showdown!

Really excited for this part of the story. I've been building up to this exact moment since the Interlude!

Also, just cuz I'm curious, what do you think is going on with Zhujin and Jun? Are they good eggs or scheming behind our girls' backs?
Lemme know whatcha think :3

Aaaanyways, this chapter wrote itself so smoothly, I'm really happy with it!
I hope you also liked it!

Luv y'all <3
-Maeve <3