Empress: Chapter 21

Shifting flowers stroked against Meiling’s calves where she knelt. A breeze pushed across her cheeks and through her hair. The air flittered with the delights of budding blooms and oncoming rain. She shivered slightly to the coolness teasing her arms and legs. Still, she knelt with the stillness of the statues sitting before her at the edge of her mother’s garden. Meiling breathed deeply, pausing longingly between inhaling and exhaling.

The darkness behind closed eyes morphed into images of her family together. She remembered playing in that same field with her mother and brother. Meiling allowed the carefree years of her childhood wash over her in silence. She remembered her brother teaching her kung fu and pushing her to better herself. She remembered her mother’s smile and unwillingness to bend to any power brought against the laws of nature. She remembered times long since forgotten of quiet meals, farmwork, crying in the dark of night, and yet always being protected by those around her.

Meiling smiled. A single tear fell down one cheek. She opened her eyes to the sounds of flowers rustling behind her, turning to face a much less confrontational presence than the previous visitor.

“I’m sorry, I… I didn’t want to interrupt your prayer,” Cao Lee said. Meiling’s smile widened. She wiped her cheek and shook her head.

“No, it-it’s okay,” Meiling said. “I was just visiting mother. I tend to get anxious around times of storms. I just want her to be okay.”

“I understand,” Lee said. A clean white robe around Lee’s body fluttered with the wind. It was an article from Meiling’s own wardrobe. It had been presented tight around the chest, but she had loosened it out with Meiling’s permission. Her small face brightened at the sight of the kneeling young woman. Meiling turned back to face the shrine. She bowed her head once more before standing. “Oh, please, take your time.”

“I’ve taken up enough of her time,” Meiling said. She breathed in a deep scent of approaching rain. “We had better secure the garden.”

“I’ve already brought in the clothes and laid tarps across most of the patches,” Lee said. “But we may need to visit the market for more supplies.” Meiling sighed. She reached up to run her fingers through her hair, stroking down the back of her neck.

“You’re probably right,” Meiling said. Lee smiled warmly back at her. She came closer through the flowers, stepping lightly.

“You should be more mindful of what you have,” Lee said, “preparing for the storm, and all.” Meiling chuckled.

“Right,” she said. “Sorry, I just get so down when the weather’s like this.” Lee turned to the dark clouds hovering over the mountainous regions beyond the village. She nodded and stroked her hair.

“Me too,” Lee said. “But it’s okay.”

“Because you’re here, right?” Meiling asked. Lee gave back a sad smile. Her eyes shimmered slightly as her mind took her back to the palace. She knew the bird would need to pull itself from the wildness and return to the cage at some point, but often shook those thoughts away to return to the moment.

“Right,” Lee said. Meiling grinned. She came up to Lee and wrapped both of her sturdy, muscular arms around her thighs, lifting her in the air from beneath Lee's seat. "Aahhhh!" Lee shrieked as Meiling spun the girl around, staring up at her as Lee clung onto Meiling's shoulders.

"Come on, we can't both be feeling down," Meiling said, giggling as she spun around. Loose petals fluttered around them both, guided by the gentle hand of a light breeze. A smile broke out across Lee’s face as well.

"Aahhhehehe! Hey! Put me down!" Lee said. She laughed at Meiling's playful impulse. Being so lovingly touched and played with at will was still such an oddity, a taboo in her royal life. Lee's heart raced. She laughed like a child, holding on as such to Meiling’s loving, impish embrace. After Meiling spun around a few times, she began to collapse to the ground. She managed to guide Lee down safely, however, falling to her knees and laying Lee around on her back across the flowers. More petals leaped into the air at impact, shrouding the girls still holding one another. Meiling giggled as she laid on top of Lee. She hovered over her body, their hips pressing together. Lee grinned and Meiling tucked her chestnut hair behind one ear.

"Got you now," Meiling said. "No more sneaking off into town without me."

"It was just for eggs," Lee said with a smirk. "I didn't want to interrupt your training." Meiling sighed. She bent down to push her chest against Lee’s face. Lee shrieked a muffled cry, shifting and squirming against Meiling’s chest.

"Uh huh," Meiling said. "Or you could have stayed here and played with me." She held her breasts against Lee's face for several, long seconds. Lee’s hands rose to pinch at Meiling's sides. Meiling yelped into a fit and shrieking laughter. She jolted back, pushing herself off of Lee and landing with her back against the flowers. Lee took the opportunity to pin Meiling to the ground while continuing to scribble her petite fingers up and down Meiling’s sides.

"That's not a bad idea either," Lee said. She straddled Meiling atop the ground. Her fingers worked across Meiling’s sides. They skittered up her ribs and to her pits. Meiling squeaked with ticklish giggles. She rocked back and forth in the flowers, their scents carried into the air around her and her immaculate lover.

“Aaaaahhhhehheheheheeee!!” Meiling squeaked. As tough as she was, and as enamored as Lee found herself for that raw side of Meiling, the sweet, giggly side that resonated passion through her own tickling fingers only fueled the flame burning from everything that was Meiling. Lee rocked side to side with the girl’s squirming body. She wore a wide smile as her fingers lodged themselves into Meiling’s pits, scribbling and scratching against the familiar, plush hollows.

“You’re so precious like this,” Lee said. “I love you so much.”

“No, I’m nahahahahaaat precious!” Meiling laughed. She blushed against the waves of giggles that poured from her lips. Pearly glimmers of mirthful tears came to the corners of her eyes. Lee merely smiled, her fingers still exploring Meiling’s sensitive pits.

“Oh, but you are,” Lee said. “You are to me. Especially like this.” It never failed to astound Lee just how Meiling could be so fearfully powerful and yet so charming, boasting an adorable femininity of her own unique definition. Lee’s fingers scribbled at Meiling’s pits as the girl beneath her rocked side to side. Her laughter fluttered over the garden, echoing so angelically it could have swayed the oncoming tempest from rolling over the hills. Lee planted herself atop Meiling. She tickled as playfully as she always had, soaking in every last bit of Meiling’s laughter as she could.

“Naaaahhhahhahahaa!” Meiling squealed. She fought back with the minimal degree of wrestling with a child. Meiling’s restraint was not lost on Lee. She had witnessed Meiling train extensively just within their reserved window of time. In that time shared together, she knew well Meiling’s allure for being tickled. The permission to engage in such an intimate activity with her had been as magical as the sensation itself, feeling Meiling’s skin beneath her fingers and listening to her laughter up close. Lee’s smile widened. She held onto Meiling’s figure with tickling fingers that never wished to let go.

“You’re such a little tease sometimes, Mei,” Lee said, giggling and holding on. Lee only stopped tickling to catch Meiling’s hands with her own. She pulled them above Meiling’s head. Before Meiling could so much as stop giggling, Lee planted a deep, longing kiss against her lips. She felt the smile stretch across Meiling’s lips as Meiling began to kiss back. Their fingers laced through one another, holding each other closely. After a while, Lee pulled back. Her long, striking black hair hung down to brush against Meiling’s cheek. It shrouded their faces in an intimate, dark curtain, a world where all that remained, all that mattered, were each other’s loving smiles and gazes.

“Who’s the tease now?” Meiling asked. Lee snickered and pulled back. She tucked her hair back behind her ear and stood up, helping Meiling to her feet. Meiling brushed herself off. She plucked petals from her and Lee’s clothes before taking her hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Lee asked.

“Into town,” Meiling said. “We have to stock up, right?” Lee smiled and followed closely behind as Meiling pulled her toward the road to the village. While her smile quickly turned sad from behind Meiling’s back, she never let go of Meiling’s hand, taking in the fleeting sensation of holding it in her own.

The market streets of Xian were alive with civilians purchasing and providing supplies for the oncoming storm. Crops were being hastily harvested from farms and gardens while many vendors focused more on helping others protect their homes. People brought loose tools and pottery from the outside into their individual residences. Children played in the streets, but under close watch from their parents working on preparations.

Meiling and Lee made their way into the market square. The two passed by the set of stocks that Meiling had found herself in countless times prior. Lee caught her looking lovingly up at it as they walked through the square.

“You going to cause trouble while we’re here?” Lee asked, giving Meiling a little nudge. Meiling snickered and scratched the back of her head.

“Maybe,” Meiling said. “Thinking about it.”

“I wouldn’t mind partaking in that again,” Lee said.

“Or we get back home and I give you a private show,” Meiling added. Lee laughed.

“That sounds good too,” Lee said. The pair made their way up to Tian’s house first. They caught the girl working hard out in the garden, collecting crops in a large basket once more.

“Is this all you do?” Meiling called out. Tian looked behind her. She smiled upon seeing Meiling’s and Lee’s smiling faces staring back at her.

“Oh, hey!” Tian said. “Basically, when I don’t have some petty thief coming by to help out.”

“Yeah, sorry, Ti,” Meiling said. “What can I say, I’ve been busy.”

“You’re fine, Mei,” Tian said. She dusted some dirt off of her hands and dress.

“H-hey, Tian,” Lee said timidly. Tian smiled back.

“Nice to see you again, Lee,” Tian said. “What are you girls doing?”

“Figured we’d stock up before the storm,” Meiling said. Tian nodded and looked out into the streets.

“Yeah, that’s what everyone’s trying to do right now,” Tian said. “Better get what you need quickly. With so many more mouths to feed now, we’ve had little left over for rations.”

“I can see that,” Meiling said with a sigh.

“You girls been okay though?” Tian asked. She stepped forward, crossing her arms comfortably for conversation. Meiling and Lee glanced at one another. Lee smiled while Meiling chuckled a bit, scratching at the side of her neck.

“We are, yeah,” Meiling said. Lee laughed.

“Mei is just flustered,” Lee said. Tian joined in the mirth.

“I can tell,” she said. “Any reason why?” Meiling and Lee paused. A bright blush came across Lee’s cheeks. She began to shuffle away, but Meiling, still holding onto her hand, pulled her closer.

“Well…” Meiling began. Lee started to pull away again. Meiling turned to her with a look. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah, but…” Lee said, her cheeks still wide and red. “I can… get more supplies while you two talk.”

“If you want,” Meiling said. Lee hopped up onto her toes to give Meiling a soft peck on the lips. Her eyes glimmered as she came back down, fixed on Meiling’s own adoring stare. Their hands broke from one another. Lee turned and hurried toward one of the stalls still selling wares. Meiling turned back to Tian, hiding her grin beneath another head scratch.

“Looks like things are going well between you two,” Tian said. Meiling nodded. She came closer to Tian, speaking at a softer volume.

“She’s serious,” Meiling said. “I don’t know, I never thought anyone would be, you know?”

“What happened?” Tian asked.

“She told me that she loves me,” Meiling said, stifling a still beaming smile. “And it was… amazing. Absolutely perfect. Like a dream.”

“You seem very pleased,” Tian said. “Do you love her back?” Meiling paused for a moment, still grinning ear to ear. She nodded and turned to look at Lee, browsing tools laid out across a vendor’s cloth.

“I do,” Meiling said. “I told her so.”

“That’s great,” Tian said. “I’m really happy for you both.”

“It’s just strange, you know?” Meiling said.

“Why’s it strange?” Tian asked. “You know, this is supposed to be the easy part, right?”

“But I’ve never been this close with anyone before,” Meiling said. “I don’t know, what if she-”

“Don’t.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t ruin a good thing by proposing ‘what if’s’ on yourself,” Tian said. “Just enjoy it.” Meiling paused again to sigh and collect her thoughts.

“I suppose this makes us a real couple now,” Meiling said. “Like, yeah, it’s exciting and I love her, but… what does that mean?”

“You are overthinking this way more than you’ve ever thought about anything before,” Tian said. Meiling chuckled, turning her head down toward the dirt. “I may not be the best at offering love advice for something like this, but since when are you a woman who gets wrapped up in consequences for things?”

“Make me sound like a real vagrant,” Meiling said.

“I’m just saying that you should play this just as cool as everything else,” Tian said. “Have fun with it. See where it goes.” Meiling thought for a moment, nodding softly.

“That’s what mother might have said too,” Meiling said. “Hard to say. But I just…”

“What?” Tian asked. Meiling shrugged. Her hands clasped in front of her, her fingers stroking timidly against one another.

“I’ve just… wherever I care this much about something, or someone, they…” Meiling began. Tian came up to Meiling. She put her hands on Meiling’s shoulders and soothed her with a smile.

“Lee’s not your brother, Mei,” Tian said. “What happened with him and your mother… it won’t happen with everyone. Don’t be afraid of this feeling, Meiling. What you have here is clearly special. Don’t ruin this for yourself, or for her, by worrying about what might happen. Please. You deserve to be happy.” The smile returned to Meiling’s lips. She leaned into Tian’s embrace, returning it with a hug.

“Thank you,” Meiling said. “You’re right, I… this is all just so new for me…”

“I know,” Tian said. “And it can be scary. But it can also be wonderful. You love her, right?”

“More than anything.”

“Then be there for her,” Tian said. “Protect her. No matter what.” Meiling clenched onto Tian. She nodded, holding her friend close to her chest.

“I will,” said Meiling. The two hugged longing as thunder boomed from the direction of the dark, billowing clouds. Only when the sound continued did Tian and Meiling pull apart, recognizing the harsh thumping to be coming from the palace as well.

Tumultuous hooves roared into the common streets. They approached from the direction of the royal courtyard, catching Lee’s attention. The vibrations that resonated up from her feet did little to combat those that pounded in her chest. She turned to face the oncoming cavalry. The riders were dressed in military armor that she recognized as both familiar and not. They carried spears, swords, and bows as they plowed through the streets with little regard to who or what was in their way. Lee clenched at the hood of her robe. When Lee saw an opening, she immediately rushed back to Meiling, grabbing onto her hand.

“M-Mei, we... we have to go…” Lee said. Meiling turned to face her, catching the ghostly white expression having come to her face. Her brows furrowed. Her own heart began to race, her eyes shifting against Lee’s unyielding stare.

“What?” Meiling asked. “Why? What’s happening?”

“We just do,” Lee said. “Please.” Riders began to ride through the common areas of the village. Some wore armor familiar to that of Xian’s own guard while others wore colors much more dark and striking. Tian and Meiling looked around to see many of the newer villagers racing to their homesteads. They gathered their families together, wrangling children like fowl. Some began to cry and hold one another. Doors and windows began being closed and boarded up. A violent murmur echoed over the thumping of the riders. Tian came closer out into the street. She stood up on a box to get a look at the men racing past.

“What is it?” Meiling asked.

“Some of father’s men,” Tian said loudly. “But I don’t see… wait.” Tian noticed one of the horses coming closer was decorated like Qiang’s. The man pushed through with urgency, several of the riders at his side, both his men and the others, breaking over stray pots and fruit crates as they stormed through. As he came closer, Tian saw the look on Qiang’s face. A haunting chill flushed through her veins. She came down off of the box and tried to get closer to the man as he passed.

“Tian, what are you doing?” Meiling shouted. Lee continued to pull at her hand.

“Please!” Lee begged. “Let us leave!”

“Father!” Tian shouted as Qiang rode by. He made no effort to address his daughter, his eyes forced forward as if she were the phantom of a stranger. Tian watched him ride off toward the village square. She ran in his direction, taking off as if chasing the winds carrying the men atop their steeds.

“Tian!” Meiling yelled. She broke from Lee’s grasp to chase after her. Lee gasped. She stood frozen for a moment, but as she looked back at the riders, seeing the oncoming army and the man that they escorted, she knew that staying would return her back to the life of Yuanji, effectively ending her time with Meiling. Lee clenched onto her hood up around her ears. She darted after Meiling, who continued to chase Tian through the streets and into the square.

The village center, still decorated with stray decorations from the festival, was quickly flooding with armored men atop their stallions. Only a few civilians still remained out. Many stood by out of curiosity, but many more cowered and held onto their children with all of their might. Tian climbed up onto a small house to get a better view of her father, still riding his horse wearing a face of great burden. Meiling followed her there. She huffed as she watched more riders pour into the village square, standing at attention.

“What’s going on?” Meiling asked.

“I don’t know,” Tian said. Her eyes stayed locked onto her father, studying every little look and lip movement that she could. “He’s… he’s not… usually like this. This is different.”

“Obviously,” Meiling said. “Sure am glad he doesn’t pull out these forces for me stealing radishes.”

“It’s not like that,” Tian said. “This is different. I wish I knew what…” Qiang forced his way closer to the villagers watching. Most stayed in their homes and witnessed the ordeal from windows and balconies. Some armed themselves with weaponry and farming tools. Lee came up on the building that held Tian and Meiling. She huffed and wiped off a layer of sweat as she watched from behind an empty barrel. Qiang sucked in a deep, labored breath before addressing the audience watching him with quiet reverence.

“Citizens of Xian, I have just been informed from the Crown Prince of the Fu Dynasty that our beloved Princess Hong Yuanji has gone missing,” Qiang spoke with a booming tone that seeped from within the powerful warrior beneath his elderly figure. Lee’s heart jumped. Thoughts flurried to her mind. All of the fears that stirred her composure during every night spent with Meiling came crashing down on top of her. It was too late. She knew she would have to return at some point. She knew that if she could make it back before anyone noticed, all would be well, but in a single moment, any notion that she still had the plan under control was burned in front of her.

“Oh no,” Tian said. She looked back to Meiling, who sighed and stood with her arms crossed.

“That’s all?” Meiling asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Sounds like her advisor should have been doing the job that he abandoned his family for,” Meiling said sourly. “Can’t even do that right.”

“You don’t know that it was him,” Tian said. Meiling glanced over to her and huffed. Tian recoiled. “Wait, you do, don’t you?”

“Finding her Highness is of the utmost importance,” Qiang announced. He paused to take a deep breath, challenged by the words coming to his lips. “It is believed that she is still somewhere in Xian. A-and… and thus…”

“And thus it is now a direct order from the Emperor to surrender all possessions to be turned over and searched,” Fu Jie interjected. He rode up on his rickshaw and stepped out, his stride as smooth and dire as the tone that leaked from his lips like venom. “Until your princess, my bride, has been turned over. Commander?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Qiang said. The aging militant bowed toward the prince before turning back to the cavalry standing at attention. He sighed once more. With great pause, he wore his face long and weary, with a look that Tian witnessed him never looking so decrepit.

“Father,” Tian muttered.

“Find and turn over her Highness to the Emperor at once,” said Qiang to the armored men. “Search every home. Do what you must.”

Meiling and Tian watched as the men scattered. In a blaze, stretching like flames through a garden, the soldiers poured from the streets into the surrounding homes and shops. Families were forced out, clutching one another and weeping. The shattering of wood and pottery echoed over the village square. Fu Jie’s men howled orders at civilians. They grabbed men, women, and children, dragging them out into the streets as they bombarded their homes in search of the princess. Lee observed the commotion unfold from her dusty corner. Cries bled out of homes around her. The disturbance shook the very ground. The screams grew around her. Violent, desperate cries bellowed through the air.

“No!” one woman screamed before being bluntly cut off.

“Mother!” another shouted. Lee raised her hands to her ears. The shrill, piercing shrieks sliced at her mind like the blades that shimmered in her peripheral. Her legs shook. An icy chill rushed through her skin. She backed away slowly, guilting washing over her in brutal, beating waves.

“No…” Lee whispered. She peered out into the streets against her wishes. More civilians, faces with which she had become familiar through living with Meiling, were being thrown to the ground, smeared with tears and dirt. Her hands shivered as they raised to her lips, her eyes widened with horror. People's gardens were being trampled. Their art and tools were being broken and scattered. Several men fought back to protect their homes, only to fall to ruthless slashing at the hands of an army that was not her own, the foreign force that had infiltrated her village’s walls.

“A village that steals and harbors a princess has no honor on which to stand,”  Fu Jie continued to announce. He spoke with a deep, booming voice that beat with the same brutality as that thumping that Lee felt beneath her feet. “Let that be clear to whomever should be keeping her Highness for themselves. We will bring every last soul and stone in Xian to ruin in order to return her home.” Lee stayed low, trembling as she watched. She peered through the raging crowds of screaming families scattering about and armored men barbarically ransacking each home and market stall. Her eyes, quaking with tears, fell upon a face that made her stall. Through the crowd, she witnessed who she believed to be Sima Yi, rushing through and frantically helping guide civilians to safety.

“S-Sima?” Lee whimpered. She shook her head. The nightmare only continued to grow more horrible as it did unbelievable, yet undeniable. Tears trickled down her cheeks. She could barely make out his voice from all the others. She stepped forward to rush into his arms, an impulse driven by the life of security that she longed for in that moment of chaos. As Lee began to step out into the violent crowd, a hand roughly caught her wrist, pulling it behind. Lee turned. Meiling stared down at her, her own expression awash with crushing fear.

“We’re going home,” Meiling yelled sternly over the commotion. Before Lee could say anything else, she was already being pulled in the direction of Meiling’s house. She whimpered, but followed closely behind, with Meiling keeping a tight grip on Lee’s wrist. Meiling pushed through broken crates and carts through the alleys that she had become so fond and familiar.

Meiling pulled Lee out into main roads once she had given enough distance between them and the village square. She and Lee ran alongside others fleeing the scene. Parents carried their children. Civilians tripped over one another fallen crates of plucked crops. People broke off onto the sides and climbed up onto other structures to look for their loved ones. Meiling focused solely on getting Lee out of the fray. Lee looked back periodically at the screaming square. She knew that the Crown Prince, Fu Jie, was looking for her and that the carnage would continue for as long as she stayed in hiding. Solemnly, she turned her head. With tears falling into the tracks of others, she kept on Meiling’s heels, sobbing through the gnashing guilt.

As Meiling and Lee started up the path to take them back to Meiling’s home, a lurking force followed their trail with unyielding eyes. Fu Jie’s own advisor, Xianying, stood atop an archway leading out of the village. A bow rested across her back via a leather harness, with a full quiver tapping against her leg. Her teeth sank into a peach plucked from a village stall, juices dripping down her chin. She watched closely as the pair fled the village, Meiling pulling the disguised princess along. A smirk came across her face, her eyes narrowing their targets.

“Naughty girls,” Xianying muttered. She tossed the half-eaten peach to the side and reached behind her, freeing her bow.